Chicago rookie Sacha Boisvert found the back of the net for the first time in his professional career as the Blackhawks handed the Seattle Kraken a costly 4-2 defeat on Saturday evening, dealing another blow to the home team’s postseason aspirations.
Ilya Mikheyev contributed both a goal and an assist for Chicago, while Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi each found the scoresheet. Wyatt Kaiser recorded two helpers for the Blackhawks (28-35-14, 70 points), who are now playing the role of playoff spoiler after their own postseason elimination following Thursday’s 3-1 defeat in Edmonton. Netminder Arvid Soderblom turned away 25 shots for the victory.
For Seattle, Jaden Schwartz managed a goal and assist while Kaapo Kakko also lit the lamp for the Kraken (32-32-11, 75 points). The defeat marked their fourth consecutive loss and eighth setback in nine contests, dropping them to seventh position in the Western Conference wild-card standings, now trailing the final playoff spot by six points. Goalie Philipp Grubauer made 27 saves on 30 attempts.
Seattle mounted a comeback attempt when Schwartz narrowed the deficit to 2-1 at the 10:48 mark of the final frame during a quick transition play. Eeli Tolvanen carried the puck down the left side before delivering a feed to the goalmouth, where Schwartz battled past Kaiser to deflect the puck past Soderblom’s blocker.
The 18-year-old Boisvert, selected 18th overall in last year’s draft and appearing in only his fifth NHL contest, restored Chicago’s two-goal cushion at 13:08. The young forward received a feed from Kevin Korchinski in the high slot and fired a one-timer that beat Grubauer cleanly.
Kakko managed to capitalize on a loose puck at 14:18 to bring the Kraken back within one goal at 3-2, but Mikheyev sealed the outcome by finding the vacant net with 1:12 remaining on the clock.
The opening frame remained scoreless despite Chicago holding a 10-4 shot advantage, with all four Seattle attempts originating from their blue-line corps.
Teravainen broke the deadlock during a man-advantage situation at 9:15 of the middle period. After taking a pass from Connor Bedard near the left corner, he found himself with ample space and opted to carry the puck toward the goal. The Finnish forward managed to squeeze the puck through Grubauer’s leg pads, with the rubber barely crossing the goal line.
Chicago expanded their lead to 2-0 with just 23 seconds left in the second period during a three-on-two opportunity. Bertuzzi fed Mikheyev along the left boards as he approached the net. Despite facing away from the goal, Mikheyev delivered a backhand pass toward the slot that deflected off Schwartz’s skate and settled near the crease. Bertuzzi quickly collected the rebound and elevated it over Grubauer’s glove into the top right portion of the net.
