from Matt Calkins of the Seattle Times,

They announced a sellout, but there were so many gaps in the seating it looked like a hockey player’s smile.

Maybe it was the 2 p.m. start time on a holiday that people wanted to spend elsewhere. More likely, it was because the Kraken hadn’t won a game in over a month — or a home game since Dec. 3.

No one here is pretending the buzz surrounding this team has completely vanished. But the flame this city saw when the Kraken opened their inaugural season in October is whittling toward a flicker. Had Seattle lost its 10th straight game vs. the Blackhawks on Monday, the Climate Pledge Arena crowd might have stormed the ice in protest. This season has been a combination of disappointment, dysfunction and disaster.

Fortunately for those home fans, the Kraken did deliver a victory worth those hefty ticket prices. They rallied from a goal down in the third period, tied the game at 2-2, and outscored Chicago 2-0 in the shootout.

Maybe that win is like a band-aid on a gunshot wound given the Kraken’s last-place standing in the Pacific Division, where they trail the seventh-place Canucks by 11 points. But Monday afternoon was at least something — even if those triumphant feelings will turn out to be fleeting.

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