Actor Dwayne Johnson, during his WWE wrestling days as The Rock, used to have a pre-match gimmick where he’d converse with his opponent in the ring. The Rock would ask, “What do you think of (such-and such)?” As his opponent began to answer, Rock would interrupt, “IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK!”

This year’s Seattle Kraken have taken that attitude to 3rd period deficits. It happened Oct. 28 against Montreal, when Seattle trailed 3-0 before scoring three 3rd period goals to force the game to overtime. It happened Nov. 8 in St. Louis, when after a completely listless 3rd period, Chandler Stephenson scored in the final two seconds of a game the Kraken won in overtime.

And it happened again Thursday in Chicago, when it looked for 40 minutes like their offense had been lost at O’Hare Airport. Not only was Blackhawks goalie Spencer Knight looking solid, the Kraken (trailing 2-0) didn’t even require Knight to make a save for the last 7:44 of the middle period. And Seattle ranks 28th in the NHL in goals-scored per g-

SEATTLE DOESN’T CARE WHAT THEIR GOALS SCORED PER GAME IS. But see, Chicago has been a dominant 3rd period team this season, outscoring the opposition 33-15, while- IT DOESN’T MATTER WHETHER CHICAGO HAS DOMINATED IN 3RD PERIODS. Well, the Blackhawks were a period away from points in their last seven contests, six of those being wins, with one overtime-

At this point, Dwayne would execute his finishing maneuver, the “Rock Bottom,” leaving his opponent dazed and confused. Which is pretty much what the Kraken did to the Blackhawks at both ends of the ice in the final 20 minutes.

On offense, youth led the way in getting Seattle even. Tye Kartye (age 24) put the Kraken on the board, with one assist going to Oscar Fisker-Molgaard (age 20) in his first NHL game. A nice reward for Fisker-Molgaard’s mother, father, and brother, who had traveled for 30 hours(!) from Denmark to sit in the United Center stands. “This is just as much their (moment) as mine on the ice,” Fisker-Molgaard said later. “They’ve been there (for me) my whole life.”

Seattle’s Tye Kartye (12) scores against Chicago, assisted by Oscar Fisker-Molgaard’s (78) first NHL point.
Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

“It was pretty surreal,” the rookie admitted. “The guys were doing a good job of supporting me and keeping me loose out there.” One of those “guys” was linemate Kartye. “I don’t think you want to talk too much too him, let him play his game. Just let him know you’re there for him. I said, ‘Have fun.’ That’s what guys said to me before my first game. ‘Don’t over-think it. Enjoy the moment.’”

Just over two minutes later, at 7:13, Shane Wright (age 21) tied the game, with assists to 19-year-old Berkley Catton and Ryker Evans, all of 23. “In the 3rd, I thought we did a good job creating opportunities,” said Kartye about the late push. “Obviously, there was a difference in our play. We talked about it in-between periods. We’re not going to score too many goals if we’re not getting any shots.”

Kraken center Shane Wright (51) celebrates after his game-tying goal with teammates Jamie Oleksiak (24), Ryker Evans (41), and Berkly Catton (77). Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Kraken coach Lane Lambert echoed Kartye’s sentiments. “In the first 40 minutes, we were slow to do things. Give our players credit; they got the message, took charge, and got the job done.”

Chicago’s young superstar Connor Bedard (team leading 29 points) got behind the Kraken defense with four minutes left. As the photo below clearly shows, Bedard visually and verbally disputed the fact that Ryan Lindgren wasn’t called for hooking or slashing or something. So vocally, in fact, that Bedard was tagged with a minor penalty for “abuse of officials” at 15:44.

After Kraken defenseman Ryan Lindgren (55) possibly gets away with a slash, Blackhawks center Connor Bedard reacts. A penalty then is called – on Bedard. Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Chicago coach Jeff Blashill thought that was one of two calls on Lindgren that referees missed. “When you don’t have position, and you put your stick in there and hit his glove – the first contact (by Lindgren) was on his glove – it’s a penalty.” Bedard wouldn’t say what he told the referee, but the coach suggested the men in stripes should have “thicker skin” at that crucial juncture of the game.

Blashill also objected to the non-call on the Seattle blueliner that knocked ex-Kraken Andre Burakovsky from the game. “He doesn’t have the puck and he gets hit square in the head.”

It was left to the Kraken 30-somethings to finish the rally on the power play. Jaden Schwartz tallied with 2:18 left – two seconds before Bedard’s minor would have expired. Asked about how Schwartz impacts younger teammates, Lambert said, “He shows them how the game is supposed to be played. The importance of little details, winning battles in hard areas.”

Crazy 8s: it was Schwartz’s 8th goal of the year, aided by the 8th assists for both Mason Marchment and Brandon Montour (his second apple of the period).

The dominance extended to the D-zone. Remember that 33-15 Blackhawks edge in 3rd period goals? Not only was Chicago blanked, they didn’t even record a single shot on goal for the first 14 minutes of the final frame, and were outshot 12-3 overall.

Joey Daccord (35) made 22 saves and looked sharp, backstopping his seventh win for the Kraken.
Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images