Philipp Grubauer, Kraken blank sinking Blackhawks 2-0

CHICAGO – Philipp Grubauer made 29 saves for Seattle’s second shutout, and the expansion Kraken blanked the sliding Chicago Blackhawks 2-0 on Thursday night.

Alex Wennberg scored his 10th goal in the second period and Jordan Eberle added his 18th late in the third to seal it.

Grubauer was only lightly tested by the Blackhawks, who dropped their sixth straight game (0-4-2) and occasionally were booed by their home crowd. Grubauer, who recorded his 20th career shutout, also was in net for the Kraken’s first shutout on Feb. 2 against the Islanders in New York.

Chicago goalie Kevin Lankinen stopped 29 shots.

Both the Kraken and rebuilding Blackhawks have been eliminated from playoff contention. Chicago has missed the postseason in four of the past five seasons after qualifying for nine straight and winning three Stanley Cups during that stretch.

The Blackhawks dominated the first few minutes, but Seattle came on to outshoot Chicago 17-3 in a scoreless first period.

Wennberg’s flashy goal opened the scoring 47 seconds into the second.

Wennberg made a nifty move to dance past flatfooted Chicago defenseman Jake McCabe in the slot. He skated to the net and deked Lankinen to the ice before tucking in a low shot.

Grubauer made a point-blank stop on rookie Lukas Reichel with five minutes left in the second to thwart a 2-on-1 Chicago break.

The Blackhawks were booed by their home crowd as they sputtered on a 5-on-3 power play over a 1:56 span, then a two-minute 5-on-4 advantage, to close out the second.

Chicago managed only one shot during the combined 3:56 power play that was set up by an interference minor to Ryan Donato and high-sticking double-minor to Carson Soucy.

Patrick Kane’s shot hit the post and Seth Jones’ attempt clanked off the crossbar during a Chicago power play late in the third.

Grubauer was sharp on a couple of close-in Chicago chances in the final minutes.

Eberle made it 2-0 on a shot from the left circle with 1:56 left.