3 takeaways from the Chicago Blackhawks having the Kraken released on them
By Todd Welter
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Here are three more takeaways from the Kraken being released on the Chicago Blackhawks...
Arvid Soderblom might not be a No. 1 goalie.
To be fair, he had one good defenseman, Alex Vlasic, playing in front of him. It did not help that Vlasic left the game in the third period. Hopefully, it is nothing that will cause him to miss time as the Hawks blue line is already decimated by injuries.
At the same time, he let some goals in on Thursday night that he must block.
Yamamoto's first goal was set up by Reese Johnson's careless attempt to clear the puck out of the Kraken's offensive zone. Yamamoto intercepted the loose puck at center ice and darted back over the blue line. He rifled a wrist shot that easily went past Soderblom. It was a nice shot, but it was one Soderblom should have not allowed to past him.
Soderblom is now giving up four goals per game with a .872 save percentage. This is the second time this season he has allowed seven goals. The first time came against another terrible team, the Phoenix Coyotes.
He has allowed 17 goals in four games this month. Although seven of those goals came in this game.
The hope by now was he would be the starter over Petr Mrazek. One reason for that is Mrazek would probably be missing time with an injury because he is always hurt. The other reason is Mrazek is set to be a free agent after the season, so he is not going to be around long-term.
Mrazek has been healthy and has just flat-out outplayed him. That is not to say Soderblom is not a bonafide NHL goalie. It is just concerning that Soderblom is not outshining a replacement-level goalie.
You have to worry about how Soderblom is handling getting shelled lately. Although head coach Luke Richardson does not seem too concerned at this point.
Richardson on Soderblom: "I thought I'd let him stay in for the third and battle it out. But when the puck went in on the power play and right after that, I just thought we've got to get him out. It starts to become too much for somebody... I'm not really worried about his…
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) December 15, 2023