The 5-4 shootout loss suffered Tuesday by the Seattle Kraken against the Detroit Red Wings was close to an ideal outcome for the pro-tank crowd. Everyone wants to see Seattle at least in games for the rest of the season, but to that group’s dismay, Chandler Stephenson scored late to tie the game and force overtime, snagging Seattle an unlikely point in the standings.
Meanwhile, the pro-win crowd didn’t get its way either, because in the end, Patrick Kane scored one of the prettier shootout goals I’ve ever seen live, and Seattle came up short of completing the two-goal comeback.
Here are Three Takeaways from a 5-4 Kraken shootout loss to the Red Wings, who have won seven straight games for the second time this season.
Takeaway #1: Killed by special teams
Kraken coach Dan Bylsma spoke after morning skate on Tuesday about staying out of the box against Detroit, which boasts the third-best power play in the NHL. But the Kraken did not heed that warning well enough, giving the Red Wings four power-play opportunities while only earning one of their own.
Detroit officially went 2-for-4 on the power play, but Elmer Soderblom’s tap-in goal at 3:21 of the third period, which put the Red Wings up 4-2, came just four seconds after the conclusion of Shane Wright’s questionable penalty for tripping Vladimir Tarasenko. So, call that 3-for-4.
Both official power-play goals came immediately after face-offs in Seattle’s end. On the first, Chandler Stephenson was in the box, so Mitchell Stephens took the draw. He sort of won it backwards, but Alex DeBrincat jumped on a loose puck and popped it out to Moritz Seider at the blue line. Seider walked the line and sent a perfect shot through a dual-layer screen of Stephens and Jamie Oleksiak to make it 2-1 with 30 seconds left in the first period.
Red Wings get a power play off a Stephenson trip and immediately score.
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) February 5, 2025
Moritz Seider with a rocket.
2-1 #LGRW , and that’s how the 1st period ends. #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/7Pt5EY86yf
Stephens also took the draw just before Jonatan Berggren’s power-play tally that made it 3-2 at 12:07 of the second period. On that one, Andrew Copp won the face-off cleanly back to Berggren, and Berggren simply sniped it past Joey Daccord’s blocker.
“One of the keys of a good penalty kill is winning the draw,” Bylsma said. “The face-off circle is underrated as a spot in the game where the battle and the competition is going on, and they won that one. And, it pops out, not to a one-time guy, but it pops right out on their stick with an open shooting lane. I thought the PK, when we had zone time against us, did a good job getting in lanes and blocking shots, but on the face-off a quick play like that, we weren’t able to do that. And again, that’s the story, I guess.”
3-2 Red Wings.
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) February 5, 2025
Second time this game they’ve scored immediately after a power-play face-off.
Jonatan Berggren scores, then shares an adorable laugh with Erik Gustsfsson. #SeaKraken #LGRW pic.twitter.com/cesYcPFVsT
Give credit to Detroit as well, which has had incredible success with the manpower advantage this season and has been on fire since Todd McLellan took over as head coach at the end of December.
“Power play’s been good all year,” Kane said. “Obviously, we want to create more opportunities for ourselves. I thought there were a couple that were maybe uncalled tonight too, that we could have had a couple more [power plays]. But nice to get a few opportunities and bury a couple.”
Takeaway #2: Nice night for the young centers
We’re definitely in “find the silver lining” territory with these many losses piling up and the Kraken fading deeper and deeper into irrelevance, so with that in mind, here’s some silver lining for you.
Matty Beniers and Shane Wright each found the back of the net—and in style!
Beniers was set up yet again by linemate Kaapo Kakko (I picked a great day to publish a story about why their line with Jaden Schwartz has been working so well) after Kakko’s pass initially got rejected by Seider, but went right back to Kakko.
MATTY MAGIC! 🚨
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) February 5, 2025
Set up by Kaapo Kakko, after a nice give-and-go by Moritz Seider. 😉
That line keeps clicking…
1-1 #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/JYaiAFRGQT
What I liked about the goal was that Beniers didn’t hesitate when the puck did get to him in the slot. He just found a soft area away from Detroit’s defense, and when the puck was there, he let it rip. We saw that from Matty multiple times in this game, which I found encouraging in terms of his confidence continuing to grow. There’s no second-guessing, just quick, hard shots at the net.
And Wright came through with two goals, the first being an absolute snipe off a rush, and the second being a product of sticking with the play after his pass attempt got broken up. The goals meant Shane Wright is now on a six-game point streak, during which he has racked up three goals and four assists.
WRIGHT AS RAIN! 🚨
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) February 5, 2025
Cale Fleury gets away with an obvious trip, and it creates a 3-on-2 the other way.
Absolute snipe by Shane Wright.
2-2. #SeaKraken. pic.twitter.com/kXjuQwuxME
“They’re a big part of our team,” Bylsma said. “And to see Matty, the way he’s grown in the last 20 games, and to see Shane keep stepping forward and being on the scoresheet repeatedly and getting big goals, a power-play goal a couple games ago, and tonight, both those goals are huge for us in the game. And they’re coming from our young guys, so it’s good.”
As we turn our attention to the future, it is easy to see a path toward Seattle becoming a more competitive team, once Beniers and Wright mature a little more, and Berkly Catton joins the fold. That gives the Kraken three dynamic young centers, with Chandler Stephenson as the elder statesman.
Takeaway #3: Too many Red Wings fans
I have had some concerns lately about more and more empty seats popping up at Climate Pledge Arena, and I guess that will happen when your team has been well out of the playoff conversation for three out of four seasons.
But I hated seeing the building at what I estimated to be about a 40-60 split with visiting Detroit fans Tuesday. Their red paraphernalia made them stick out like a few thousand sore thumbs, and when Detroit scored its goals, there was a certain pop from the visiting crowd that made CPA feel a little less homey.
I have a feeling we’ll continue to see this trend grow this season, as the larger-market teams come to town, and the games become even less meaningful for the Kraken. With Toronto coming to town Thursday, expect another irritating crowd split.
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
It has been striking to watch Matty over the last few games. He is really entering a new phase of his development. He’s stronger. He’s grittier. He’s gaining confidence, and it’s really exciting to watch. He is going to be a star in this league. Shane looks to be on track to be right there with him. With the addition of Kakko, this team is in good hands for years to come. Fasten your seatbelts.
I think what seems impressive to me about what Matty has been doing since Kakko arrived is he’s been doing it, to some degree, under more difficult circumstances.
Early in the season Stephenson was taking a huge share of all faceoffs and also a much larger percentage of defensive zone draws. Since Kakko joined, those two centers have been pretty much even but both have producing more. I think Schwartz has also been a huge part of what’s been going on, but I do think Matty may be taking another step.
Go Kraken!!!
For sure the steady presence of Stephenson has helped build the confidence of Matty and Shane. As expected since his signing, he plays reliably in all situations. He’s like a pressure relief valve. Playing an 82 game NHL season is grueling and difficult, and Stephenson makes it look routine. It actually feels like he steadily builds energy as the season progresses to a point he would be ready to kick it up a notch for a long playoff run. “Let’s gooo boys!” Would love to see him in the playoffs as a Kraken.
Is Kakko’s presence on the Beniers line what has allowed Stephenson to look so good lately? I can see it–Matty has a proper pair of top-line wingers beside him now in Kakko and Schwartz, and it has allowed him to take the top-line draws that Stephenson used to take. That, in turn, allows Stephenson to match up with other teams’ second lines, which is something that he is entirely capable of doing. It’s like Kakko was the precise player who was needed to make the entire forward group work.
Nah, that can’t be the only thing. Stephenson has looked like a completely different dude since Kakko arrived, and he hasn’t even been playing with him. I don’t know what happened with Stephenson to turn him into an absolute baller, but I like it. I like it a lot. Maybe it’s also getting the Bjorkstrand/Tolvannen pairing on his wings? Those two do work well together, and Tolvannen in particular has been hot lately.
Why does this time of the year feel so good compared to this time last year? The record isn’t any better this time around. I guess now it feels like we have the young guys who are going to be our core. Beniers, Wright, and Evans are bona fide good. Stephenson, Montour, and Kakko are valuable additions. Joey Daccord is the goalie we deserve and need right now. The pipeline is full of studs. I’m not even going to mention the best and most unexpected thing about this season so far for fear of jinxing it. I bet you can guess what that is.
Yes, I was never worried about his development. I think a lot of people never really thought about how he is essentially our 1st line center and playing against the best defensive matchups most nights. He’s a young player he needs time to learn how to develop into a first line center. He’s getting there now but in two to three years we’re going to see mattys full potential.
I would really like to see how Matty and Wright would play together on a line. Yeah I know we’re needing all our centers playing center at the moment but the pay they both see the game I think they could be magical together. Would be a fun experiment for a few games.
Detroit has the worst, or one of the worst, PK. You know how they don’t let it effect them? They don’t go to the penalty box. Our guys gotta learn how to play without penalties. It’s hard enough when you get a bad call.
Some of the calls were iffy… but I believe Seattle is one of the least penalized teams in the league.
29th in the league averaging 6.5 minutes a game. This is one stat where you would like to be last. I think our team is very good at playing without taking penalties.
Except lately
I noticed Wright taking a key late-game defensive zone faceoff too. Maybe some growing confidence from the coaches?
Is Shane Wright not classified as a rookie this year. He is not rated according to the NHL leaders board. Although the NHL board had me missing the game last night because it was sceduled for tonight on their page. Time to find a new information page, I guess.
Because he played in more than six games in two previous seasons he does not qualify as a “rookie” even though he’s on year one of his ELC.
I found it funny that before puck drop, they were talking about how “zone entries” were a key to the game, and they literally dumped and chased for almost 60 minutes. Det OZone time more than doubled that of the Kraken. This is not a good team, and I don’t think it’s well coached, either.
Speaking of that, there is one common denominator between the worst PK in the league (Det) and the Kraken’s — overly passive. You can basically move the puck wherever you want, and the D won’t pressure you. We can blame the personnel for the bad offense, but terrible special teams indicates a coaching problem imo. Detroit will definitely have a problem in the playoffs.
Dunn had a really bad game, again. He had a bunch of ill-advised rushes, turnovers, and yet another absolute pizza with a minute left in the 2nd. Thankfully Joey made the save but wth happened to Dunn? He was on his way to top pairing, puck moving, legit #1 Dman status and he has absolutely tanked this year. Okeksiak has also had an up/down season. He got totally boxed out by the much smaller Raymond on their first goal. Monty looked good though!
The refs missed a very clear too many players penalty in OT against the Red Wings. There was no Eddie O, so it went unmentioned on the broadcast.
Joey was actually positive in GSAX this game. That’s how much this team gave up.
This is going to be a long 2 months. If Wright and Beniers could get up to 20 goals each, though, that sure would be neat.
I think their entries and not being able to establish o-zone possession are a huge problem. I think one of the biggest problem for the defense is they are in their own zone too much because the Kraken don’t spend enough time in the other one. I’d be curious what the actual number are… but last night I didn’t see nearly enough sustained pressure in the offensive zone.
In the words of Eddie O, the best defense is playing 200 ft away from your goaltender.
As far as the crowd goes,I’ll say it again. My wife and I flew down the L.A earlier this year to visit our daughter. We went to the Kraken games against the Kings and Ducks. For the Ducks game we got center ice 11th row for what amounted to what it would cost for those seats at Climate Pledge (including the plane tickets!). Kraken brass has to do better than that. I realize resale tickets are going to be dirt cheap the rest of the season. Bring up some prospects to make it worth it.
You’re comparing Kraken tickets to a team which has been shit for a decade and in is the small market team with a dominant team in the market. This is such an ignorant comparison. I also call bullshit on the costs.
No, my point is that the Kraken need to build a solid fan base and hold on to it. My wife and I still take the train up and go to 8-10 games a year. Stay calm and do the research. Have a nice day and Go Kraken.
It’s ok to just admit you got caught in a lie. Like I said, I also did that trip. Sat in similar seats. Your dismissive attitude is just a sad to attempt to deflect: be better!
DontLieBro… is saying “be honest”… with no sense of irony?
Now whose the idiot?
Don’tlieBro take a chill pill and come back to up once you can communicate as an adult.
Plane tickets are gonna run around 600, tickets in that section are gonna be about 400 for 2 in Anaheim. With fees that brings you to about 1100-1200. Just tickets to a similar section at a Kraken game are gonna be about 950-1050. It’s not that far off.
The point you seem to be dying to miss here is that it isn’t about the size of the market, it’s about the success of the team. The kraken have been about as successful as the Ducks in recent years yet ticket prices do not reflect that.
GoCougs is right, ownership has to do better about ticket pricing matching the product, this isn’t a new issue. They’ve been ranked as the 3rd highest cost for tickets in the NHL without the success to justify it, and that makes it hard to grow a fan base.
Both can be true. Tickets are slightly overpriced and he’s full of shit (as are you). Secondary prices aren’t going to run you that much center ice.
It’s funny you think the price of Ducks tickets is dictated by their current season standings. They’ve also been the also ran in a city with another team. The Flyers have also sucked for the better part of a decade and command higher prices than the Ducks by a large margin. You also fail to account for center ice seats at CPA being in a premium section. For the Ducks they are literally just seats (same with the Flyers and a few other teams in much older arenas).
Like OP, sometimes you just need to accept the L and admit you’re not as informed as you think you are.
I quoted you the resale prices, face value prices are even higher at CPA.
Are you trying to make the point that Kraken prices are reasonable? If so good luck untying yourself from those explanatory knots.
Please just go home. Come back when you have some actually have something constructive to say about hockey. I’m not holding by breath.
Sustained O-zone time has been an issue basically since year one of this franchise – top end talent and speed is how you drive that stat up. Yet I still think our D is giving up uncharacteristic chances.
My hunch is that there is more of a systems emphasis on driving play from the back end and taking more risks on stretch passes for the breakaway and quick zone exit potential, but teams have caught on to this and are picking it apart frequently.
I don’t have stats for this but I have the impression that there is more east/west and goal front passing this year than we ever saw with Hakstol. I think this has allowed us to open up the offense a bit more and to score more goals (surprisingly we are top 10 in the NHL in goals scored right now) but has led to more mistakes on D and higher number of high danger chances.
I think Seattle has basically tried to take a calculated approach of sacrificing some defensive responsibility for more offensive chances and it hasn’t worked out. That’s the only way I can make sense of it because personnel wise we should be an above average defensive team.
I think they’re trying to be a “rush” team… but I also agree that in spite of that they have managed to capitalize on lateral play to score goals. I definitely felt like season two’s team was able to apply consistent and relentless pressure in the offensive zone and I think that had a lot to do with them being among the highest scoring teams in the league.
It’s hard to disentangle season 2s success from their shooting percentage – they scored first in so many games that it consistently forced the opposing team into more aggressive strategies that led to similar mistakes we are seeing this team make.
Ultimately I think the D will be fine in coming years and that will only improve as our O improves and our top line develops into a true force. I think we are seeing that already with the second half of the season – this team is already way more competitive with just the addition of Kakko, not to mention way more fun to watch. I think we’re really a player or two away from being very competitive.
It’s kind of remarkable how this team is on pace to have a worse year than last but if you gave me a choice to watch this years team play and last years team I’d choose this year 10/10 times.
I 100% agree with all of that.
Agreed as well, I do wish we threw out our complete PP and PK systems. We need a more dynamic power play and it might be nice to at least put some puck pressure on the PK. I kinda liked our “power kill” approach of the past, heavy pressure not allowing teams to have good zone entries or set up. (Apparently our Minnesota inheritance doesn’t believe in such things?) Now we just sit and watch the puck. Honestly though with a better pp and PK and Grubauer not falling off a cliff we’d be in the playoffs.
The PP is another area where our system has to match our personnel. It’s difficult to implement a more dynamic power play when we don’t have enough dynamic players to execute it. Our PP looks to be a little more dynamic than last year, but that’s mainly because Hakstols system was notoriously restrictive. The results have been about the same, slightly worse so far. To me it all points more towards personnel being the bigger issue on the PP vs systems. I think it’s the opposite problem for our D zone play.
I don’t know enough about systems to say confidently if there is a way this team can find more success without a more dynamic roster. I DO think a least a couple of those dynamic players are already in our system (Catton and probably one of little Jani, Rehkopf, Firkus, maybe others).
Turbo I’m not so sure we couldn’t ice a better PP right now. I know that when push comes to shove and we really need a goal we throw our arguably best offensive players out…. Dunn and Monty. Put them on the PP together I know two D isn’t common right now but it’s two of our top players and having them both up top rotating to the side walls would definitely open up a little more space down low. Load up our first unit and run them 90 seconds plus and don’t worry about not having a strong second unit. Run Wright/Matty/kakko/Dunn/Monty as our first unit and Burky/mccan/schwartz/chandler/Evans as our second. Another thing that they seriously need to do on the PP in plan better positioning on shots, how many times do we see missed shots ring around the boards and out. If you setting up a weak angle shot get a player on the opposite wall, you see other teams planning to ensure zone control way more than we do. It’s almost like we have no plan for puck recovery after a shot.
I was at the game on Tuesday and yeah, most visiting fans I’ve seen by a long shot. It was five rows deep Wings fans for warm ups. I talked to some Wings fans from Alberta who said it was cheaper/easier for them fly into Seattle and get resale tickets to this game than to see them in Calgary. Even with the exchange rate. 😬
My first thought: “Ownership’s gonna have another struggle on their hands next year to re-up the 5-year season ticket holders.”
2nd Though: “Man, this place is going to be full of Canucks fans the next time they’re here”
3rd thought: “Oh, wait, no it won’t. 🤣”
There were a lot of Kraken fans at the last game they played in Vancouver. Much shorter drive for people living in Whatcom Co. than the trip for any game down at CPA.