The Seattle Kraken wrapped up the 2024–25 campaign sitting 27th in the NHL standings—a spot in which nobody in the organization, or the fanbase, wanted to be. But while the season as a whole was frustrating, the numbers show the Kraken actually excelled in some very specific areas. These are the little “micro stats” that don’t always make headlines but do reveal some positive performance trends from the 2024–25 squad.
I want to highlight four categories where Seattle finished well above league average: comeback wins, response goals, times shorthanded, and goals off the face-off. I’ll also take a swing at whether these bright spots can carry over into next season.
Comeback wins
Definition: A comeback win is any game in which the Kraken trailed by at least two goals at some point but still found a way to win.
What the data shows:
This phenomenon blew me away all season, especially considering the team didn’t come back from a two-goal deficit once during the 2023–24 season.
Outlook
Comeback wins are usually a sign of resilience and buy-in, but they’re also tough to repeat consistently. It’s unlikely they repeat this feat next season, given they led the league in 2024–25 and are more likely to regress. On the flip side, maybe they simply won’t find themselves down by two as often next season.
Response goals
Definition: A response goal happens when one team scores and the other answers back within 60 seconds. This has two sides for Seattle: (1) bouncing back quickly after being scored on, and (2) preventing opponents from striking right after a Kraken goal.
What the data shows
I’m sure a lot of Kraken fans will be surprised to hear this, but the team was strong in both sides of response goals. Much like the two-goal comebacks, it was another sign of resilience last season.
Outlook
Response goals are partly about structure, partly about focus. This is a category where coaching has real influence, so with Lane Lambert in place as the new head coach, I’d expect some changes. I believe Lambert will emphasize structure more than Dan Bylsma did, which might reduce the “response goals for” category, as the team leans into a mindset of “stabilization” over “response.” On the other hand, that same focus could help the Kraken maintain their strength in limiting “response goals against.”
Times shorthanded
Definition: This one’s pretty straightforward—the number of times Seattle had to kill a penalty. Fewer trips to the box mean more time at even strength, which is where most games are decided. Connected to this is net penalties (penalties drawn versus penalties taken), which gives a more complete picture.
What the data shows
Seattle averaged the fourth-fewest times shorthanded per game in the league—something they’ll definitely want to carry into next season.
Outlook
Discipline has been a strength for Seattle since it entered the league, much of it driven by personnel. Some roster changes this offseason might nudge the team’s shorthanded numbers up a bit, but the impact should be relatively small—especially if the penalty kill improves, as expected.
Goals off the face-off
Definition: A goal scored within 10 seconds of a face-off. This combines face-off possession with quick execution of set plays and finishing ability.
What the data shows
The Kraken scored 14 goals off face-offs last season, which is a lot. I also shared charts showing face-off-driven shot attempts per game to illustrate how many opportunities they generated from these situations.
And, of course, this gave us the chance to enjoy this beauty:
Outlook
Seattle’s total of 14 face-off goals looks a little high compared to their relatively low number of face-off-driven shot attempts, which suggests some regression could be coming. But there’s upside too: if players like Matty Beniers and Shane Wright keep improving in the dot, they could generate more opportunities to help balance things out.
What should we make of these silver linings?
Yes, the Kraken finished 27th overall in the standings, and yes, there’s plenty that needs to improve. But the numbers show they weren’t completely devoid of strengths—there were a handful of areas where Seattle actually outpaced the league, even in a down year.
These micro stats: comeback wins, response goals, discipline, and face-off-driven offense, might seem subtle, but they can add up to meaningful impacts in the standings when paired with improvements in the more obvious categories like scoring depth and goaltending.
It’s important to note that this analysis is based on publicly available data. Without detailed puck and player tracking, we don’t always get the full picture. Still, these categories offer a solid window into some quiet strengths for Seattle.
The hope, of course, is that these positives stay above league average while the Kraken clean up other parts of their game. I’ll dig into those areas for improvement in next week’s piece.
I’ve been watching some of the games from last season, and the Kraken are fun to watch, regardless of the stats. There are also plenty of things stats can’t tell, like how “greasy” (in a good way) Stephenson is. That faceoff on the 4 second Montour goal is a great example. This buried stat of goals off faceoffs tells part of the story, but can’t possibly credit the discussion between two great veterans before the faceoff. I’m excited for this season. Go Kraken!
Shane is getting 60+ pts this season. Just putting that out there.
Four solid lines, good D structure, a reasonable step forward for Shane, Matty finding his Calder form, and elite goal tending from Joey…. You can see a path. A lot has to go right, but you could see a return to the playoffs without a major miracle. Nobody is confusing the Kraken with a Cup contender, but I wouldn’t be shocked if they hung around in the spring.
Despite the overall results I found last season to generally be enjoyable especially when Joey was in net. The one exception being game 2 of back to backs.
Unlike previous years it never felt like they were out of it unless there was a total blowout. Down 2 in the 3rd and don’t leave cause there was still hope. 2 min left and goalie pulled, well they may pull it off. I think they were #2 in goals with the goalie pulled…obviously that means they were behind a lot. But it made for exciting hockey.
With increased structure, we probably won’t have the same excitement…but maybe results will improve.
It will be interesting to see what segments of their game make the biggest improvement but also where they get worse. I wouldn’t mind seeing an increase in PIMs because it would show they had more grit. Hopefully they have fewer opportunities to come back from -2, but I would like them to keep the resilience and show they can still battle back.
Those comeback wins gave a whole different vibe to watching the Kraken than there was in seasons prior. In previous years–the inaugural season especially–when the team went down by two goals the game felt like it was over, kind of like how things were in the Neutral Zone Trap Era. Last year, by December it felt like a comeback was inevitable after a bad first period. You always knew that some drama was cooking. The Kraken may not have been especially good, but, boy were they fun to watch. I sure hope that come January we don’t regret Bylsma being sacked. If Lambert’s tenure with the Islanders is anything to go by, we are in for a lot of one-goal games. I mean, that’s cool if they are wins, but I am going to miss the multi-goal comebacks.