The Seattle Kraken didn’t always look like the better team this past week, but the standings don’t care about style points. They care about results, and the Kraken keep finding ways to collect them.
It started with a flat 4–2 loss in Detroit, the kind of game that could’ve set the tone for a rough road trip. Instead, Seattle flipped the script in Chicago, storming back from a two-goal deficit in the third period to steal a win. Two nights later, they pulled off another comeback in Pittsburgh, capped by a thrilling overtime finish. And on Sunday, Joey Daccord pitched a shutout against the Islanders, only to see the Kraken fall 1-0 in a shootout.
They got five out of eight possible points and finished the trip sitting in second place in the Pacific Division. For a team ranked near the bottom of the league in goals scored per game, that’s no small feat. The formula has been the same all season: stingy defense, timely goals, and a comfort level in tight, low-scoring battles. It’s not always pretty, but right now the vibes are high, and the Kraken are proving that survival in the NHL is about finding ways to win, not how you get there.
Shots on goal and shot attempts
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Kraken are struggling to generate shots on goal. They currently rank 32nd in the league with just 24.1 shots per game. Part of that is playing with the lead, but another part is the recent uptick in time spent on the penalty kill. Seattle is still one of the more disciplined teams in the league, but they’ve been shorthanded a bit more than usual over the last 10 games. When you’re killing penalties, you’re not spending much time generating offense.
That doesn’t explain everything about the low shot volume, but it’s definitely a piece of it. The Kraken don’t fare a whole lot better when you look at overall shot attempts either; they’re 28th in that category.
Maybe the most concerning part: they aren’t generating high-danger chances. According to NaturalStatTrick.com, Seattle ranks dead last in both high-danger shots and high-danger shot attempts. This was a concern last season and a talking point coming into this one. It’s been slightly better over the last seven games, but it still feels like something that needs addressing if the Kraken want this run to continue.
High-danger shots against
On the flip side, Seattle has been excellent at limiting high-danger looks against. At even strength, the Kraken allow just 5.4 high-danger shots per game, well below the league average of 6.0. That was on full display Sunday against the Islanders, a game in which New York controlled plenty of zone time but struggled to break into the high-danger areas.
Other musings
- The Kraken’s game against the Islanders was their first in 10 outings without allowing a power-play goal against.
- Sunday’s shootout loss was their 10th overtime game of the season. They had just 13 all of last year. Seattle is 4–6 in OT this season and has lost all three shootouts.
- The point against the Islanders was the Kraken’s first point in the second half of a back-to-back since March 22, 2024.
- Freddy Gaudreau is now 11-for-20 in career shootout attempts, ranking fourth in the NHL among players with 15-plus attempts. The Kraken could’ve used him in those other two shootout games.
- A whopping 81.1 percent of Kraken game time this season has been played tied or within one goal. That leads the league.
- Despite their scoring issues, Sunday’s 1–0 shootout loss was the first shutout of the season against the Kraken. They were shut out seven times in each of the previous two seasons.
- A weekend note from the broadcast: The Kraken are minus-eight in first-period goal differential, second-worst in the NHL behind Detroit. They’re tied for sixth-best in the third period.
- Oscar Fisker Mølgaard made his NHL debut last week in Chicago. He played about six minutes a night in his two games, but it was still great to see him rewarded for strong progress. He’s the first Kraken pick from the 2023 draft class to play an NHL game. I don’t expect to see him much the rest of the way, but he’s ahead of schedule.
It’s NHL debut day for Oscar Fisker Molgaard! 🇩🇰 pic.twitter.com/DRil8UpgXx
— NHL (@NHL) November 21, 2025
- In case you missed it, I posted a new 10-for-10 over the weekend. There have been two games since, but the themes still hold.
Goal of the week
A shoutout to Loke Krantz, Seattle’s seventh-round pick in 2025, who scored a beauty for his first goal in the SHL.
Loke Krantz gör det helt på egen hand när han reducerar för Linköping!🪄 pic.twitter.com/sxu2DRc6vY
— SHL.se (@SHLse) November 20, 2025
Player performances
Seattle Kraken Goalies: Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer — The two of them combined to go 2-1-1 this week with a .940 save percentage and four ‘quality starts.’
Ryker Evans (SEA) — The third-pair defenseman tallied one goal and three assists over the last four games and looks like he’s taking a real step forward this season.
Jakub Fibigr (BRA/SEA) — The seventh-round pick put up five points in three games for Brampton and looks like a lock for Czechia’s World Junior team.
The week ahead
The Kraken return home, but the schedule doesn’t exactly soften. First up are the big, bad Dallas Stars, winners of seven of their last 10 and the team Seattle has struggled against more than any other Western Conference opponent. The Kraken’s 2-9-2 regular-season record against Dallas is a glaring reminder of how tough this matchup has been. They haven’t beaten the Stars since that playoff series back in 2023. If history is any indication, this one will be a grind.
Things get only slightly easier when the Edmonton Oilers come to town. Yes, Seattle already beat them once this season, but as long as Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are wearing those sweaters, “easy” isn’t exactly in play. Edmonton has had its issues, but those two can tilt the ice instantly. Honestly, if the Kraken can scrape out two of a possible four points this week, I’d call that a win.
And while we’re talking about hockey in Seattle, another quick nod to the city’s newest team: the Seattle Torrent. Their debut game was fast, fun, and competitive. With the home opener coming up, it’d be awesome to see a big crowd show up and give the franchise a proper welcome.
And finally…
At the end of the day, the Kraken keep banking points, even if the road there hasn’t always been convincing. The defense-first identity is clear, the offense remains a work in progress, and yet the standings show Seattle right near the top of the Pacific. So how are you feeling about this team—encouraged by the results, frustrated by the style, or somewhere in the middle?
I am whelmed by this team. I’m glad they’re winning, but it doesn’t look pretty when they do, and their losses tend to be especially ugly. Their D —> O transition needs serious work, their passing has been horrible (especially last night), and they have maybe 2-3 players who can actually drive play. BUT, I do like wins. I’d much rather they win some games than tank for yet another season to maybe get a top 10 talent who can maybe help them in 3-5 years. That may be where they end up this year anyway, who knows? At least they’ve banked some points, and that I’ve actually seen more victories than defeats at CPA for the first season ever (so far).
Also I saw on NHL trade rumors that they’re looking to extend Schwartz and get a top 6 winger. Good luck with that! As a fully recovered Blackhawks fan, I’m on board the Nick Schmaltz train if he ever becomes available, but I doubt he will. Seems like teams are letting players go with even less frequency now. Alex Tuch will probably sign for like $11M in the offseason. They need to make a trade! Do they have the cojones, though?
I am encouraged by the results so far. I do not see a falling off with the defense effort. This is Lamberts style that the players sure have bought into that is a grinding tough to play against team.
We know the offense is lacking, but with McCann and Kakko hopefully soon returning it should spark better results in that area.
The overall goaltending has really been outstanding! Knock on wood…
Go Kraken!!!
They’re in the bottom five in the league wrt number of minutes played while leading, so that ain’t it. They just don’t have the offensive horses. Time to make the transition from the guys we got in expansion to a combo of our own prospects and whoever we can get from trading said expansion players.
Better to bite the bullet now instead of staying in the mushy middle for all of eternity.
There are only 2 forwards currently on the team who came from the expansion draft: Eberle and McCann (Schwartz was a UFA signing). So your argument they’re the ones holding back the offense is bs.
I believe the count is now at 19 or 20 players the Kraken have brought into the organization via trade or waiver claim. This does not include UFA signings. As RB pointed out, there are only two forwards from the expansion draft and one of those signed as a UFA… so not expansion.
On top of that… eight of the teams 23 roster players right now are Kraken drafted player – that’s more than a third of the team – and in the last the three games seven of the teams 18 skaters have been those same drafted players.
When you say “time to bite the bullet”… what are you talking about? They’re playing the “young guys”. They’re sending out the “worst” goalie in the league (whose been fantastic lately). Their top goal scorer has missed most of the season. Instead of just bitching, how about some specifics? How can they better undermine the “success” they’ve had so far this season? That’s what you’d like to see, right?
Like Eberle (most goals), Schwartz (tied for most goals) and McCann (3 goals but also missed games)?
Bite the bullet? lol
Kraken sitting 6th place in the league. 4th in the Western Conference.
Two key offensive pieces are out injured. McCann has barely played.
9 players on the roster are 24 or
younger.
Would you like to be The Leafs? Sell your farm and get some “elite talent”…so you can be in last place in your conference? I’ll take The Kraken, thanks.
They are 7th with 28 points. Sad NYI, very much in rebuild/retool mode, is 8th. There are three other teams on 28 points, three more on 27, another three on 26 points. Washed up half-dead Penguins have a game in hand and are at 25 points.
It’s a weird year so far, with few teams showing quality, which the Kraken certainly does not.
When McCann returns, there will be a goals for and against issue as the team adjusts to new line mates and system adjustments. Last night was a great game but Eli on the shootout? Coach has too much confidence in him or maybe he was just trying to get him going because right now, he is going nowhere
Going into yesterday’s shootout, Seattle only had 1 shootout goal so far this season…and that goal was scored by Tolvanen. So why wouldn’t you send him out yesterday???
He’s a physical 2-way middle-6 forward. Not sure what more you want from him.
I can see it. With McCann still out, Tolvanen has the best shot on the team apart from maybe Jani Nyman, so there is logic in giving a shootout spot to him. Stephenson is good on breakaways–a similar scenario. Of course, shootouts are Freddy Gaudreau’s specialty. I really think that it is worth getting a couple of the defensemen into the lineup, say Brandon Montour and Adam Larsson, both of whom have had breakaway success. Even Jamie Oleksiak with his long reach may be good for a shootout point if the goaltender can be baited into going to the ice early.
Tolvanen has been an important player for the Kraken this season. Great on the forecheck. Great breaking up plays. Applying physical pressure in all zones. You can’t say it’s about any individual player’s point production this season. Frankly, it’s NEVER about that, despite what the populist “experts” would have you think. It’s a team of guys trying to do what their coach is telling them to do, and the results are showing. Currently on the defensive side, but that’s fine. As John Cooper says, stopping a goal is the same as scoring a goal.
Regardless, more offense is coming. Once the guys establish a responsible game defensively, they will gradually turn the needle on offense. Lane has already flipped the plot and is regularly talking about it.
anyone have 2 tickets for Wednsday, I have never been to a Kraken game and one of my 10 kids is coming down from Canada and I thought it would be fun. add @gmail after my name to contact me, please
Some teams, like the Toronto Maple Leafs, are fortunate to have some great elite offensive players. Look at some of these numbers…all guys on the same team!
35 year old John Tavares. 12G, 15A, 27P in 22 games. Best start in his career!
William Nylander. 10G, 19A, 29P, 19 games played (!!!)
Young 23 year old Matthew Knies. 5G, 17A, 22P in 19 games.
Superstar Austin Matthews (out injured). 9G, 5A. 14P in 17 games.
Seattle’s top scorer is 33 year old Jaden Schwartz. 8G, 7A for 15P in 22 games.
Leafs are in LAST place in the Eastern Conference and 29th in the NHL.
Kraken are in 4th place in the Western Conference and sit 6th out of 32 teams in the NHL.
Someone explain. I don’t know. Maybe hockey is a team sport?
To many people are focused on analytics instead of team results.
I’ll take so called boring hockey and points over the above.
Lambert’s tough to play against system is working and the players are bought into it.
That’s Kraken Hockey Baby!
But if everyone ignores the analytics guys, how will they afford all their cigarettes and cashews?
Toronto is a failed Frankenbuild where they gave all the money to their top stars, ignoring the fact that there is a cap. All engine, crap wheels and a weak carriage is not going to make for a strong vehicle. They screwed themselves by not trading Marner much earlier for a more balanced build.
We need some Chuck Holmes wisdom in here. Where did he disappear to?
I’ll try to step in…
Despite being currently 6th in the league around Thanksgiving and we have 9 players on the roster who are 24 or younger, we need to get rid of all these guys, get some even younger players and maybe we will win the draft lottery so we can get an 18 year old superstar who will CLEARLY get us a Stanley Cup sometime in the next 10 or so seasons…while all the Kraken fans dutifully support the team. We are a 5 season deep team that needs a REBUILD!
I miss Chuck. I’m sure he’ll be back after our first 3-game losing streak to help save the team. Where are you, buddy??
On November 12th he did his usual Chuck Holmes Three Takeaways following the Bluejackets game. The next day Curtis ran an article – “An early-season look at Seattle Kraken team-level and player-level data” – that started with the following bit in the lead:
“However you slice it, every game and point matters, and most Kraken fans are (and should be) watching Kraken hockey with winning in mind.”
I don’t know if it’s coincidence, but he hasn’t posted since.
So you guarantee the Kraken will win the Cup this summer then? Or next?