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?