April is here and the regular season enters its final month. The Seattle Kraken have nine games remaining and sit just three points out of a playoff spot. The vibes around the team have been low since the Olympic break, thanks to Seattle going a dismal 5-10-2 in that stretch. Only the Vancouver Canucks have fared worse in the NHL, going 4-11-2. Coincidentally, two of the Kraken’s five wins came against Vancouver.
At the beginning of the season, few believed the Kraken could contend for a playoff position. Fans told me they just wanted meaningful hockey in March and April. Well, we are here, and they got their wish. The Kraken are in the hunt for a wild-card spot. Watching them lose stings, but a path to the playoffs still exists.
Six-team race
Six teams are realistically chasing the final playoff spot: Nashville, Los Angeles, Winnipeg, San Jose, St. Louis and Seattle. The good news? No team has taken charge. St. Louis and Winnipeg have surged back into the picture, but the race remains wide open.
There is still hope. The Kraken hold the tiebreakers against most teams, with only St. Louis having more regulation wins at 27. Seattle is tied for second with Nashville and Winnipeg at 25 regulation wins but owns the second tiebreaker with 31 total wins. The way games are trending, the playoff cutoff line is tracking toward 86 points.
If the cutoff line ends up at 86 points, that would tie the mark for the lowest point total for a playoff team since the wild-card format debuted in the 2013-14 season. For the seasons shortened by COVID (2019-20 and 2020-2021), the values above reflect projected points over 82 games.
Strength of schedule favors Seattle
Another positive: the Kraken’s remaining strength of schedule. I looked at each team’s points percentage since the Olympic break and averaged their remaining opponents. The Kraken have the second-easiest schedule among the six teams in the hunt.
With the Kraken sitting at 75 points, they need 11 more to reach the projected 86-point cutoff. That means five wins and an overtime loss in nine games. Going 5-3-1 would cut it close, and then they’d likely have to lean on the tiebreakers. Any point total of 86 or more would help, but let’s start with 5-3-1 as a surmountable target. Losses will happen, but for the moment, we will spot the Kraken three losses, so that not every game feels like a must-win (though a 9-0 finish would work too).
Updated tiers
With roughly two weeks left in the regular season, the tiers matter less than they did before. However, here is the April update.
The Kraken’s remaining nine games all come against Western Conference opponents.
Playoff-bound teams
Minnesota and Colorado, both on the road are the two games the Kraken face in this tier. Minnesota has played .500 hockey since the Olympic break at 7-7-2, making them beatable. Colorado has dominated at 12-6-1 since the break. However, the Kraken face the Avalanche in the regular-season finale. Colorado currently holds an eight-point lead in the Presidents’ Trophy race and have a game in hand. By that final game, the Avalanche may rest their starters, giving the Kraken an edge. It could also be an interesting game because if the Kraken make the playoffs, Colorado is the most likely first-round matchup. Target: two points.
Bubble teams
Seattle will play five games against Utah, Winnipeg, Los Angeles and Vegas twice. Playing Vegas twice means the Kraken could create a four-point swing. Vegas has managed only a 6-10-2 record for a .389 points percentage since the break, which led to the firing of Bruce Cassidy and the hiring of John Tortorella. The Kraken will hope Vegas continues to slide rather than getting a boost from a new-coach bump.
Los Angeles and Winnipeg carry extra weight as the only Kraken games against wild-card hopefuls. Also, Utah holds a five-point cushion but does not want to slip and open another wild-card spot for teams to fight over. Target: seven points.
Tanker teams
Two games remain in this tier: Chicago and Calgary. The Flames have been winning lately, sitting at .500 since the break (8-8-2). Oddly, the Kraken hold a .462 points percentage against tanker teams this season, their worst category. They have played better against the Playoff Bound tier (.533) and Bubble tier (.522). Target: two points, but four would be ideal.
What if the Kraken fall short?
Making the playoffs is the goal, and the Kraken have a slim but realistic path to get there. If they fall short, though, the news is not all bad. Pacific Division point totals this season trail the rest of the league. Anaheim leads the division with 87 points and sits fourth in the Western Conference, yet that total would not earn a playoff spot in the East. Columbus currently holds the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot with 88 points.
How does that help Seattle? The Kraken sit 26th in the league standings. If the season ended today, they would be in line for the seventh overall pick before the draft lottery. At seventh, the Kraken would have a slim chance at moving up to the first overall pick, but getting any top-10 pick would be a good consolation prize.
The final push
Nine games stand between the Kraken and the end of the regular season. The math is simple: go 5-3-1 or better and the playoffs are within reach.
Before the Olympic break, the Kraken played some of their best hockey of the season. Seattle went 11-6-2 in calendar year 2026 heading into the break, a stretch that vaulted them into the playoff conversation. Since the break, they have slipped. A 5-10-2 record tells the story of a team struggling to recapture its rhythm.
The good news is the Kraken do not need to be perfect; they need to be the team they were before the break. An 11-6-2 pace over nine games translates to roughly a 5-3-1 clip. That gets them to 86 points and in the playoff conversation and maybe their tie-breakers push them over the top.
Now the question is whether they can find that level one more time when it matters most. The path is there. Nine games to take it.
It will not be easy. The Kraken have won just five of their last 17 games, but they have the tiebreakers, the schedule, and a proven stretch of winning hockey to draw from. The opportunity is real.
Blaiz Grubic
Blaiz Grubic is a contributor at Sound Of Hockey. A passionate hockey fan and player for over 30 years, Blaiz grew up in the Pacific Northwest and is an alumni of Washington State University (Go Cougs!). When he’s not playing, watching, or writing about hockey, he enjoys quality time with his wife and daughter or getting out on a golf course for a quick round. Follow @blaizg on BlueSky or X.