The Kraken should petition the NHL to play the Flames every game. At such an early stage in the season, it’s a little hard to say if Calgary is that bad or Seattle is that good, but for the second time in two chances against that same opponent, the Kraken rolled to an easy 6-1 win in their home opener Sunday.
“[Scoring goals] obviously gives them the opportunity to gain some confidence that way,” coach Lane Lambert said. “Certainly, we’re making some pretty nice plays, and guys are shooting the puck in the net. So it’s nice to see.”
Mackie Samoskevich scored twice in his home debut, Shane Wright and Berkly Catton showed more chemistry, and Joey Daccord was stellar with 32 saves.
Here are Three Takeaways from a 6-1 Kraken win over the Flames.
Takeaway 1: Mackie was the belle of the ball
That was quite the way for Mackie Samoskevich to “officially” introduce himself to the home Kraken crowd at Climate Pledge Arena.
After a relatively quiet first game for him on the fourth line Saturday in Edmonton, Lambert elevated the 22-year-old offseason acquisition to the first line with Matty Beniers and Jared McCann. That meant Kaapo Kakko moved back down to the line with Berkly Catton and Shane Wright, while Ryan Winterton got bounced back down to the fourth line.
“We had Mackie in there for most of Training Camp,” Lambert said. “I liked what I saw during that time, and I thought [Kaapo Kakko] was good with those kids in Training Camp as well. So we just made the flip. I think that, certainly, Mackie’s speed with McCann and Beniers is helpful for those guys.”
The move worked wonders in this game, with Samoskevich potting his first two goals as a Kraken, and Catton and Wright each getting their respective first goals of the year.
It was Catton who got the scoring started just 2:22 into the game—more on that in Takeaway 2—and Samoskevich who followed it up two minutes later to start ripping out the hearts of Flames players who came in hoping for a bounce-back after two poor outings to start their season.
Samoskevich’s first goal came off a beautifully weighted high flip from Brandon Montour, which sailed about 110 feet and dropped at the far blue line for Samoskevich to skate into. He burned around two defenders, then deked and slipped it through Dustin Wolf.
THE MACK ATTACK! 🚨 Montour with a perfect high flip, and Mackie Samoskevich uses his speed to burn two defenders and slip it through Wolf. First goal as a #SeaKraken for Samoskevich. 2-0 https://t.co/WJ5nlR9bHa
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 5, 2026
“I was going as fast as I could, and then [Flames defenseman Kevin Bahl] fell over, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I definitely can get there,’” Samoskevich said. “I’m glad he fell over, but yeah, it was a good one to start the game for sure.
“That is my game, the speed part of it. I love skating as fast as I can, and when you do that, things like that happen. So I’m just going to keep doing it.”
Mackie’s second goal, which truly put the nail in Calgary’s coffin at 5-0 with 26 seconds left in the second, showed some of the chemistry Lambert saw in Training Camp between McCann, Beniers, and Samoskevich.
Facing even 3-on-3 numbers, McCann recognized he didn’t have a lane in the middle, so he drove wide. He dropped it to Beniers at the top of the left circle, and Beniers one-touched it to Samoskevich driving down the right side. Samoskevich whipped it over Wolf’s left shoulder.
MACK ATTACK IS BACK (for his second goal of the night)! 🚨 🚨 Another great setup. https://t.co/5TnO45AG5T
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 5, 2026
“It feels really good,” Samoskevich said about playing on a line with McCann and Beniers. “I think we played pretty well in that first preseason game too, and I think it’s only getting better. So I’m excited for it.”
Takeaway 2: More chemistry from Wright and Catton
I wondered if moving Winterton off the third line would be a detriment to Wright and Catton, but that wasn’t the case in their first game reunited with Kakko. Instead, the chemistry between Wright and Catton continued to build, and both players came away with a goal, Berkly with two points.
After waiting 27 games to score his first NHL goal last season, Catton scored the very first home goal for the Kraken this season. Off a 3-on-2 rush, Kakko’s pass to Wright got intercepted, but Catton stayed with the play and stole the puck right back from Connor Zary. He then cut to open space in the left circle and flung it against the grain to beat Wolf.
THE LI’L CAT! 🐱 🚨 Broken play off a rush, but Catton sticks with it and flings it over Dustin Wolf’s shoulder. 1-0 #SeaKraken early. https://t.co/IQpjI5Db6V
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 5, 2026
“I think just getting that first goal of the year is always nice to get it out of the way,” Catton said. “It took a little long last year, so it’s nice to get that out of the way and just kind of keep going from there.”
Catton wasn’t done. He got on the scoresheet again when Vince Dunn found him cutting across the offensive blue line. Catton turned on the afterburners and flew down the right flank, then hit the brakes to create a seam and threaded a hard pass to Wright in the slot.
Wright then made a skilled play to A.) catch a hot pass and B.) spin to his backhand and get good wood on a shot that glanced off Zach Whitecloud’s skate and through Wolf’s five-hole.
WRIGHT AS RAIN! ☔️ What. A. Goal. Great drive and pass by Catton, even better finish by Shane Wright. 4-0 #SeaKraken https://t.co/SGXaTFP7zb
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 5, 2026
“I think Shane in front of the net is super dangerous, as we all know,” Catton said. “So if I can get the puck to him in there, good things will happen.”
We’ve talked ad nauseam about how encouraging Training Camp was for Wright and Catton and how they’ve looked in the first couple games, but these guys really do look different this season.
Takeaway 3: Another Joey shutout bid… FOILED!
The Kraken have gotten great goaltending for three straight games to start the season. While Seattle ran away on the scoreboard again in this one, the Flames did have plenty of looks at the net, but Daccord was excellent for the second time in as many outings against them.
He was again closing in on a shutout until Ville Ottavainen high-sticked Yegor Sharangovich at 13:33 of the third period. Morgan Frost converted on the ensuing power play, finally sneaking one by Daccord with 5:35 left in the game.
There is something that happens for goalies on certain nights when, no matter what, it feels like pucks are going to find them and somehow stay out of the net. It was clear from the jump that this was one of those nights for Daccord.
“We love those nights. Yeah, those are the best nights as a goalie,” Daccord said.
Hear from Joey Daccord after a *near* shutout, including his thoughts on hearing #SeaKraken fans chanting his name. https://t.co/8a6Qe4rHe5
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 5, 2026
Of course, it can also go the other way. There are those nights when pucks are going in no matter what, so having them stay out builds confidence.
“There were a couple flurries in the first period that I thought were maybe a little bit frantic, just like chaos in and around the net,” Daccord said. “And sometimes those bounce in, sometimes they don’t, and when they don’t, you start to settle in a little bit. So it was nice to have those go my way.”
Daccord was so sharp on a three-save sequence in the second period that all of Climate Pledge Arena was chanting, “Joey! Joey! Joey!” in perfect unison for a few rounds. While Daccord tried to play it cool and pretend the fans weren’t chanting his name, you could see his posture change slightly in net, indicating he was well aware of what was happening in the building.
Asked what it’s like to have that many people chant his name, Daccord said: “Ah, it’s the best. It’s like the coolest thing ever. I was thinking, actually, during the game, I was like ‘I’ve played a lot of hockey now over the years, and it’s still so cool to be out there.’ And I love just looking around the arena and realizing I’m in the NHL. It’s just the best, and I’m super grateful for every opportunity that I get to play out here and even more grateful when the arena’s supporting me and the team. The Joey chants are my favorite thing in the world. So yeah, it’s great to be back.”
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.
Go Kraken!!!
Last season the Kraken didn’t score six goals in a game until March 15 against Florida… 66 games into the season.
Oops… January 6th against Boston they scored seven, 41 games into the season.
Before the season I mentioned a belief that the Kraken need a guy or two like Beniers, Wright or Catton to elevate into that star or elite level. A couple games in I have a bit more hope that one of them make that leap and be a top 15 in the league type of player. Won’t t this year, but maybe soon if luck is with us fans.
it was a fun game to be at thats for sure. and more than excited to see the young players pop off and all get points early. bobby mcmann is wild to watch, ill forget about him on the ice occasionally right before he has a dangerous rush chance or shot. its interesting, everyone keeps saying the team feels different/looks different this season so far. my fiance even mentioned it and she only kinda pays attention. she say we look “meaner”. but i think she means that the team is playing more aggressively and i agree KINDA. still impossible to gauge on 3 games with 2 of them being against calgary who looks just AWFUL. like…. AWFUL. they played a solid game against edmonton who has their own issues. but its a great start with just about everyone being involved on the score sheet. i also cant believe how much better wright and catton look compared to last year. i knew they would both improve but the krakens version of “The Kid Line” has constantly been a bright spot.
Yes they are definitely attacking more and have a much more aggressive forecheck, every game gives a strong indication that there has been a massive system adjustment from last season.
A big reason we walked away with this was stellar goaltending, very nice to see both goalies playing well off the start.
I see something in catton that I had no idea existed in him. He is looking like the most dangerous player on the team and it’s year two. My take on where his ceiling is has just jumped. Hopefully he can keep it going. If that line keeps it up and gets ice time we should be able to trade Wright or maybe even convince him to stay. I feel the system adjustment is really helping those guys a lot. It was hard last season to be an offensive player and be asked to dump pucks.
It’s waaaay too early to tell if they have improved a lot from last season or if they are just that much better than what could be the worst team in the league. It’s nice for our confidence to play them two of the first three games.
Joey rules.
Looks like the top 3 lines played very similar amount of minutes. Will be interesting to see if that trend continues or if one line starts to break away from the rest.
I don’t think there is anything worth over-analyzing just 3 games into the season with 2 games against a team we’re pretty confident is at the bottom of the league. That said this has been a fun start to the season. Right now it feels like all of the top 3 lines are contributing and in rhythm, the young guys all look like they’ve taken a step, and the new (or newish) additions of McMann and Samoskevich are gelling with the team and producing. This feels like as good a start to the season as we’ve ever seen, lets hope they can keep it rolling.
I didn’t know sports had reruns. That was uncanny. They were the same games in two different cities and on two different days. I even called it beforehand when Calgary got their goal in the third and the Kraken scored thirty seconds later. Well, given that we now have repeatable reults, I feel it is safe to conclude that the Seattle Kraken are just exactly that much better at hockey than the Calgary Flames are.
Another curiosity that I have noticed repeating in these first few games is that Ryan Lindgren has looked really good no matter who he has been paired with (today it was Ville Ottavainen). Was he playing hurt last season, and this is just who he actually is? Man, I hope so, because the penalty kill looks so much better with him playing like this. Whatever it is, I invite folks to keep an eye on him in the next game and see if you don’t come away impressed. …Could it be the beard?
Following Nino’s claim that Ryker Evans has been playing better than I gave him credit for, I paid attention to him in this second Flames game, and, yeah, he looked good enough that it made me wonder if I had seen things right in the Edmonton game. Maybe I was wrong, or maybe it was just the difference between the Flames and the Oilers. It bears another look.
Everyone likes the new-found scoring prowess of the Catton line, but I have to say that they still have one big flaw, and that is board battles. Getting Kaapo Kakko back definitely helped on that front, even if losing Winterton to the Gaudreau line took away some of their speed. Catton is bigger this year and playing well with that extra size, which is great, but he is still lighter than most of his opponents which puts him at a disadvantage along the wall. Wright is still getting boxed out on the wall too often, but when Kakko or Catton can pop the puck out and to the middle of the ice for him Wright looks good positioned in the circle with his deadly shot. Oh my god, that 180 backhand goal of his was gorgeous. And when Wright does win a board battle, the play that follows tends to be a dangerous one. I would say that Wright and Catton have gotten better enough at board battles that they actually have the opportunity to allow their puck skills to come into play now. They are not good at them yet, but they are better than they were before.
Love to the Stephenson line for some teriffic checking (the turnovers they created!) and to the Dunn/Larsson pair who continue to have a hot start to the season. And I haven’t even mentioned Samoskevich or Daddord. It was a good day.
Two decisive wins against a “bad” team and a close fought one against a “contender.” Not sure we can expect a better start than that, can we?
It was interesting when certain people in hockey media thought trading away the 24th pick and a 2nd for Mackie Samoskevich was a terrible idea, or just neutral at best. Why would you want a reliable 23 year old who’s loved by his teammates and has already won a Cup when you could have…a couple of 17/18 year old lottery tickets? Common wisdom seems to be Seattle didn’t shake things up enough to improve the team in the offseason. You’re supposed to make big moves every year, in both roster and coaching staff, so you can overhaul your team to greatness.
Go Kraken!!
I think the thing is about Samoskevich is that if there is anything that the Kraken are overloaded with is middle six forwards. Trading away our picks for another middle six forward is possibly a little puzzling.
Now if he truly is as good as he looked last game it will be the steal of the century… it’s hard to criticize the media if he excels on the kraken they don’t have a crystal ball, just past info to look at. we’re basically one game into his kraken term (not counting his limited min 4th line start), time will tell. It’s a little early to say anyone was right or wrong.
Hopefully he is the real deal and FL was just mismanaging him? That would be a real boost for the kraken especially if Catton can keep rolling.
Right. Florida mismanaged him all the way to a Cup victory.
Do you get NHL middle 6 players for 24th and 2nd round picks? Assuming that’s what he is. I just think he’s a good hockey player.
Yes that’s about the cost of a middle six player….
Yeah having him play limited minutes was definitely the reason they won the cup… you hit that one out of the park.
Can you guarantee it? Seattle definitely would have gotten a “middle-6” for those picks?
Again…he’s just a good hockey player. You can call him whatever you want. Top line…middle-6…bottom-6…it doesn’t matter. And yes, on a Cup team, a bunch of good players are getting differing amounts of ice time, especially when they are 21-22 years old. He never looked out of place.
Well yes I can guarantee it because well that’s what they got, he was a middle six player. Was this a trick question I’m confused?
If he excels in Seattle and he becomes more that then they did a great job in this trade. One game in looking good.
Got it. Botterill was on his 5th martini throwing darts. Good thing you’re here to remind us that if the Kraken ever do anything that appears on the surface to be good, we will need to wait and see if the dumb luck played out.
I’m not nor have I ever said that Botterill wasn’t trying to make a good trade and the way he spoke of him he obviously thought it was a good trade.
We see GM’a make good and bad trades all the time… they are never trying to make a bad trade. I’d hope not anyway.
That has nothing to do with what he was… a middle six player. Add to that a middle six player on a team with tons of injuries and was really really bad last season. Really makes you wonder why some people questioned this trade… 🤔
I’m actually slightly encouraged this season so far and have my fingers crossed that it’s not just Calgary… we appear to be playing a much better system that is getting a strong forecheck going. Wasn’t so last season. There actually looks like maybe we have a GM that is capable of building a roster.. I’d never have expected that he just seemed like another RF. Catton is looking like he might be the real deal. We have started the season this needs a little more time to develop and we need more time to evaluate, but I’m optimistically encouraged.
All this doesn’t change the fact that he was a third liner getting limited minutes though sorry.
It’s only three games, but…
Like you said G, two dominating wins over a team they’re supposedly no better than AND tied with less than three minutes remaining against a team that is supposedly 30+ standings points better than them.
It looks to me like they’re doing it with all the things they’re supposed to: speed, pressure, growth and goaltending. On the goaltending, it’s been outstanding, but it didn’t create 13 goals from 10 different skaters in three games. It’s become “fashionable” say they’re relying on the netminders… I think that’s nonsense.
Goaltending has been fantastic! And we always said “if only the Kraken could just get AVERAGE goaltending.” We are finally recovered from the travesty of Season One when Hakstol stubbornly played Grubauer night in and out like he was an elite starting goalie (I suspect just based on his contract amount) instead of fostering a tandem and some friendly competition with Driedger. I have a strong belief Gru is an excellent backup and probably also thrives in a 1A/1B environment, where he isn’t the guy solely relied upon to save the franchise. His role and salary weren’t well aligned with what they should have been. He just seems more like a supportive personality type. It’s great to see!
I was worried about playing Calgary to start the season (they still hold a 7-2-1 record at CPA) so I am relieved to Kraken beat them 6:1 twice!
Was it just me, or was Curtis Douglas out there almost every time Martin Pospisil touched the ice?
One thing that jumped out during the player introductions was how loud of a pop that Wright got. I think the fans were letting him know we want him to succeed and stay. Was the polar opposite of a Larkin being booed out of the barn. Hopefully he finds success and recognizes the fans are rooting for him and embraces the team again.
Of course Joey and Monty got the loudest cheers but Mcmann got a lot of love too.