When the home team is down 5-0 entering the third period, you assume things are over, and the rest will be boring to watch. With that scenario in place Tuesday for the Seattle Kraken, who were getting spanked by the Vegas Golden Knights on home ice through 40 minutes, a good chunk of the fans in attendance did not return to their seats for the final frame.
No, the Kraken didn’t mount a miraculous comeback, but the third period was anything but boring.
There were shenanigans galore, Seattle scored twice (Vegas scored another), and the final horn left us wanting more of this Vegas/Seattle matchup. Alas, these teams won’t meet again until January.
“I really liked our fight to the end,” Lambert said. “You don’t want to have a home game where, certainly, you’re losing 5-0 after two periods and fans start to leave. I’m proud of our team for coming out in the third period and continuing to battle right down to the bitter end, including some pushback and things like that. I think there was a lot to be said for that. I think that was a good step for us.”
It ended up being a stat-padding night for Vegas, with Mark Stone getting a Gordie Howe hat trick, Tomas Hertl and Jack Eichel each racking up four points, and Victor Olofsson scoring twice before leaving with an injury on a bad hit from Ben Meyers.
Here are Three Takeaways from a 6-2 Kraken loss to the Golden Knights.
Takeaway 1: A comedy of errors
This might sound crazy, but I didn’t think the Kraken looked as bad in this game as a 6-2 final would suggest. They came out fast and dictated the tempo in the first few minutes, but despite several looks at the Vegas net, Carter Hart stood tall and kept the Kraken off the board.
But halfway through the opening period, the Golden Knights started getting some chances, and Seattle started slapping the puck around, failing to connect on passes and struggling to get it out of their zone.
Unsurprisingly, Vegas eventually converted, with Olofsson scoring his first of two goals on the night, deflecting a Rasmus Andersson blast past Joey Daccord at 13:02 of the first. Tomas Hertl added a power-play goal at 15:58, and the Kraken were officially in “chase” mode.
You knew it wasn’t going to be Seattle’s night when Mark Stone scored a shorthanded goal to make it 3-0 at 1:43 of the second. The Kraken had gone onto the power play to start the period, a good chance to get back into the game. With an open look, Brandon Montour took a huge windup, ready to launch a puck toward Hart from the right point. Instead, his stick exploded, creating a 2-on-1 for Jack Eichel and Stone against a stickless Montour.
3-0 Vegas. Short-handed goal by Mark Stone off a terrible… break… for the Kraken. Montour wound up for a slap shot, and his stick exploded, creating a 2-on-1 against a stickless defenseman. https://t.co/WsjHxTbCgY
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 7, 2026
Mix in some more mismanagement of the puck—like Bobby McMann’s fumble at the offensive blue line to give Eichel a breakaway goal—plus Daccord’s off night (he allowed five goals on 21 shots and was pulled for Philipp Grubauer in the third period), and a decent effort turns into a lopsided result.
Takeaway 2: Shenanigans galore
Seattle did get on the board in the third period, with Shane Wright scoring for the second game in a row and Jared McCann breaking through for his first of the year in garbage time. But what made the third period interesting were all the shenanigans, of which there were many.
For context, it’s worth noting that Marc Gatcomb boarded Ryan Lindgren 15 seconds into the game. I’m not saying that started the extracurriculars, but it definitely contributed to the bad blood, because although Lindgren played the first period, he didn’t return for the second. The teams played on from there with no immediate response from Seattle.
Things ratcheted up, though, when Ben Meyers caught Olofsson in an awkward position along the side boards. Olofsson went down awkwardly and was injured to the point that he needed help getting off the ice.
Ben Meyers catches Victor Olofsson in an awkward position and injures him. Olofsson needed help getting off the ice. Looked pretty bad. Meyers got a 5-minute major and a game misconduct for boarding. #SeaKraken #VegasBorn https://t.co/hVZc6wk8Bc
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 7, 2026
Seattle was already on the PK at that point, and Meyers was given a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for boarding. Some pushing and shoving occurred immediately, but proceedings really took a turn when Montour challenged Stone during the ensuing 5-on-3 Vegas power play.
Montour had a remarkably honest response when I asked him after the game what led to him dropping the gloves with Stone. The below is worth a watch.
#SeaKraken #VegasBorn https://t.co/bCl3XAP7Ml
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 7, 2026
Stone corroborated that statement, saying that Montour had been saying some things about his team that he “didn’t like.”
The third period only got chippier from there, with old friend Jeremy Lauzon cheap-shotting Shane Wright when he was down on the ice, and Ryan Winterton avenging Lindgren by dropping his gloves with Gatcomb.
Even more fisticuffs! 🥊 Ryan Winterton takes on Marc Gatcomb immediately following a #SeaKraken goal https://t.co/JnjclMsQwX
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 7, 2026
Takeaway 3: Lots to learn
I was feeling good about this team after the first three games, in which Seattle dominated a bad Calgary team twice and narrowly lost to Edmonton. A 6-2 loss to Vegas is a bitter dose of perspective, but I’m not yet convinced we’ll see ugly losses like that all season.
Like I said, I didn’t think the gameplay was as crooked as the scoreboard in this one. Seattle just made a bunch of mistakes that got compounded by bad breaks, like Montour’s ill-timed stick explosion, and the Golden Knights capitalized, as they do.
“There’s lots to learn from this game,” Lambert said. “There’s certain things that— like I said this morning, things that matter most are the things that maybe you can’t measure on the stat sheet.”
Now, the Kraken will head out on a long road trip to the East Coast, on which we’ll get a better idea of exactly who they are.
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.
Ugh.
On to Detroit.
It is probably a good thing that last night wasn’t the game where they gave each fan a wooden charcuterie board.
LOL!!
I really could have used it. The VGK fans near us were beyond obnoxious.
I hated that game for so many reasons. Let’s start with the elephant in the room. The hit Ben Meyers threw on Victor Olafsson was disgraceful, unjustifiable, and completely uncalled for. Yeah, Ryan Lindgren got hurt by what may or may not have been a dirty play, but Olafsson didn’t do that. He definitely didn’t deserve to get Gordie Howe’d; all he did was play good hockey. If Meyers gets a suspension, it will be justice.
That brings me to the second reason to hate that game. Ryan Lindgren had been outstanding in the first three games, and it looked like he was about to have a big bounce-back year after a few tough, injury-filled seasons both here and in New York. Getting boarded and possibly taking a concussion is just the worst thing that could have happened to him, and I really hope he was not hurt as badly as it seems he was not just because he is good at hockey but because the man deserves better after all he has been through.
One other lousy thing was the line judge holding down Vince Dunn’s arms while he was getting punched in the face. Breaking up a fight is all well and good, but don’t get a guy hurt by taking away his ability to defend himself. The refs have always treated Dunn in a suspect manner, and this was just another example.
Oh, and the hockey stunk. All Vegas did was stay on top of the play and forecheck through the neutral zone, and that was all it took to take away Seattle’s offense. They couldn’t complete passes, and puck carriers were getting themselves stuck in with three opponents at once. I am glad that there is a two-day break, because they are going to need to study this game. Also, the Kraken looked lazy and careless through two periods and only turned it on once the game was already effectively over. But, again, that may just have been them trying to figure out how to play when the opponent doesn’t just surrender center ice.
Good things? There weren’t many. I liked Ryan Winterton’s game as well as his fight, brief as it was. He checked well and was competent with the puck on a night when few others were. He is too good for fourth-line minutes. Dunn and Larsson continue to play good hockey and make for a top pair that a good portion of the rest of the league no doubt finds enviable. Too bad they had to be broken up when Lindgren got hurt. Grubauer was awesome once again, and I would really like to see him get more home games.
This shouldn’t cause any despair, but there aren’t many ways to view this other than that was like watching two teams play each other from two different leagues. Vegas obviously could care less about developing young players, for example. They look like a team possessed by one very simple objective. The irony is half the readers here would lose their minds if Seattle acquired ANY of those players, and probably rightly so. Marner and Eichel would be too old, for example. Should put things in perspective with regard to timeline.
I’ve never specifically considered it this way, but you could say the NHL is two different leagues in one. There is a “top league” with probably 8 teams, and a “lower league” of 24 teams. Teams can get promoted and relegated over time, and sometimes a lower tier team comes from nowhere and wins it all. Maybe the trick is not becoming stuck as a lower league team that just develops players for the top league.
There was a rather interesting article in Daily Faceoff today by Paul Pidutti. He noted over the last 15 years –
In the four years before their title runs, every Cup winner:
Made the playoffs at least three times. That means four (or five) postseason trips in five years.
Won at least three playoff series. At a minimum, each made the final eight teams multiple times.
This season there are just six teams that meet that qualification of “contender”. Both Edmonton and Vegas are in that six.
Another thing about the Pidutti article – it points out something of a “fallacy” I hear a lot:
“…they’re not one player away from being a contender.”
No team outside the playoffs is “one player away” from being a contender. It’s a process. There are, however, organizations that are one player away from being a playoff team and moving towards being a contender. Personally, I think Seattle is one of those teams and adding that “one player” is an important next step.
Interesting. Is it a 2027 draft pick (or someone already in the system), a 20-25 year old (Catton to Kakko range) or a 25+ year old?
I don’t think so, you could say every team is one player away from being better. The kraken are still early in the process and not one player away from anything meaningful.
Can we just keep playing Calgary.
Two wins against a low quality team and 2 loses from good experienced teams should tell you all you need to know about the Kraken
Really? I feel like games at the extremes (tankers/contenders) actually doesn’t tell you much about what you need to know about the Kraken. I think their next game against Detroit will be their most “telling” so far.
It’s not that simple and don’t pretend like it is.
if you cant run up the score, full up the fight card. honestly i didnt really know what kind of game i was watching until montours stick broke. thats when i knew that getting back into the game was a looooong shot. however, im glad i kept watching for a few goals and a few fights. like i said before the season started, if we arent going to win a lot of games i want other teams to absolutely hate playing here and playing against the kraken. not a fan of the meyers hit especially with how zonked olaffson was but yknow… eff vegas. in both games we lost we spent a lof of time in the penalty box, i wonder what a clean game against these teams looks like. may still lose but spending the first period on your heels doesnt help getting into a rhythm
Spot on Darren. There were some things to like about this game. Vegas is just that good when they’re on and they were most definitely on last night. You can see why they swept Colorado last year. They swarm the puck and give you zero space to operate in. Seattle did have a few pushes here and there and I think the Kakko, Catton Wright line looked dangerous at times once again, but there’s a difference in quality up and down the line ups.
One observation from this game is that the kraken are small. Could Douglas have made a difference? Not so sure. Beniers needs someone with size on his line.
Meanwhile in NYC, Tolvanen has 3 goals, Bjorkstrand put 2 in last night, Kartye is putting in serious minutes on the PK and has 2 assists. For a team that ended last season just behind Seattle in the standings, and is now the youngest roster in the league, the Rangers look a heck of a lot closer to a playoff spot than the Kraken.
Personally, I don’t care where New York is. I like Samoskevich, the guy they got with the 1st from the Bjorkstrand trade and I’m not sure whose minutes I’d want Tolvanen taking. Same with Kartye.
I think getting rid of Kartye was a mistake, he’s young and exactly the type of player that any team would want on their 4th line. He could take Meyers minutes all day long.
Against zero cup contending teams. I get some people want to be angry but cmon man. It’s also interesting you want to get younger and didn’t name a single player under 25. Moving on from Bjorkstrand and Tolvy have allowed us to get better. Bjorkstrand Got us part of Samoskevich and next years Tampa 1st who despite playing 2 less games has the same number of goals.
Further proof yall are WAY over indexing on one game for the Kraken.
They should be. They have been at this significantly longer. They’ve built an impressive roster, despite losing some key pieces along the way themselves. Last season seemed weird for them, sort of like the Leafs, who should be in that 8-team “top league” but somehow get a first overall draft pick.
This game was so hard to sit through. Lambert must not have noticed that the fans really did leave during the 2nd. It was just a pull back to reality. They seemed ill prepared, on their heels and just trying to keep up, until the 3rd and then they were too tired to keep up. I thought Grubauer was excellent. I think the goalie tandem will be good this year. Despite VGK being older than Kraken they skated circles around them. I was worried about Catton getting targeted but he seemed to dodge, dip, duck, dive, and dodge his way out of things. Oh hockey, why are you so cruel?
Working a Dodgeball quote into hockey comment, that’s the highlight for this game!! 4 Stars.
its the name of one of my fantasy hockey teams lol
Came here to see some gross overreactions to one bad game. Did not leave disappointed. Also funny to see people compare this to the Edmonton game and the games couldn’t be any different. They laid a stinker against Vegas. They played sloppy on the second and paid for it while also suffering from some comically bad luck. Joey also didn’t look good. He didn’t look god awful but he didn’t make saves when the team needed him to. Compare that to Edmonton where they shut down the leagues arguably too best players who both had obscene amounts of ice time and only walked away empty handed because of a fluky bounce.
Chill folks
Well said Koist.
I agree…
Go Kraken!!!