With nothing else going on in the Seattle sports world on Monday, the Kraken had the full attention of the local sports fandom (right?). Sadly for those fans, the guys on the ice didn’t have their best against the Flyers and fell 5-2 in Philadelphia.
“Not sharp. We were not sharp,” Kraken coach Lane Lambert said. “It wasn’t our best effort, that’s for sure. We have to be better.”
It was a night of firsts: Berkly Catton’s first NHL game and point, the first time the Kraken trailed by more than a goal this season, and their first regulation loss of the year.
Here are Three Takeaways from a 5-2 Kraken defeat to the Flyers.
Takeaway #1: Berkly Catton immediately gets on the scoresheet
The Kraken were already injury-riddled before they announced Monday morning that their best goal scorer, Jared McCann, was out day to day with a lower-body injury. McCann joined an ever-growing injury ward that already housed Kaapo Kakko, Ryker Evans, and Freddy Gaudreau, while Seattle also continues to miss Brandon Montour, who is away from the team on a temporary leave of absence for personal reasons.
McCann being out meant five regular players were unavailable for this game.
In stepped 19-year-old top prospect Berkly Catton, who had been waiting in the wings as a healthy scratch since breaking training camp with the team. With his parents in the building after flying from Saskatoon to Calgary to Atlanta to Philadelphia, Catton got on the scoresheet just seven minutes into his first NHL game.
Featuring wholesome Catton parent content…
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 20, 2025
The goal is now Eberle from Fleury and Catton, BTW. #SeaKraken https://t.co/LzqI8oDUx8 pic.twitter.com/ArRfXxkAnC
Matty Beniers hustled to the corner to pick off a bad Vladar clearing attempt, then rimmed it around to Catton at the right hash marks. Catton simply pulled it off the wall and tapped it to Cale Fleury at the point, who ripped a shot toward goal. Eberle got a piece of it, and just like that, Catton became the fourth Kraken player to record a point in his regular-season debut.
“I think my first touch of the game was an assist, so that was pretty cool,” Catton said.
I do believe the Kraken were trying to keep him as a healthy scratch long enough to make him eligible for a rehab stint in the AHL. But with McCann out, that forced the Kraken’s hand and pushed Catton into the lineup.
All in all, it was a solid first outing for the youngster, who nearly scored in the second period and didn’t have any glaring turnovers or costly mistakes, finishing plus-one in 13:49 of ice time.
Takeaway #2: Tough night for Joey
On a night when the Kraken were facing Dan Vladar—a backup goalie who has oddly had Seattle’s number since their inception—their own netminder, Joey Daccord, had an uncharacteristically rough night.
Daccord allowed five goals on 21 shots through two periods before being lifted and replaced by Philipp Grubauer.
Two of the goals against, both scored by the red-hot, red-headed Owen Tippett, were of the “wanted that one back” variety. The first of those came just two minutes after Eberle had given the Kraken an early 1-0 lead.
As a dumped-in puck rattled around behind the Seattle net, Daccord corralled it and had options, with Jamie Oleksiak and Ryan Lindgren both available in the corners. He waited far too long to make a decision, though, and by the time he went to move it, Sean Couturier snuck up behind him and stripped him of the puck. It eventually got to Tippett, who chipped it into an open net.
1st period is in the books. 2-1 Flyers. #SeaKraken jumped out to a 1-0 lead, scored by Jordan Eberle and created by Berkly Catton's first career point.
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 20, 2025
But then Philly took advantage of a Joey Daccord Adventure™️ (video of that here) and added a PPG. pic.twitter.com/L9HsWVU5Ch
The other stinker was the one that effectively sealed the game for the Flyers. Seattle had gotten back within two goals after falling behind 4-1. If the Kraken had scored again before the second intermission, they might have entered miracle comeback territory. Instead, off a 3-on-3 rush with four minutes left in the frame, Tippett threw it at Daccord from a sharp angle. Reading pass, Daccord got too deep in his net and left the short side open. The puck squeezed through.
5-2 Flyers. Joey gets too deep in his net, and it leaks through.
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 21, 2025
Owen Tippett's second of the game. pic.twitter.com/D7X71iPXdX
Grubauer came in for the third period and looked solid. It will be interesting to see what the Kraken do in goal Tuesday for their first back-to-back of the season. Does Grubi go right back in after stopping six of six shots Monday? Or does Matt Murray get his first look of the season?
Meanwhile, at the other end of the ice, Vladar improved to 7-1-1 all time against the Kraken.
Takeaway #3: Jani Nyman is a weapon on the power play
…but we already knew that.
Jani Nyman’s utilization in a fourth-line role with no power-play time to start the season wasn’t particularly bothersome to me—except that it didn’t give him many chances to showcase his best asset: his howitzer of a shot.
With injuries piling up and Nyman’s steady play earning him more trust, he’s quietly worked his way up the lineup at 5-on-5 and, with McCann out, finally got a look on the power play Monday.
After scoring at even strength on Saturday in Toronto, Nyman cashed in again against Philly, this time on the power play after Beniers pulled a loose puck out of a bevy of humanity and snapped it over to an open Nyman, who sent it home for his third goal of the season.
LI'L JANI! 🚨
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 21, 2025
Beniers pulls a loose puck out of the pile, and Jani Nyman scores for the second game in a row. PPG.
4-2 Flyers pic.twitter.com/1HbOBb5Ppj
It was a smart play by Beniers to recognize that with the puck in the slot, all four Flyers penalty killers had collapsed to try to gain control. Once it squirted out to Matty, he didn’t force it back into the pile. Instead, he pulled it out and passed it to Nyman, who had the much better angle.
Back to Nyman… It was especially fun to see him rip two one-timers in a row in the third period, one that rang hard off the glass and another that rang even harder off the post.
Yeah, Jani Nyman on the power play is fun. pic.twitter.com/uO1ou5vC76
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 21, 2025
One would have to think that Nyman—and his wicked shot—will get more opportunities with the man advantage moving forward.
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.
Four thoughts:
1. With Catton’s parents in the building tonight and Wright’s grandparents in a prior game, they both seem to do well. Need to keep those relatives coming.
2. As I said last time, I do not understand the Joey over-usage when you are carrying three goalies. Tonight should have been a MM game.
3. Now that the Catton to the AHL plan is in ruins for the time being, I wonder if they try to use up his 9 games.
4. Seemed like there was less structure this game. Hope that is just from the long road trip. Will see tonight.
Was that Joey’s worst game ever? I thought the 2nd goal he gave up was also pretty bad. He just got beat clean after having plenty of time to get in position.
I thought it was by far. He had an awful GSAx and I’d argue 3 of those goals were stinkers.
Hello, Kraken 2023-2025. I hope I never see you again.
It felt like we were due for a stinker. It was positive to see Lindgren stick up for Karts after he got leveled. I do see today as a big test for the team. Can they bounce back from a rough day with a strong performance on the second game of a back to back?
Also I hope its not a bad sign for McCann’s status that Ben Meyers just got called up from CV. Though it is positive for Monty that Ville O is getting sent back down.
A couple of good fights last night. And the Kraken’s first trip to Washington after last season’s 10-in-the-box line brawl.
Oops…should be “and the game tonight is the Kraken’s first trip to Washington…”
Kudos to the guys for staying tough and never backing down from the physicality, although the bruises and cuts that they earned could likely use another day or two of recovery time. It no doubt hurt for them, but their toughness and fight should give them pride. I will cast no shade on Philly for playing tough. They hit hard and fought but were not playing with intent to injure. I appreciate that as opposed to the dirty crap pulled by the Calgarys and the Anaheims of the league.
Joey needs a few days, I think. That was an ugly start. Grubauer had a very good third, but after pulling a relief I would like to see Murray get the Caps game. Then let Grubauer take the next one. They have three guys, which can be an advantage in long road trips like this one. Take advantage, I say.
LOL, the Mariners Marinered again. Did anyone from Seattle not see a late game seven collapse coming when they won game five? It was as predictable as Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown. Hey, maybe they will outlast the Curse of the Billy Goat. At least it would be a piece of baseball history.
Kartye looked positively green when they were checking him out on the bench after the hit that sparked the Lindgren fight. Wouldn’t be surprised if he lost his Gatorade off-camera. Glad to see that he returned to the game and (hopefully) wasn’t added to the walking wounded.
Of course the Mariners Couged it! You can’t be a sports fan in Seattle without being extremely intimate with the agony of defeat.
While I despise Mariners’ ownership, I’ll start mocking the team only when the Kraken make it to the Western Conference finals – or even just consistently compete for a playoff spot. The Kraken ownership should consider the Mariners recent history as aspirational.
The took 18 years for the Mariners to even make it to the playoffs. The most post-season games they’ve ever won in a single season is 6. By those numbers, the Kraken have already beaten them.
As a lifelong Mariner fan from day one, 49 years and the only team in MLB that never been to the World Series. It’s tough, but life goes on….
I believe the Kraken will win the Stanley Cup before the Mariners ever play in the World Series.
Go Kraken!!!
All these injuries (and other leaves) are unfortunately taking their toll. Being without Montour and Gaudreau is especially painful, as these are two “heart and soul” type guys who really help set the tone. Not much we can do there.
Berkly looked pretty good in his first game! I thought his most impressive shift was when he made the cross seam pass right onto Larsson’s stick creating a wide open scoring chance. Of course, Larsson isn’t really the type of guy to bury an opportunity like that on many nights, but still awesome seeing the potential (like if it were Canner, Jani or Monty receiving that pass).
Regarding goalies, it would be great to get Murray going before we find ourselves in a situation where we REALLY need him. He’s potentially a better goalie than Grubauer (maybe by a large margin) so I don’t see the point of having him warm the bench or wear street clothes night in an out. This is starting to remind me of the goalie gaffs of season 1, where Grubauer was knighted the one and only goalie of any merit for unknown reasons…other than maybe he was highest paid, which is a ridiculous reason.
Great series! Jays definitely deserved the win, especially after shelling the M’s for two games in a “pitcher’s ballpark” in Seattle to even the series. Interesting to contemplate at one point the M’s only had to win 2 (going back to Seattle for 3) and the Jays 4 to take the series. That’s sports.
That no-look cross ice pass at speed from Catton was sweet!
I haven’t seen any reports, but I assume they’ve been planning to start Murray tonight and that’s why they had Gru on the bench last night. While running with three goalies is a pain, it does allow them to avoid something that bit them twice last season when Joey had to play in both games of a back-to-back (over 50 minutes once) because they had to pull Gru.
Even though last night was a tough loss it didn’t look like last season’s team or the one from the first period against Anaheim. On the whole they did a good job, I thought, of controlling the puck and play but a few horrendous breakdowns got them. I know it’s a bit of nonsense, but the MoneyPuck Deserve To Win O’Meter gave a slight edge to the Kraken. With five guys out this performance didn’t dent my optimism.
Go Kraken!!!
I like the optimism for sure. We probably have around 25+ more losses and the season is early.
I noticed a lot of unnecessary give aways by the Kraken. Particularly by Oleksiak. Luckily I think we can clean that up, and I feel confident Lane has his finger on the pulse of that.
Good to see Murray in net tonight, and Berkly getting his second game.