The Kraken didn’t make it easy on themselves, taking seven penalties in the game and giving up a goal in the first six minutes for the eighth consecutive contest. But they rode an impressive night from their penalty kill and another strong performance by Philipp Grubauer to a desperately needed 4-1 win over the Islanders.
Vince Dunn and Jared McCann were especially impressive on the offensive end of the ice, and the fourth line chipped in yet again to help coach Lane Lambert defeat the team that fired him almost exactly two years ago to the day.
“It’s been two years. So, I mean, I have a lot of good memories from being in the New York Islanders organization,” Lambert said. “We had a lot of success in that organization when I was there. There’s not that many players left, I guess, that were there; there’s eight or nine, I guess. But certainly, those guys, we went through a lot of battles together. It was nice to see some of them pregame a little bit, just to say ‘hi,’ but when the game starts… it did feel good to beat them, there’s no question about it, but it felt better just to get a win. We need to get on track.”
Here are Three Takeaways from a 4-1 Kraken win over the Islanders.
Takeaway 1: A BIG night for the penalty kill
Penalties were the name of this game, with Seattle finding itself shorthanded for six of the first eight minutes of the contest and then four more times over the course of the night. After conceding an Anthony Duclair marker on the first penalty just 2:38 into the game, Seattle’s penalty killers recovered and put together a remarkable showing the rest of the way.
2:38. 2…. 38.
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) January 22, 2026
Anthony Duclair power-play goal… at 2:38.
1-0 Isles. pic.twitter.com/pRCilcJ0Bd
Despite the early goal against, Seattle padded its PK stats in this one, finishing at an 86 percent success rate and nudging the season-long number up slightly to 72.6 percent—still good for just 30th in the NHL.
“I thought our structure was good,” Lambert said. “And so for them, they were looking for some passing lanes, some seams and things like that, and we were taking those situations away, which stopped them from shooting at times. The other thing is that I thought we had some great commitment. We did block some shots in that situation, so you have to have that if you’re going to have success on the penalty kill.”
What was especially important, though, was that after Seattle gave up the Duclair goal, it killed off two more penalties in quick succession to avoid going into a deeper hole. Then the power play capitalized on a 5-on-3 opportunity at the other end to tie the game 1-1.
Early in that 5-on-3 advantage, the Islanders got a clear and sent the puck the length of the ice. What I loved was that McCann sprinted all the way down to retrieve it but—recognizing the situation and the numerical advantage the Kraken had—didn’t wait for his teammates to regroup for a controlled breakout. Instead, he flew straight through the neutral zone and re-gained the offensive zone, and then it felt like just a matter of time before Seattle scored.
Sure enough, a McCann shot was blocked but skipped to Dunn at the top of the circle, who fired it back toward Ilya Sorokin. Dunn’s shot hit Matty Beniers in front and found its way in at 10:40 of the first period.
MATTY MAGIC! 🚨
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) January 22, 2026
On a 5-on-3, McCann's shot got blocked, but it caromed right to Vince Dunn, who got a deflection off Beniers and in.
1-1 #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/I8T9Xcd4YF
“I thought even just in zone, we were just attacking and being a threat when we could,” Dunn said. “Jared was shooting a lot of pucks, and sometimes you get guys out of position when you’re shooting pucks, maybe they go down to block it, and it bounces somewhere a little funny, and then you get a better look from there.”
Added Lambert: “We clearly have to stay out of the box. We can’t take that many penalties. I don’t necessarily know if they were all penalties, but they were called, and having given up the first goal early on, I thought our power play did a great job of capitalizing on that 5-on-3 when we really needed them to, so it was a great job by them. And then for the rest of the night, after that first power play that they had, I think we did an outstanding job. And I thought our goaltender was great.”
Takeaway 2: Another strong Grubi night
It’s becoming a broken record, but stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Philipp Grubauer had a great game, stopping 24 of 25 shots and improving to a .919 save percentage in 19 appearances, with a 10-4-3 record and a 2.37 goals-against average.
“I think just the way we play, all together,” Grubauer said of what’s been helping him find success. “It’s not like one guy. Obviously it helps when guys get in the lane and box guys out, make it easy for us back there. So, yeah, it’s just one save at a time, one TV timeout at a time, and that’s it.”
The first of my two favorite stops of the night came midway through the second period, when a floating wrister through traffic by Tony DeAngelo created a rebound for Emil Heineman, who took two whacks at it right at the top of the crease. Grubauer extended his right pad and kicked both away. The second came in the third period on Casey Cizikas off a partial breakaway. Cizikas deked to his backhand and tried to slip it through the five-hole, but Grubauer clamped it down and then batted the puck out of the air to clear it from harm’s way.
Big-time save by Grubi on Casey Cizikas. #SeaKraken took their SEVENTH penalty of the game on this play, though… pic.twitter.com/CuWmWH9pc0
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) January 22, 2026
AND…
Grubauer picked up his first point of the season with the second assist on McCann’s empty-net goal.
“What I thought of his play is what I think of his play here for the whole year,” Lambert said. “He’s played well, he looks dialed in, he’s focused, he’s tight. He’s not getting out of position, sliding out of position. He seems in a good place. And yeah, it’s nice to see him get a point, for sure.”
When I jokingly asked Grubauer if he was trying to create some offense at the end of the game, he said, “No, I’m not going for [the empty net], if that’s what you’re asking. No, I’d rather have one of our guys make the play up the boards or shoot it. So, yeah, got the apple, but most importantly, we got the goal, and I don’t really care about the point there. It’s more about the win.”
Takeaway 3: Ben Meyers appreciation
Just a quick note to say that Ben Meyers deserves all the praise in the world for the way he has performed for the Kraken this season. He has taken the fourth-line center role and run with it, helping to make that Seattle’s most consistent line, regardless of who his linemates have been on any given night.
In this one, he came up with a massive (and painful) shot block in the second period, was a key piece of the penalty kill that was so critical, and teamed up with Ryan Winterton to create this beauty of a Vince Dunn goal:
DUNN DEAL! 🚨
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) January 22, 2026
What a setup by the fourth line.
Meyers->Winterton->Dunn->🥅
2-1 #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/9r2edyCbma
This win stopped the bleeding for the Kraken, who had spiraled to 1-4-2 in their previous seven games. It also got them back into the final wild card spot by the hair on their chinny chin chins. The race remains incredibly tight.
Go Kraken!!!
At the end of warm-ups Matthew Schaefer did the juvenile “last to leave the ice” thing. Dunn fired a puck off at his end and then headed to the locker room.
Schaefer in 25:54 had zero points and zero shots on goal.
Dunn in 18:28 had two points – an assist to tie it at one and the game winning goal – and four shots on net.
Just sayin’…
That might have been friendly, Dunn played in juniors with Schaefer’s older brother so I think they might know each other
After a -4 game with lots of bad plays against the Pens it was good to see Dunn have a good game.
What does everyone think of this? https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2026/01/kraken-open-to-trading-shane-wright.html#comments
Just saw that. As long as he’s being traded for a player under 30 who scores goals (eg Kyrou), and that they still jettison Schwartz and Eberle, then I’m all for it. They need to get younger and faster, not older and slower. I also don’t think Wright for Kyrou would be enough. They’d probably have to add a 1st, and I would not trade away 1st round picks for the foreseeable future given they’ll likely be in the top 15.
Seattle has two Tampa Bay firsts that are unlikely to be top 15.
Yeah I’d be fine with trading one of those for sure.
I’d be curious what their scout is on Petterson in Vancouver, the center. I know it’s in division, but they’ve got the cap and I could definitely see a fit from the Canucks side with Wright and maybe little else. If they think they can “rehab” him… that’d be interesting for sure.
I think Pettersson is broken and at $11M that’s one helluva risk to take on.
Definitely a risk… that’s why I’d be curious what Seattle thinks. I know some folks believe everything the front office does is incompetent, but when it comes to trades they’ve been pretty good at making good moves. Even the Marchment mistake ended up netting out. Tolvanen definitely worked out as a waiver claim and we were all convinced they needed to buyout Grubauer.
I couldn’t say with any credibility what’s going on with Petterson, but if they did go that route, I think it would have to be based on them seeing something there.
Considering the source has been less than credible with Kraken rumors I don’t put much into it. Same guy that said the Kraken were shopping McCann last year.
I am good with that for Pettersson. Vancouver has too many Peterssons anyway. Eberle is our young place on ice on bench coach. He is teachin Wright and Catton and Myers how to be MHL standouts,
Wright is a keeper for me.
His value is at an all time low so trading for someone good is not gonna happen. Throw in a first and maybe you get a decent 2nd or 3rd line scorer.
His value can and will go lower though if he doesn’t provide a spark to the third line or improve his defensive play. He’s only 22 and into his second full season. Call it a sophomore slump but more likely hes been a product of the system he plays in. Good numbers under bylsma, poor under lambert. If he can adjust to the system by the end of this year and/or next season great. if not, a change of scenery might make sense while being exchanged for a piece that works better. I’d be happy with two-way player that compliments Winterton. The real question is can Winterton play center at an NHL level?
Its not shane wright. its the instability in the organization. 3 coaches in 5 years. It’s a miracle they’re winning games with this roster.
Who is David Pagnuta of the Fourth Period? I read a lot of hockey coverage and I have never heard of that person or blog. I would take it with a grain of salt.
Pagnotta is a reporter who as far as I know has never produced a single Kraken-related rumor that turned out to be accurate, so yes, feel free to take his statements about Wright with a massive grain of salt. I have come to the conclusion that he either gets bad information from his ‘sources’ or takes good information and twists it into something it’s not, or perhaps both.
Elliotte Friedman said he checked and “it’s real.” Now HIM i believe.
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/kraken-open-to-moving-shane-wright/
That you fell for rage bait based on a non-insiders comments that don’t really mean much.
It’s been over 24 hours and no one has been able to offer any corroboration. There should be a new 32 thoughts tomorrow so maybe they’ll have something to say. However, the Toronto-based is pretty busy working itself into a complete frenzy over The Return of Marner, so that is probably going to dominate the weekend.
I do believe a fresh start would be good for Wright, so I am in favor of a trade if there’s a good return. I think he’d probably do best on a more mature team with a strong culture where he could get a taste of success without the pressure to be The Future of the franchise. Dallas, Tampa, Carolina, Washington, LA.
I am a very hard no on Pettersson, however. Far too many questions about his level of effort, overall physical condition, consistency of play and ability to have a positive impact on team culture. I can’t see him earning the trust of the coaching staff.
Friedman did say a couple weeks ago he thought Seattle would take a “big swing”. It seems to me a big swing would have to involve a piece like Shane Wright. I don’t find Pagnotta’s reporting all that surprising, I find the narrative that they’re “moving on” from Wright the surprising part. I would assume he’s hearing this around the league in relation to players like Kyrou, Petterson, Robertson etcetera. I hear non-stop chatter about teams looking for centers so much so that Kotkaniemi is being talked about as a “player of interest”. You could think they’re “selling low” or your could think they’re selling an asset they can afford to move into a hot market.
I can totally see Seattle moving Wright, but not simply to unload him and I think this is what’s getting lost in a lot of the noise.
Well here we are, 24 hours later after 32 thoughts, and apparently “it’s real.”
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/kraken-open-to-moving-shane-wright/
Wasn’t that the same site that floated the idea of the Kraken trading Philipp Grubauer only about a month ago because he may rebound with a change of scenery? And haven’t they been all over every silly Jared McCann trade rumor where Seattle gets back some lesser player, usually a left-handed wing who scores about twenty-five goals per year?
And David Pagnotta is the source of the Wright trade rumor! He was the very same dude who started the McCann trade rumors in the first place. The man is the hockey equivalent of Steven A. Smith. Miss me with that shizz.
It is important to consider the source, which is why I was waiting for some corroboration from someone more reliable. And that does appear to have happened.
If Pagnotta is the Steven A. Smith of the NHL, Elliotte Friedman is the Adam Schefter and he said this morning that it’s real and true. (Last year when all the McCann rumors were going, Friedman was very clear that other teams were approaching Seattle about McCann and were being rebuffed and that McCann was not being shopped).
The speculation this morning once they confirmed the rumor was about the possibility of Wright to the Rangers for Lafreniere. I think it was couched fairly well as speculative spitballing versus anything confirmed, but I’m sure the muckrakers will start running with that now.
I’m not really sure about Lafreniere. But with 2 recent Rangers (Kakko and Lindgren) in Seattle, I am going to have faith that the team is going to get feedback from both before making any decision.
Going back to my dream scenario – Toronto is desperate for defensive defensemen right now. If Seattle were to send Oleksiak there, how enticing is it for the Robertson brothers to unite?
The one important thing I thought was missing from the 32 Thoughts Lafreniere speculation was his $7.45 x 7 that he’s in year one of. Not only does that seem like a “not great” contract right now, he would also be coming in as the Kraken’s highest paid player.
I’m a big fan of your “dream scenario”. Seems like a longshot but those do come in sometimes. I don’t really see the sense in a Lafreniere deal.
Not to take anything away from the Kraken performance last night, but the Islanders were on the last game of a seven-game, two-week road trip, and it showed. They were clearly out of gas by the third period.
Still, I’m happy for the Kraken to have had a get-right game before an important matchup against a division opponent on Friday.
This is actually a very fair point. Big game tomorrow so let’s see if this performance sticks. If not, they have to be in sell mode. Maybe they already are and are just waiting until someone gets desperate?
Hey Darren! Congratulations on the radio call! I was so excited to see you and Everett up on the twins! We’re all so proud of you!
From the time the game started to wind down, No Wright, that I did not see. Am I wrong here.? At then end of the 2nd period he had 10 mins at the end of the game, just over 12 mins. I the last period he had a breadaway stopped by an amazin save abd was on the ice for the 3rd goal. Did he get hurt?
Sorry about all the typos, It is all my keyboard and computers fault.
Wright doesn’t play the PK, and there was a lot of that last night – particularly the first period.
Period 1: 2:50
Period 2: 5:05
Period 3: 4:19 (last shift before the empty netter ended 12:47 into the 3rd, had one shift after the ENG)
Turns out when you’re not on the PK and your team enjoys some alone time, your ice time is reduced
Alone time is better than time with a buddy!
Just listening to the pod ahead of the Ducks/Kraken… Curtis does a nice dive into Shane’s ice time.
It was really cool seeing Darren up on the Twins last night!
It was good seeing Wright at center again. I really hope they keep him there. He is clearly a center, while Catton might end up at wing and is certainly fine there at this earlier stage of his development.
They had a solid game all around. I know taking all the penalties is bad, but they also had some sustained o-zone time (more than usual, it seemed). And then they just totally shut things down in the 3rd period, it was totally boring in a great way — until Wright suddenly woke us up with that nice steal and breakaway.
That schwartz goal was a highlight for me and reminds you of what a good pro he is
Don’t know what game you were watching last night. Schwartz had an assist but not a goal.
Sorry I meant the goal he generated. Working hard to get the puck back on the forecheck and feeding to Kakko who buried it. That goal doesn’t happen without his hard work and savviness down low.
The dude is uniquely valuable, the kind of player every team needs. Ryan Winterton is the only comparable forward on the roster, and he is not on Schwartz’s level yet. The team is going to miss Schwartz next season unless a contract extension happens against all odds.
Is there some “scientific method” you used to determine the Kraken were “ahead” of San Jose and LA, or was this just “fanboy” in lieu of journalism?
WTF? The scientific method is determined by the NHL. The Kraken, Sharks and Kings all have the same points and percentage so the next tie break is regulation wins. Seattle has 16, the Sharks have 14 and the Kings have 13. Darren didn’t determine it, the NHL did. The Kraken are ahead of the Sharks and the Kings.
Seriously?!?!
If you are going to call out someone for lack of journalistic integrity you should probably know what you’re talking about first.
I agree there are way too many people who just don’t agree with media because it doesn’t align with their views.
It looks as though the Wright rumors are true it’s now being reported on many different sources.
Here’s my take… I mentioned this as a danger when LL was first hired. This is not the coach to be working with a building team. He’s not a good fit for the kraken. He was the worst possible coach we could have chosen. We’re now going to probably selling low on Wright who we should be building around, this is mismanagement at its finest.
Couldn’t agree with you more. Shane Wright’s FIRST season (as a 21yo) was very promising, and now that he’s slumped they’d be willing to trade him barely half a season later? You’d think after last season they’d at least give him a little more rope – but no – per LL’s coaching his TOI has declined. Which to SW probably looks like a resounding vote of no confidence. Just watching this season’s version of SW it looks like he’s playing tight, i.e. hesitant and afraid to make a mistake lest he’s pushed down even deeper into Lane Lambert’s coaching dungeon. Not exactly the way to develop a young player with significant upside. Just LET HIM PLAY.
The worst thing the Kraken could do is move Shane Wright – only to see him flourish and become the solid, two-way, 25/35/60 2C that everyone envisioned for him. Let’s hope that Jason Botterill and RF are patient with SW and give him a chance to develop.
That isn’t what I’m seeing reported at all. It’s being quoted that they’re open to trading Wright, but that the “asking price is tremendous.” I read that as a Wright plus a pick for Robertson-level trade. If you are a GM and can make that trade you do it 10/10 times, an absolute no-brainer.
Maybe we could find a good young player with upside in the trade, it’s exactly what the kraken need long term….. oh wait!!!!
That’s what we want to trade 😂 Go Kraken
Nice to see you back totem, missed you.
So Nino… it’s nice to see someone come on here and insult Darren because they don’t know how to read the standings?
Nothing about what was posted, your reading something into nothing.
Thanks
Well, your correct about that – I stand corrected and my apologies to Darren
Ugh. Meyers onto IR is not how I wanted Melanson to come back up.
I’m definitely interested to see if Melanson or Kartye plays tomorrow night against Anaheim. Kartye vs the Ducks is always an adventure.
Yeah, that hurts. Meyers has been great all season. At least the Olympics break is coming up soon to give him a chance to heal up.
Personally, I want the team to somehow make room for Kartye and Melanson. The way Anaheim likes to play, two tough guys will be helpful.