The Seattle Kraken, at least momentarily, ended their skid Saturday night with a gutsy 4–2 win over the San Jose Sharks. It’s been a grueling four‑week stretch, 10 losses in 11 games, and while the Kraken haven’t played outright poor hockey, their issues run deeper than bad luck. Injuries, a thin roster, and too many nights where the opponent simply had more have all caught up to them. Saturday didn’t fix everything, but it did give them a bit of reprieve from this brutal stretch.
Playing tight games
Regardless of what the record says, the Kraken have been competitive all season. As rough as the last several weeks have been, they’re still keeping games close and giving themselves a chance. Their last eight games have all been decided by one goal, and they’ve played 25 one‑goal games this season when you exclude empty-netters, second most in the league behind the Los Angeles Kings.
A great example came last Tuesday against the best team in the league, the Colorado Avalanche. The Kraken went toe-to-toe with them and entered the third period with a one‑goal lead before Colorado flipped the game with two goals (plus an empty-netter) in the final frame. In the first 20-plus games of the season, that game almost certainly would have reached overtime and earned Seattle at least a point. But that just isn’t happening right now. In their first 23 games, the Kraken reached overtime 10 times; over their last 10, they’ve made it to the extra frame just once.
They mentioned this on the postgame show Saturday night: when Vince Dunn turned the puck over deep in the Kraken zone, leading to San Jose’s go‑ahead goal early in the third, it felt like another “here we go again” moment. But the Kraken responded less than a minute and a half later to tie it, and suddenly the energy shifted. A few minutes after that, Ryan Lindgren scored his first as a Kraken, the eventual game‑winner.
Departure of Mason Marchment
As you probably know by now, the Kraken shipped off Mason Marchment on Friday for a couple of draft picks from Columbus. There was some excitement about Marchment providing additional depth scoring, but that never materialized. Coming into the season, I thought it was reasonable to expect around 20 goals from him, roughly 0.25 per game. Instead, he managed just four goals in 29 games (0.14 per game). He also struggled defensively, leading Kraken forwards in turnovers and penalties taken.
Considering the drop‑off in performance, it’s actually impressive that Seattle got more in return than what they paid for him in the offseason.
More trades to come?
Given how the season has gone, a lot of fans are expecting, or demanding, a sell‑off of veteran players. As always, the team will listen to all inquiries, but there’s no rush. The trade market doesn’t really heat up until about 30 days before the deadline. If the Kraken do become sellers, and right now that seems likely, they’ll want as many teams in the mix as possible to drive up demand. Some clubs don’t yet know whether they’re buyers or sellers, and others may develop deeper needs as the deadline approaches.
The other side of the equation is prospect readiness. You don’t want to bring up players who aren’t ready for the NHL, and right now there aren’t many in Coachella Valley who are prepared for full‑time roles. Rushing them would be detrimental to their development.
Other musings
The Kraken have the same number of standings points as they did at this time last season.
When Seattle scored the empty‑netter against San Jose on Saturday with 1:30 left, it was their first two‑goal lead since Nov. 15, also against San Jose. They’ve held a two-plus-goal lead for just 4.4 percent of their total game time this season, the lowest rate in the NHL.
One encouraging trend: special teams. The penalty kill hasn’t been perfect, but over the last seven games it’s operating at 80 percent after sitting at a league‑worst 64.8 percent prior. The power play has also surged, converting at 30 percent over the same stretch after sitting at 17 percent for the season.
Seattle averages 0.65 points per game when scoring first and just 0.31 when allowing the first goal.
In case you missed it, Brandon Montour is out four weeks. Add it to the long list of significant injuries this season. Montour is second on the team in time on ice and has often dragged the Kraken back into games. Injuries happen to everyone, but when they hit your best players, the impact is brutal.
Brandon Montour out approximately four weeks after hand surgery, per @SeattleKrakenPR.
It was great to see the Torrent open the 100 level and Space Needle Lounge for Sunday’s game versus the Boston Fleet. Seattle is averaging the second‑highest attendance in the league this season.
Goal of the week
Regular readers and Sound Of Hockey listeners know how much I love this kid:
WHAT A GOAL BY OSCAR MOLGAARD. HIS 5TH OF THE SEASON AND GIVING THE BIRDS BACK THE LEAD
By the way, the Kraken are 2‑0‑0 with Molgaard in the lineup.
Player performances
Chandler Stephenson (SEA) – Riding a four‑game goal streak with five points in his last four. He also has points in eight straight. Jagger Firkus (CVF/SEA) – Five points in two weekend games. He has 13 goals in 26 games after scoring 15 in 69 last season. Nathan Villeneuve (SBY/SEA) – Eight points in his last four games. He has 14 multi‑point games and is on pace for 98 points in the OHL.
The week ahead
The Kraken face a dreaded back‑to‑back with games against the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings, starting Monday night in Anaheim. Both teams sit ahead of Seattle in the standings, but the Kraken have beaten each of them once already this season. Nothing is easy for Seattle right now, but both the Ducks and Kings look more vulnerable than their records suggest. Anaheim is 5‑5‑0 in its last 10 and has been giving up goals in bunches. The Kings are 4‑2‑4 and struggling to score. If there’s ever a good time to face these teams, this might be it.
After the holiday break, the Kraken return home to face the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday the 28th. The Flyers have lost four of their last five but reached overtime in four of those games, including two against Carolina.
Given how Seattle has been playing, grabbing three of six possible points this week would be solid. But if they can snag three of the four points available against Pacific Division teams, that would be a real confidence boost, and a sign that this slump might finally be ending.
And finally…
There’s plenty of other hockey to enjoy this week. The Seattle Torrent play one more home game this month when they host Marie‑Philip Poulin and the Montreal Victoire on Tuesday night at Climate Pledge. After the break, they head to Dallas for their first Takeover Tour game against the New York Sirens. Both games will air locally on Fox 13+ and YouTube (though you wouldn’t know it from the PWHL schedule page).
World Juniors also kicks off Friday. The Kraken will be represented on at least three teams (Finland, Sweden, and Czechia) and possibly a fourth if Blake Fiddler sticks with Team USA. Regardless of who you’re rooting for, the tournament is always a blast. All games will air on NHL Network, which is getting harder to find with the current streaming landscape.
This column will likely take next week off, but the hockey certainly won’t. Between the Torrent’s final home game of the month, the Takeover Tour stop in Dallas, and a World Juniors tournament loaded with Kraken prospects, there’s plenty to keep Seattle fans entertained through the holidays. It’s been a chaotic, injury‑riddled, occasionally maddening calendar year for the Kraken, and hopefully this team can turn the page with the new calendar year. Thanks for reading, for riding the waves with me, and for making this space such a fun one to write in. Enjoy the holidays — we’ll pick things back up in the new year.
Last week I asked whether the Seattle Kraken had hit bottom. Technically, they squeaked out a win against the Los Angeles Kings last Wednesday, but that brief moment of optimism didn’t last. Since then, they’ve dropped two straight, including an underwhelming 3–1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres. It’s ugly right now, and game by game, the Kraken are playing themselves toward irrelevancy.
Goals are still hard to come by
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Kraken are struggling to score. Over their last five games, they’re shooting an abysmal 7.6 percent. A modest bump up to their season average of 9.7 percent would have produced roughly three additional goals over that stretch. Given that most of those games were essentially one-goal affairs, those three goals could have swung multiple results.
Things got even tougher when the Kraken lost their leading scorer, Jared McCann, for several weeks during Wednesday’s game against the Kings. That injury came just six games since he returned from a five-week absence. Seattle managed to tread water during McCann’s earlier absence, but that was with Jaden Schwartz in the lineup. Schwartz has now been out for three weeks himself, and suddenly the margin for error has disappeared.
Injuries are part of the game, and the Kraken have certainly had their share this season. The challenge for a team like Seattle is organizational depth. The AHL roster is loaded with prospects, but there aren’t many players down there who are ready to step in and handle even limited NHL minutes right now. When multiple top-six forwards are missing at the same time, the cracks become pretty obvious.
Objective of the 2025–26 season
No one picked Seattle as a playoff team entering the season. ESPN and The Athletic both projected the Kraken to finish 29th overall. Here at Sound Of Hockey, we’ve been consistent that a reasonable expectation was simply to play meaningful games in March.
The Kraken’s solid start made that goal feel very attainable. Then the losses piled up, the injuries got worse, and suddenly the season has been in a spiral. And yet, despite how bleak things feel, Seattle is still just five points out of the final playoff spot. As bad as it’s been, they’re technically still on pace to be playing those meaningful games in March.
Given the current state of the roster, the path forward is pretty clear. If the Kraken can hover around .500 while McCann and Schwartz are sidelined over the next few weeks, they’ll give themselves a fighting chance once the lineup starts to stabilize.
Opportunities
With Jaden Schwartz and Jared McCann out, and Berkly Catton also working his way back from injury, several players are getting extended looks and increased responsibility. There are three players in particular who need to elevate their game.
Shane Wright – I wouldn’t say Wright’s game has regressed since last season, but he hasn’t looked nearly as dangerous as he did down the stretch last year. He has five goals in 30 games and is shooting 11.4 percent, a sharp drop from last season’s 25.9 percent. There’s been plenty of fan frustration about his ice time, but much of that is tied to the coaching staff’s trust in him: he’s not on the top power-play unit and continues to get protected starts with limited defensive-zone usage. These injuries should open the door for more responsibility. Now it’s on Wright to take advantage and raise his game to the level everyone expects.
Kaapo Kakko – Kakko’s production is largely explained by injury, and I’m willing to give him some leeway there. Coming back from two separate injuries is no small thing. That said, the Kraken badly need scoring from the wing, and Kakko has been back for seven games without looking like much of a threat. The hope is that more time and opportunity help him turn the corner over the next few weeks. Worth noting, he missed Monday’s practice with an illness.
Freddy Gaudreau – Like Kakko, Gaudreau’s offensive numbers are down compared to last season, largely due to injury. I’ve liked his game lately, though, especially his two-way play. He looks more comfortable and always makes the right decision. It feels like he’s starting to find his stride with the Kraken. If a few more pucks start going in for him, that would go a long way toward stabilizing this team right now.
Other musings
The Kraken have been generating more shot attempts lately, though some of that can likely be attributed to playing from behind more often. Shot volume is nice, but context still matters, and chasing games isn’t exactly a sustainable offensive strategy.
The Kraken are now 3-8-4 when allowing the first goal this season. Playing from behind continues to be a recipe for long nights.
Seattle had 2:22 of 5-on-3 ice time over the past week and failed to convert. They are now one of just two teams this season with more than five total minutes of 5-on-3 time without a single goal, joining Montreal in that unenviable category. Meanwhile, opponents are a perfect 2-for-2 on 5-on-3 chances against the Kraken.
By the definition, this is a face-off goal, yet who won this face-off?
Mason Marchment’s two-goal performance against Utah marked the seventh time a Kraken player has recorded a multi-goal game this season. That total is tied for 27th in the league, which says a lot about how rarely Seattle is getting game-breaking performances from individual players.
Jacob Melanson was recalled on Saturday and was immediately pressed into action Sunday due to illness elsewhere in the lineup. I’ve always liked his game, and while this might be a brief look, I still think he has the makeup of a regular NHL player down the road.
Goal of the week
Seattle Kraken sixth-round pick from the 2022 draft, Barrett Hall, scored this game-winning goal in the final minutes of St. Cloud’s 4–3 win over sixth-ranked Denver.
Tyson Jugnauth (CVF/SEA) – “Juggy” had two goals and two assists in the Coachella Valley Firebirds’ 7–4 win over the Calgary Wranglers on Saturday. It was one of those nights where he was involved in everything.
Kraken goaltenders – Over four games this week, Kraken goalies posted a .914 save percentage and saved 2.2 goals above expected. They’re doing their part, and then some.
Marcus Johansson (MIN) – Former Kraken forward “JoJo” had three goals and three assists in four games this week, including a nice game-winning goal against Seattle. Of course.
The week ahead
They had to come to town eventually, and now they’re here. The 23-2-7 Colorado Avalanche visit Seattle on Tuesday at perhaps the worst possible time. Colorado leads the league at 4.0 goals per game, while the Kraken sit last at 2.47. Anything can happen in the NHL, but on paper this one is pretty terrifying.
After Colorado, Seattle heads out to Calgary on Thursday and San Jose on Saturday. At first glance, those might look like opportunities to grab some points, but the Flames have won four of their last five games, and the Sharks have taken three of their last four. There are no easy games in this league, and given how the Kraken are currently playing, these will all be tough.
Until further notice, the goal for the week should be simple: grab 50 percent of the available points. If the Kraken can hang around a .500 points percentage while waiting for McCann and Schwartz to return, they at least keep themselves in the bubble conversation. Even then, this team is going to need a real run to become relevant again, and that likely won’t happen until those pieces are back in the lineup.
Going into Saturday night’s game against the Detroit Red Wings, the Seattle Kraken were riding a four-game losing streak, capped by an embarrassing 9–4 drubbing by the Edmonton Oilers just two nights earlier. The team had been sliding down the Pacific Division standings, and it felt like one of those “must-win” games to stop the bleeding, at least temporarily. As you probably know by now, the Kraken came up short again, dropping another one in regulation despite a mostly solid effort.
They now sit sixth in the Pacific after being as high as second just two weeks ago. It feels like the team is in a full-on death spiral and drifting toward irrelevance again. But is it really that dire? No, not quite. If you’re in “must-win” territory in December, the problems run deeper than standings position.
When you sort the division by point percentage, the Kraken are actually fourth, and they’ve played the fewest games in the league. Is there reason for concern? Absolutely. But if you’d offered this position in the standings before the season started, most fans probably would’ve signed up for it on the spot.
The real anchor this week was that Oilers game, giving up nine goals, including four on the power play. That set a franchise record for most goals allowed in a single outing, and if not for a last-second Jani Nyman tally, it would’ve matched their worst-ever goal differential too. If you could magically erase that one from memory, the narrative around this losing streak would look a little different.
A sign of some offense?
For as rough as the week felt, the Kraken did show some signs of life offensively. Seven goals in two games isn’t exactly fireworks, but compare that to the two goals they mustered over the previous three games. Their 74 and 77 shot attempts against the Oilers and Red Wings, respectively, are actually their top two totals of the season.
Vince Dunn summed things up well when he talked to Piper Shaw after the 4–3 loss to Detroit: “I think we’re finally fixing the things that we weren’t doing so well, and then now we’re maybe slipping a little bit with the things that we were doing so well. So it’s about balance right now and battling through the adversity that we’re going through.”
Now, it’s only a two-game sample, so we can’t exactly call it a trend. But in a week where silver linings were scarce, the uptick in shot volume does stand out. If they can pair that with the defensive structure we saw early in the season, maybe they can pull themselves out of this skid.
Face-off possession challenges
Face-offs continue to be an issue for the Kraken, and more specifically, what happens after the actual draw. The league doesn’t publicly track post-face-off possession, so I usually use shot attempts within 10 seconds of a face-off as a proxy. By that measure, Seattle ranks 28th in the NHL with 6.7 face-off shot attempts per game, and they sit 26th in allowing face-off attempts against. Not ideal.
I am not sure if anyone caught it but several times in the Detroit game Kraken head coach Lane Lambert sent out Freddy Gaudreau and Chandler Stephenson together for a face-off to increase their chances of possession and to have a true center available in case the first one got booted out of the circle.
Other musings
Seattle scored two rebound goals in that same game, giving them 10 on the season, which is tied for eighth in the league. That’s one of the perks of actually getting pucks to the net.
The Kraken are the only team in the Pacific Division that hasn’t scored six or more goals in a game this season, something they did 10 times last year.
With Freddy Gaudreau scoring on Thursday, Berkly Catton is now the lone forward on the roster without a goal. The good news: he’s generated more shot attempts in his last five games than in any other five-game stretch this season. The bad news, though, is that the team announced he will miss a week with an upper-body injury. We believe the injury came on his third-period shot block against the Red Wings.
Catton will not be loaned to Team Canada for the World Junior Championship this month. The Jaden Schwartz injury seems to have shifted the calculus there, and plus, Catton is now injured.
Speaking of Schwartz… I’ll probably keep saying this for the next month, but the Kraken really miss him, especially on the power play.
It’s been a hot topic on this site and the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, but the penalty kill has been rough lately. Here’s a look at the numbers over the last 10 games.
There’s been a lot of chatter about Shane Wright’s ice time. What I do know is that it’s not as simple as “just play him more.” My hunch is that Lambert doesn’t fully trust Wright in face-off situations, and with the Kraken killing penalties more often lately, that matters. That’s speculation, sure—but it’s rooted in the data.
On the topic of uneducated ranting, I’m a little surprised Philipp Grubauer hasn’t gotten a start recently (he will start Monday against Minnesota). Joey Daccord has had more than a couple games where he hasn’t looked particularly sharp, and it probably wouldn’t hurt to give him a breather. Grubauer has looked good enough to at least get a turn in the net.
I really love Adam Larsson goals.
29 ➡️ 6 ➡️ 🚨
and with the assist on Adam Larsson’s goal, Vince Dunn has officially tallied his 300th @NHL point! Congrats, Dunner 👏 pic.twitter.com/vA6REEB6Ko
The Kraken haven’t scored the first goal in five straight games—and they’ve lost all five.
After a slow start to the season, the Coachella Valley Firebirds have turned things around, going 7-2-1 over their last 10. As is usually the case in the AHL, the scoring is coming from a mix of vets and young prospects. Jagger Firkus has 11 goals in 21 games, and Ben Meyers has nine in just 11.
Congrats to 2025 first-round pick Jake O’Brien on being invited to Canada’s World Junior camp. O’Brien leads the OHL with 45 points this season.
Goal of the week
Seattle’s 2022 sixth-round pick, Barrett Hall, scored a slick shorthanded goal against North Dakota over the weekend. He’s now up to seven goals halfway through the season, already matching his total from 2024–25.
— St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey (@SCSUHuskies_MH) December 6, 2025
Player performances
Ben Meyers (CVF/SEA) – Meyers had four points in three games this week and has picked up at least one point in every game he’s played for Coachella Valley this season.
Semyon Vyazovoi (SYU/SEA) – The Kraken’s sixth-round pick from 2021 posted a .913 save percentage over three games for Salavat Yulaev in the KHL last week. He has the eighth-best save percentage in the league right now and is expected to come to North America next season.
Jesse Heslop (EVT) – The Everett winger put up four points in three games this past week and is riding a seven-game point streak.
The week ahead
After back-to-back two-game weeks, things are about to get a lot busier with four games this week and nine in a 16-day stretch. By the time we hit the Christmas break, we should have a much clearer sense of what this team actually is.
Seattle faces Minnesota (Monday at home), Los Angeles (Wednesday at home), Utah (Friday in Utah), and Buffalo (Sunday at home). I’m not taking anyone lightly these days, so “easy outs” don’t exist. The Kraken have been better at home this season, though, so with three home dates, you’d hope they can snap the losing streak sooner rather than later—preferably before Sunday rolls around.
Minnesota is 7-2-1 in its last 10, but those two losses came in their most recent games against Calgary and Vancouver, so maybe they’re not quite the buzzsaw they looked like a week ago. Still, nothing is guaranteed.
Regardless of what happens Monday, getting a regulation win over LA on Wednesday would be huge. The Kings enter the week five points ahead of Seattle but have played two more games. The two teams are also among the lowest-scoring clubs in the league. I’m told someone has to score to win, so something needs to give… or maybe not.
Utah sits ahead of Seattle as well, holding the last wild card spot with 31 points—three more than the Kraken—but they’ve also played four extra games, so that cushion is a bit inflated. What could go wrong in Utah?
As for Buffalo… I genuinely don’t want to imagine losing that one, but we’ve all lived through a “no way they lose this” meltdown before, so let’s just not tempt fate. The Sabres are one of the worst teams in the league, but they’ve actually won five of their last 10, which—sadly—is one point better than Seattle over that stretch.
At this point, I’d be content with four out of eight points this week. That won’t move them in the standings, but it at least keeps them in the fight. I’ll be popping champagne if they find a way to grab six. And no matter what the results are, I really hope they can figure out the penalty kill. One kill in your last eight is, without exaggeration, a disaster.
We were due for a week like this. I mentioned last week that I was concerned about the week ahead, and it played out exactly how I feared, as the Kraken dropped both games in regulation to the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers. Both are formidable opponents, so I knew there was a decent chance the Kraken could lose them both. That said, I’m not nearly as disappointed as I’ve been in other weeks when the Kraken actually came away with points.
Let’s start with the Stars game. Dallas has owned the Kraken in the regular season. Seattle was 2-9-2 against the Stars heading into Wednesday, with the lowest points percentage they have against any Western Conference opponent. And honestly, I just don’t remember the Kraken competing well against them, aside from the 2022-23 playoff series. Despite the loss, maybe that’s why I was so surprised to see the Kraken play as well as they did. There were long stretches where Seattle genuinely looked like the better team. Deep into the third, it felt like the game was destined for overtime, but Vladislav Kolyachonok floated an innocent-looking wrist shot from the point that went past a screening Adam Larsson, hit the post and found its way in.
Kolyachonok scores to make it 3-2 with five minutes left.
Haters are going to point out it was the second half of a back-to-back for Dallas and that they had their backup in net. All true. But with that much firepower and the lopsided history between these two teams, the game left me feeling pretty good about where the Kraken stand. It was still a disappointing result, but it reinforced that the Kraken can hang with anyone. And considering they’ve beaten Anaheim, Vegas, and Winnipeg twice already, we shouldn’t be shocked that they have that level of compete in them.
That set up a perfect trap game on Saturday against Edmonton. The Oilers were coming off an embarrassing 8–3 loss to Dallas, and when you poke the bear enough, eventually it bites back. Edmonton’s top four forwards each scored, and the Kraken were shut out. I don’t think the game was as one-sided as the score suggests, but you’re not winning many games when you get shut out. Seattle certainly had chances to get back into it, but they went 0-for-6 on the power play, including an extended 5-on-3 while down just 1–0. At the end of the day, though, it’s still a loss.
Power play challenges
Over the last 10 games, the Kraken have run at a meager 14 percent on the power play and haven’t scored a power-play goal in their last four games despite 14 opportunities, including five against Dallas and six against Edmonton. There’s no question the power play is struggling, but there were moments Saturday when they actually had stable possession and seemed to be generating shot attempts. So I spent part of my Sunday digging into the numbers.
First, I wanted to see whether they really did generate a lot of shot attempts on Saturday. The Kraken had 22 power-play shot attempts, their second-highest total in a game this season. It was also their second-highest total power-play time, so to evaluate it better, I calculated shot attempts per two minutes of power-play time. That came out to 4.29 attempts. It’s not their highest rate of the season, but it’s close.
Next, I widened the scope to see how their shot-attempt rate stacks up league-wide.
Based on the visual above, they’re sitting pretty close to league average in shot attempts per two minutes. That suggests quantity is fine, but the quality might not be there. I’ve already gone long here, so I’ll save that for another day.
Inaugural Torrent game
Hopefully you were lucky enough to make it to the inaugural Seattle Torrent game Friday afternoon. The Torrent lost 3–0 to the two-time defending Walter Cup champion Minnesota Frost in front of a PWHL record 16,014 fans. The atmosphere was incredible, the arena was filled with seasoned hockey fans, new fans, kids, families, the whole thing. The Torrent came out buzzing, but the Frost got a favorable bounce late in the first and never looked back.
I have a lot of thoughts, but this feels like another huge step for hockey in the region. The kid-friendly start times and reasonable ticket prices should give more families a chance to check out a game. And I’m excited to see how having the PWHL in town boosts female participation in the sport.
There was also quite a bit of constructive fan feedback about the arena experience. I’ve got my own wish-list items too, but I also know they don’t have the budget or institutional experience the Kraken have. Let’s be patient, give feedback when asked, and see how things evolve. For a team announced five months ago, I’m honestly blown away by how much they’ve pulled off.
Other musings
In case you missed it, Jaden Schwartz is the latest Kraken player to land on IR, another significant blow. Schwartz, expected to miss six weeks, has been one of the most underrated players in franchise history, and this team will feel his absence. Before the injury, Schwartz was on the ice for about 40 percent of Seattle’s power-play time.
One silver lining: Jared McCann returned Wednesday against Dallas after missing 18 games. He brings an element this team has been missing. (Check out this pregame feature on Jared that aired before Saturday’s game.)
I’m always stunned that there’s not even a hint of suspension for a malicious elbow aimed at someone’s head, even if it doesn’t land. If the league wants to minimize concussions, make those actions consequential—not just the ones that result in injuries. I’ve held this stance forever, no matter which team is involved.
Leon Draisaitl throws an elbow at Marchment and takes EDM's fifth penalty of the game.
Marchment may have been clever by not accepting a fight. He's under the skin of the Oilers, who are more worried about revenge on him.
Big congrats to former Seattle Thunderbirds Thomas Milic and Reid Schaefer, who made their NHL debuts for the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators, respectively.
Goal of the week
Nice sequence from Coachella Valley: David Goyette finds Lleyton Roed for his first of the season.
ROED KICKS US OFF WITH THE FIRST GOAL OF THE GAME AND HIS FIRST GOAL OF THE SEASON!!
Julius Miettinen (EVT/SEA) – Five points in three games for Everett. He’s fifth in the WHL in points per game and a huge reason Everett is the best team in the league this season.
Zeb Forsfjäll (Skellefteå AIK/SEA) – The Kraken’s 2023 sixth-round pick scored his first two goals of the SHL season.
Zeb Forsfjäll skjuter sin första fullträff för säsongen och dubblerar Skellefteås ledning 🚨 pic.twitter.com/7D8975PJ9a
Nikke Kokko (CV/SEA) – Posted his first AHL shutout on Friday, stopping all 31 shots against San Diego.
Week ahead
It’s a light but tricky week. The Kraken head to Edmonton on Thursday, and if the Oilers win in regulation, they’ll leapfrog Seattle (although Edmonton could also move ahead with a win against the Wild on Tuesday). Seattle is just 1-5-1 at Rogers Place, and after Saturday’s win, Edmonton might be ready to go on a run… or the Swiss-cheese defense could return, and the Kraken could show the resilience they’ve shown all season.
The only other game this week is Saturday at home against Detroit. The Wings are on a bit of a skid at 0-3-1, and the Kraken already lost 4–2 to them in November. Detroit has solid special teams; Seattle… does not.
The target for the week should be two points. Anything above that is gravy. The Kraken are playing their worst offensive hockey of the season right now, and until they fix their issues, expectations should stay pretty low.
And finally…
The Kraken are still in a playoff spot and still competitive in games where they don’t have much firepower. They’re in a lull, so no one should be panicking… yet.
Am I the only one trying to keep a level head here?
The Seattle Kraken went full emotional roller coaster mode this week. It started with a convincing, though not exactly dominant, win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday. Businesslike, efficient, and enough to keep the good vibes rolling. The Kraken had a two-goal lead and looked in control the entire game.
Then Thursday happened.
In what was easily the worst loss of the season, the Kraken laid a giant, smelly egg against the San Jose Sharks, getting thumped 6–1 at home by what was, at the time, the third-worst team in the league. It wasn’t just the score, it was the way it happened; mistakes up and down the lineup, lifeless stretches of play, and the kind of performance that makes you question everything. I know this because I did. Walking out of the arena, I found myself wondering: is this team actually good? Sure, every team gets blown out now and then, but when it’s my team getting blown out, I naturally take it personally.
And then came Saturday.
News broke in the morning that Joey Daccord was heading to injured reserve with an upper-body injury, an unexpected twist considering he was a full participant in Thursday’s practice. That meant Philipp Grubauer would get the nod against the St. Louis Blues. The early going was not promising. The Kraken looked sharp for the first five minutes, but a brutal turnover led to a Dylan Holloway goal, and five minutes later, a deflection off Adam Larsson’s stick on a penalty kill made it 2–0 Blues.
But this time, the Kraken pushed back. They clawed their way back to tie it in the second, showed some actual fight, and then, after falling behind again in the third, delivered one of the most dramatic comebacks in franchise history. Chandler Stephenson tied it with two seconds left in regulation, and Shane Wright sealed it in overtime with a slick finish off a beautiful drop pass from Eeli Tolvanen.
Less than 24 hours later, the Kraken were back at it, facing the Dallas Stars on the second night of a back-to-back. Despite the quick turnaround, they brought the kind of compete level that’s become a hallmark of this year’s squad. Seattle outshot Dallas 31–24 and controlled long stretches of play, but couldn’t quite solve Casey DeSmith enough to tilt the scoreboard. A 2–1 loss stings, especially after Saturday’s emotional high, but the effort was there. And in a week defined by swings, this one at least ended with a fight.
Resilience on display?
One of the few endearing traits of last season’s Kraken squad was its knack for clawing back from two-goal deficits to steal wins, something they did nine times last season. Primarily because of a lack of opportunity, this season’s group hadn’t shown that same capability, until Saturday.
There were hints of it earlier in the season, like the gutsy third-period rally against Montreal that forced overtime, even if it ended in a loss. But Saturday’s comeback against St. Louis felt different. It was gritty, dramatic, and decisive. For the first time this season, the Kraken didn’t just push back, they finished the job.
As a fan, it’s reassuring to know this team still has that gear. It’s the kind of team that refuses to fold, even when the odds tilt hard the other way.
19-year-old Berkly Catton plays game No. 10
Berkly Catton officially hit the 10-game mark on Sunday, triggering him burning his first year of his entry-level contract. That’s a significant milestone, but it doesn’t necessarily lock him into the Kraken lineup for the rest of the season. Catton continues to flash the high-end skill that made him a top-10 pick, but he’s also shown the kind of youthful inconsistency that becomes costly when the margins are razor thin.
It’s worth remembering that burning a year of the ELC doesn’t guarantee a full NHL season. Daniel Sprong played 18 games for Pittsburgh in 2015–16 before being sent back to junior in December. Others have done that, but Sprong jumped to mind for some reason. With Jared McCann’s return looming, and assuming the injury bug doesn’t bite again, it’s fair to wonder if the Kraken might consider a similar path for Catton. Development isn’t linear, and sometimes the best move is the one that sets a player up for long-term success.
Kraken penalty kill challenges
The Kraken’s penalty kill has been a sore spot for much of the season, and the numbers don’t sugarcoat it. Seattle currently sits 30th in the league in PK percentage. But over the last five games, there’s been a noticeable uptick in execution and structure. Yes, they’ve still allowed a power-play goal in each of the last three outings, but the overall kill rate and pressure on entries have looked sharper. For a unit that’s struggled, even marginal improvement feels like a step in the right direction.
Help may be on the horizon, too. Freddy Gaudreau, who was logging the most shorthanded minutes among Kraken forwards before landing on IR, is skating again and approaching the four-week mark of his original four-to-six-week recovery timeline. His return would be a welcome boost to a penalty kill group still trying to find its rhythm. If the Kraken can pair Gaudreau’s defensive instincts with the recent signs of progress, they might finally start digging out of the PK basement.
Other musings
Saturday night’s comeback win was the first time this season that the Kraken trailed at any point in a game and won. They also never led in the game.
With his first NHL goal on Wednesday night against the Sharks, Ryan Winterton became the 50th player to score in Kraken history. He is the eighth player to record his first NHL goal as a member of the Seattle Kraken. Can you name the other seven?
Eeli Tolvanen scored his first goal of the season off a rebound. That was the Kraken’s seventh rebound goal of the season. They rank third in the league in this category. Not sure how much weight this stat carries, but they were near the bottom last season. It’s another example of subtle, incremental improvement we are seeing this season.
Faceoff possession was something the Kraken struggled with early in the season, but there has been some progress made in that part of the game. The Kraken had two faceoff goals over the weekend, which puts them at the top third of the league in this stat.
With just one start each over the first 30 days of the season, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see either Philipp Grubauer or Matt Murray show signs of rust. Instead, both stepped up when called upon, delivering solid performances that gave the Kraken a chance to win both games.
Saturday night marked the Kraken’s seventh overtime game of the season, tied with Montreal for the most.
The Kraken are tied for second in points in the Pacific Division with 18. As strong a start as it’s been, they’re just two points ahead of seventh-place Edmonton. This division is tight.
One team I’ve watched a lot lately is the Anaheim Ducks. They lead the Pacific in points and are the league leaders with 4.1 goals per game.
The Kraken are now 0–2–0 on the season in the second game of back-to-backs. They were 0–12–0 in those games last season. Their next chance comes in a few weeks against the New York Islanders.
Seattle Torrent forward Hilary Knight had a hat trick in Game 2 of the Rivalry Series between the USA and Canada. The Torrent were well represented in these two games with five players on Team USA and two on Team Canada. The U.S. won the first two games and will re-engage in early December.
The Torrent open training camp on Tuesday and will head to Vancouver for two preseason games against the Vancouver Goldeneyes this coming weekend.
Trivia answer: Matty Beniers, Shane Wright, Tye Kartye, Jani Nyman, Ryker Evans, Kole Lind, and Will Borgen scored their first NHL goals with the Kraken.
Marcus Johansson (MIN) – The former Kraken forward played his 1,000th NHL game on Sunday with the Minnesota Wild against Calgary. He only played 51 games with Seattle in 2021–22 but was a steady, reliable presence on a team not known for its steadiness.
Andre Burakovsky (CHI) – Another former Kraken is off to a great start with Chicago: seven goals and seven assists in 15 games.
Jagger Firkus (CVF/SEA) – Firkus is thriving in his second pro season with Coachella Valley, tallying 11 points in 11 games.
The week ahead
The Kraken return to Climate Pledge Arena for a three-game homestand, and while home ice is always welcome, the schedule offers little breathing room.
Tuesday: Columbus Blue Jackets. Don’t let their record fool you, Columbus is a young and exciting team that plays with pace. They’ll be on the second night of a back-to-back, but they’re more dangerous than the standings suggest.
Thursday: Winnipeg Jets. Always a handful and likely still salty about the Kraken’s win in Manitoba earlier this season. Expect a heavy, structured game we have come to expect from the Jets.
Saturday: San Jose Sharks return to Seattle riding a 7–2–1 stretch and fresh off a 6–1 dismantling of the Kraken just last week. That one stung, and you can bet the Kraken haven’t forgotten.
With key players still sidelined, grabbing three of six possible points would be a respectable outcome. But if they can swipe a little extra before heading out on a four-game road trip, it could go a long way toward keeping this early-season success rolling.
So, how are we feeling after all that? From despair to delirium and everything in between, this week had it all. Drop your thoughts, reactions, or emotional damage assessments below.
Don’t look now, but the Seattle Kraken have a five-game point streak to start the season and just grabbed four of six possible points on their swing through eastern Canada. If you’re not on the Lane Train yet, it’s time to hop aboard.
Being competitive
I’ve mentioned it on the Sound Of Hockey Podcast and in our preseason roundtable, but one of the biggest things I wanted to see from this team was simple: be competitive. Anyone can look at the team’s four overtime games and see that the Kraken have been right there in every one, even coming away with victories in two of the four.
It is more than just the end results. I love how this team responds after getting scored on. It’s almost like they refuse to let opponents build momentum off a goal. Several times against the Maple Leafs, I thought Toronto might take over after tying the game, but to the Kraken’s credit, that never really happened. In fact, a few times, it felt like Seattle grabbed control right back.
They’ve never trailed by more than one goal this season and have only allowed two consecutive goals in regulation once. That’s likely another byproduct of Lane Lambert’s defensive structure, and honestly, it’s a pleasure to watch.
Face-off possession
One area that continues to challenge the Kraken is face-offs. And I’m not just talking about the percentages you see in the box score. While there’s no public data tracking “possession after a face-off,” the Kraken are currently allowing the second-most shot attempts against within 10 seconds of a face-off draw, an average of 10.8 per game.
That issue burned them a couple times this week, most notably on Cole Caufield’s overtime winner for the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday and John Tavares’s third-period goal against Toronto on Saturday.
It’s something they’ll need to tighten up as the season goes along.
Injuries continue to pile up, Catton making NHL debut
In case you missed it, the team announced that center Freddy Gaudreau has been placed on injured reserve and is expected to miss four to six weeks. Gaudreau is much more than just a fourth-line center. He plays a crucial complementary role as a right-shot pivot who kills penalties and thrives in the shootout.
Before his injury, Gaudreau was on the ice for nearly 45 percent of the Kraken’s total penalty-kill minutes. He now joins Kaapo Kakko and Ryker Evans, who have both missed the entire season to this point and remain a few weeks away from their original return targets.
The Kraken called up John Hayden from Coachella Valley to fill that fourth-line center role. He got some time on the penalty kill, but it looks like Tye Kartye and Chandler Stephenson will take on more of Gaudreau’s PK minutes for now.
On top of that, Ryan Lindgren left the Toronto game late in the third period after being struck in the face by a puck. The team hasn’t shared an update yet, but they did recall Ville Ottavainen on Sunday to join them for the back half of this road trip. With back-to-back games ahead, the Ottavainen call-up might just be a precaution in case anyone else gets dinged up.
As if it could not get any worse, the Kraken announced that Jared McCann is out day-to-day with a lower body injury. That’s another unfortunate development for arguably the Kraken’s best goal scorer.
On the flip side, McCann’s injury creates an opportunity for Berkly Catton to make his NHL debut, which he will do Monday in Philadelphia.
#SeaKraken forward Jared McCann will not play tonight and is out day-to-day with a lower body injury.
We have generally assumed the plan was to keep Catton on the roster as a healthy scratch long enough to send him for a conditioning stint in the AHL, but the long list of injuries has forced Seattle’s hand. Now, the 19-year-old rookie will get a look on a line with Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle.
It’s probably stating the obvious, but with three wins and two overtime losses in their first five games, the Kraken are off to their best start through five games in franchise history.
Before Saturday night’s matchup, the Kraken were just 1-6-1 against the Maple Leafs all time, and they still haven’t beaten Toronto at Climate Pledge Arena.
With four of their first five games going to overtime, it’s no surprise the Kraken have played more OT games than any other team so far this season. For comparison, it took Seattle until Game 15 last season to reach four overtime appearances.
The Kraken have also scored first in four of five games, which is a trend you love to see.
It’s felt like the Kraken have taken a lot of penalties and spent a lot of time shorthanded this season, but that’s actually not the case. They’re averaging just 2.4 times shorthanded per game, which ranks among the top five in fewest times shorthanded per game in the NHL.
It’s still early, but the Kraken’s power play is clicking at 28.6 percent, currently fifth best in the league.
Seattle also leads the NHL in blocked shots, averaging 20.6 per game, a stat that fits perfectly with the blue-collar identity Lambert is building.
Chandler Stephenson is the only Kraken center with a face-off win percentage above 50 percent this season.
Before I get in trouble, I fully recognize that the “Lane Train” was first coined by the BFOTP, Alison Lukan.
Goal of the week
From everything I’ve heard, Josh Mahura might be the most universally liked guy in the Kraken room. So when he scored that huge first goal as a Kraken, the celebration said it all, everyone was fired up for him.
Shane Wright (SEA) – After a quiet start, Wright flipped the switch this week with two goals and two assists in three games. The confidence is showing, and it feels like he’s just getting started.
Ryan Donato (CHI) – A forever Kraken OG, Donnie’s doing Donnie things again — three goals, two assists, and an overtime winner against the Ducks for good measure. It’s hard not to root for him.
Chandler Stephenson (SEA) – Stephenson continues to be an absolute workhorse. He has four points in three games, leading all Kraken forwards in ice time, and is now taking on even more with Gaudreau out. The man’s everywhere.
The week ahead
With injuries stacking up, the back half of this road trip is about to get tricky. The Kraken will play their first back-to-back of the season, Flyers Monday, Capitals Tuesday, before wrapping it up Thursday in Winnipeg. Three games, six possible points. If they can come away with three or more, that’s seven of 12 for the trip, not bad at all for a team that’s decimated by injuries and is still finding its rhythm.
The second game of that back-to-back will be the one to watch. Washington is 4-2-0 and playing well, and remember: the Kraken went 0-12-0 on the second night of back-to-backs last year. Even a single point Tuesday night would already be progress.
Then there’s the goaltending situation. Joey Daccord has started four out of the five games this season, and he’s been solid. But with games on consecutive nights, we should see one of the backups — Philipp Grubauer or Matt Murray — get a look. The team hasn’t tipped their hand on how they’ll handle the rotation yet, so this week should give us our first real clue about how this might play out with three goaltenders.
And finally…
The Kraken are far from perfect, but through five games, they’ve shown they can hang with anyone. To be clear, I still don’t really know what we have with this group yet, but the early results are undeniably positive. If they keep grinding out points on this trip, we might be looking at a team that’s quietly figuring out how to win the hard way.
