When the Seattle Kraken drafted Julius Miettinen No. 40 overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, they selected him for his size and his ability to impose himself in the offensive zone.
Though he plays with a lot of intensity on the ice, off the ice he couldn’t be further from that. With a beaming smile, the Kraken are getting one of the brightest, most charming personalities in the WHL.
The 20-year-old from Helsinki, Finland, has enjoyed plenty of success this season with the Everett Silvertips. He has 26 goals, 38 assists, and a plus-51 rating, including a hat trick and two assists last night, Feb. 27, against the Kamloops Blazers. His five-point performance marked a WHL career high.
Now, in what is likely his final season with the Tips before turning pro, Miettinen is looking to lead the franchise to its first WHL championship in team history. He’s focused on leading his team by dominating in tight areas.
“Just small details that the pro game needs you to have. Those are what I’ve been focusing on right now because the jump (to the pros) is gonna be hard,” Miettinen said. “Now I feel like I’m so much better than I was. And I mean, just everything you do as a center affects the game so much.”
Miettinen played in his second World Junior Championship in Minnesota. While wearing an A, he had two goals and two assists in six games, helping lead the team to a silver medal.
“It was awesome,” Miettinen said. “To be there with the Finnish guys as a second-year player, and having that first-year experience under your belt, helped so much.”
According to Miettinen, the Kraken have been paying close attention, monitoring his development ahead of the jump to the pros. He’s worked on his skating and edge work over the last two seasons since being drafted.
He has been in a locker room filled with NHL talent over the past four seasons, including former Silvertips captains Austin Roest and Ben Hemmerling. He named those players as guys who made the jump to the pros and lead by example.
“New place, new guys, new team — that’s always a jump. But I try to live in the moment,” Miettinen said. “It’s cool to see guys live their dreams. Not a lot of guys get the chance to do that. But from their last years, just seeing how they do things, like the life they live — you gotta be a pro.”
Plus, playing with that Landon DuPont guy has been pretty cool, too.
“That guy’s just unbelievable at everything he does,” Miettinen said. “He is so mature. I wouldn’t believe he’s 16 if I didn’t know. How he practices, how he treats his body — it’s just unbelievable. Just everything he does, he’s a pro.”
It’s been an incredible year for the green and white once again. At 47-7-2-1 with 97 points and first place in the Western Conference, they sit a staggering 36 points ahead of the second-place team in the U.S. Division.
The Silvertips seem to be well on their way to another deep playoff run with Miettinen at the helm. The team has fallen short in prior years, but this year feels more promising to him.
“Every year is a new year. You have a different team, different guys with you. But I feel like this year is different. I don’t know how many games we’ve been trailing in the last period, and then we just find a way to come back and win the games.
From the experience of last year, we know what it’s like. We know it’s a battle. It’s one game at a time. We’ve got to focus on the little details. One shift might change the whole season.”
Photo Courtesy of Evan Morud and the Everett Silvertips
The dust has settled on a thrilling Olympic competition, in which both the Women’s and Men’s USA ice hockey teams came away with gold medals after respective 2-1 overtime victories against Canada. The women trailed Canada 1-0 late in the gold medal game when Hilary Knight, captain of both Team USA and the Seattle Torrent, forced overtime with a redirection with 2:04 remaining. Defenseman Megan Keller finished the job in overtime and secured gold for Team USA.
On the men’s side, goaltender Connor Hellebuyck stood on his head and stole the game for Team USA. After Jack Hughes had a tooth knocked out by a high stick, he scored the winner in overtime on a great play and pass from Zach Werenski.
Additionally, Kaapo Kakko and Eeli Tolvanen will bring back bronze medals after defeating Slovakia 6-1 in Finland’s final game of the tournament. Congrats to all the Olympic athletes.
Now the focus shifts back to the NHL. Most teams, minus the Olympians, returned to practice Feb. 16 and will resume regular-season play Feb. 25. The Seattle Kraken, who find themselves in third place in the Pacific Division, start with a back-to-back Wednesday in Dallas and Thursday in St. Louis.
January recap
With the Olympic break, February was split. The games on Feb. 3 and 4 are included in the January update. The three games from Feb. 25 through 28 will be counted as part of March.
The Kraken needed to put together a big month in January to get back into the playoff mix, and that is exactly what they did. With a big win in Los Angeles to close out pre-Olympic play on Feb. 4, Seattle opened a three-point buffer over the Kings, who are just outside the playoff cutline.
The Kraken hold an 11-6-2 record in 2026, putting them back on pace for 95 points. The 24 standings points earned are first in the Pacific over that span. Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer split starts as evenly as possible over a 19-game stretch, with Daccord starting nine and Grubauer 10. Each earned 12 standings points in their starts.
Seattle also found a scoring touch, averaging 3.53 goals per game during the month. At that rate, they would rank third in the NHL behind Colorado at 3.84 and Tampa Bay at 3.55. Even with the surge, the Kraken sit 23rd overall at 2.88 goals per game.
With the standings so bunched up, 16 of the 19 games were against the Bubble tier. Seattle played almost every other night, with two instances of two days off and four back-to-back sets. The condensed schedule created a playoff-like pace and rhythm in which the Kraken excelled.
Updated tiers
A gap is starting to open between playoff and non-playoff teams, though several remain within striking distance.
Bolded teams are teams the Kraken play this month. ‘x2’ indicates the Kraken face that team twice. Up and down arrows show teams that moved between tiers.
Notes on tier movement
Playoff Bound tier
The group remains the same, but several teams are knocking on the door. Montreal, Detroit, and Pittsburgh are all pushing, with Pittsburgh posting a surprising 12-3-3 record in 2026. Any of those could move up next month. On the flip side, Colorado still leads the Presidents’ Trophy race, but its 7-7-2 record in 2026 ranks 24th over that stretch. Minnesota is another team to watch. The Wild are winning, but many of those victories came in overtime or shootout. In 2026, they have only four regulation wins.
Bubble tier
The separation is widening. Florida, Philadelphia, Nashville, and San Jose sit just above the Tankers tier. There is a noticeable range within this tier, which is reflected in the spacing.
Tankers tier
Four teams join this tier: New Jersey, the New York Rangers, St. Louis, and Calgary. All posted losing records in 2026 and sit at least 11 points out of a wild-card spot.
March and late-February games
As mentioned earlier, the March breakdown includes the three games on Feb. 25, 26, and 28. After the Kraken jump right back into the thick of it with a back-to-back against the Stars and Blues, they have one other back-to-back in March, traveling to Vancouver on March 14 before returning home to face Florida on March 15.
From Feb. 25 through March 31, Seattle will travel 10,472 miles. With 17 games, that averages 616 miles per game, and the stretch includes the longest road trip of the season at six games. Fortunately, the Kraken get their second six-game homestand, followed by a quick trip to Vancouver and then two more home games. That means eight of nine games from Feb. 28 through March 17 are at Climate Pledge Arena, with the lone road game a short hop north.
The NHL trade deadline is March 6. It remains unclear whether Seattle will buy, sell, or stand pat. General manager Jason Botterill took a swing at Artemi Panarin, though it did not materialize. Botterill has shown he is willing to be aggressive if the right deal emerges. VP and assistant general manager Alexandra Mandrycky was recently asked at a season ticket holders event about the Kraken’s trade deadline strategy. She said the team is always looking to improve, whether through a short-term addition or by adding future assets, and that the Kraken will survey the market and only make a move if it improves the team.
Updated target percentages
With teams moving from the Bubble to Tankers tiers, the required points percentages have shifted slightly. Here are the updated monthly targets.
Tier targets
Playoff Bound tier
This tier presents a challenge with five games in the month. Seattle will face Dallas, Carolina and Colorado once, and Tampa Bay twice. Tampa Bay entered the break at 14-1-1 in 2026, while Carolina sits at 12-3-3. The good news is Seattle owns a .611 points percentage against this tier this season, their best mark against any tier. Target: five points out of 10.
Bubble tier
There are eight games against this tier. Only two of those teams hold playoff spots coming out of the break. Seattle will face Ottawa, Columbus, and Buffalo once, and Florida and Nashville twice. Target: 10 points out of 16.
Tankers tier
With St. Louis joining this tier, Seattle has four games here. They will play St. Louis and Vancouver twice each, including two back-to-backs. The Kraken are 3-4-1 against this tier this season for a .438 points percentage, their worst mark against any tier. These are must-have games, especially given their struggles against this tier. Seattle must be ready at puck drop and set the tone early against these teams. Target: six points out of eight.
Wrapping up
The Kraken opened calendar year 2026 in strong fashion and must keep rolling. They sit one point behind Edmonton with two games in hand. Anaheim and Los Angeles remain close, so Seattle cannot afford a slide.
Dallas is first on Feb. 25. The Stars had seven players at the Olympics, which could create early rust for that team as a whole. They also have Jason Robertson, a notable Team USA snub, who will look to add to his 32 goals.
If you have comments or questions, feel free to leave them below.
Blaiz Grubic
Blaiz Grubic is a contributor at Sound Of Hockey. A passionate hockey fan and player for over 30 years, Blaiz grew up in the Pacific Northwest and is an alumni of Washington State University (Go Cougs!). When he’s not playing, watching, or writing about hockey, he enjoys quality time with his wife and daughter or getting out on a golf course for a quick round. Follow @blaizg on BlueSky or X.
The Olympic break roster freeze is officially over, and the NHL has snapped back into trade deadline mode. Between now and March 6, every front office will be asking the same question: Who are we, really? And for the Kraken, a team that has spent most of the season hovering around the playoff bubble, the answer isn’t as straightforward as it is for others.
That’s what makes this deadline so compelling. Seattle isn’t locked into any one lane. Depending on the plan, they can justify almost any approach, with some paths more realistic than others. And because the conversation usually collapses into the oversimplified “buy or sell,” it’s worth laying out the full menu of strategies NHL teams actually use this time of year. Here’s what’s on the table, with real examples and a little Kraken-specific seasoning.
The big swing
This is for teams that want to push their chips in and win a Stanley Cup now. This category includes both the classic “full buyer” approach and the rare, seismic deadline blockbuster that shakes the league.
Examples:
Dallas Stars (2025):Acquired Mikko Rantanen from the Hurricanes for Logan Stankoven, two first-round picks, and two third-round picks. Result: Lost in the Conference Finals to the Oilers.
Vegas Golden Knights (2024): Added Tomas Hertl and Noah Hanifin for two firsts, a third, and depth prospects. Lost in the first round, but both players remain long-term pieces.
Tampa Bay Lightning (2023): Acquired Tanner Jeannot from Nashville for Cal Foote and five draft picks. Result: Lost in the first round to Toronto.
Toronto Maple Leafs (2023): Added Erik Gustafsson, Jake McCabe, Sam Lafferty, Ryan O’Reilly, and Noel Acciari across three trades for Rasmus Sandin and multiple picks. Won a round, then fell to Florida.
Kraken angle: Very unlikely. Seattle hasn’t reached the “push the chips in” phase of the franchise. A blockbuster only makes sense if it involves a player with several years of term beyond 2025–26, and that might be a deal they try to swing over the summer.
Targeted buyer
This is the “we’re good, but let’s not tweak too much” approach. You’re improving the roster without lighting your future on fire. Usually there’s a specific role or depth need, but these moves don’t get the headlines of a big swing.
Examples:
Winnipeg Jets (2025): Added Brandon Tanev and Luke Schenn for second-round picks. Won a round, then lost to Dallas.
Florida Panthers (2024): Acquired Vladimir Tarasenko for a third and a fourth. Won the Stanley Cup.
Dallas Stars (2023): Added Max Domi and Evgenii Dadonov for a second and Denis Gurianov. Reached the Conference Finals.
Kraken angle: Unlikely. With the team finally healthy, the Kraken have an abundance of depth, which makes this scenario less likely. Their needs lean more toward high-end talent, and that usually requires significant assets.
Stay the course
Sometimes the best move is no move. Sometimes the best move is getting a key player back from injury. Sometimes the best move is solving your depth issues with internal resources. Plenty of teams have taken this path and lived to tell the tale.
Examples:
Montreal Canadiens (2025): Did nothing at the deadline, made the playoffs, then lost to Washington in Round 1.
Boston Bruins (2024): Made two small depth trades, finished second in the Atlantic, beat Toronto, then lost to Florida.
Seattle Kraken (2023): Stood pat, then beat Colorado in seven games before falling to Dallas in seven.
Kraken angle: Likely. It’s not exciting, but it’s probably the most likely scenario. The Kraken are in a playoff spot and playing their best hockey of the season, but it’s hard to argue they’re a true Cup contender. Keeping their expiring contracts may simply be the strategy.
Soft seller
You’re not rebuilding, but you recognize the long odds of contending for the Cup. You have players on expiring contracts who could fetch a nice return, and you’re willing to listen.
Examples:
Washington Capitals (2024): Shed Evgeny Kuznetsov, Joel Edmundson, and Anthony Mantha while seven points out of a playoff spot. Still made the playoffs, then were swept by the Rangers. Playing it conservative enabled them for a busy summer of retooling by acquiring Pierre-Luc Dubois, Andrew Mangiapane, Logan Thompson, and Jakob Chychrun in four different trades.
Pittsburgh Penguins (2024): Moved Jake Guentzel and little else. Despite calls to tear it down, the core stayed intact. Now, the Penguins are surprisingly back in a playoff spot with that same core.
Kraken angle: Possible. The Kraken have four players on expiring contracts: Jaden Schwartz, Jordan Eberle, Eeli Tolvanen, and Jamie Oleksiak. All have contributed, but the Kraken also have enough depth to backfill if another team makes an offer they can’t refuse. With Ben Meyers and Berkly Catton set to return from injured reserve, a trade could solve a roster crunch while bringing back a meaningful asset. It also seems like current Coachella Valley Firebirds Logan Morrison and Jani Nyman could help backfill any forward departures, while Seattle is carrying two extra defensemen in Cale Fleury and Josh Mahura.
Tear it down
A tear it down approach isn’t really a trade deadline strategy — it’s a multi-year plan for a team with little to no path to competitiveness. Full rebuilds are less common now, since there’s no guarantee they work. But a major deadline offload can signal the start (or continuation) of one.
Example:
Boston Bruins (2025): On the outside of the playoff picture, they moved Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, Charlie Coyle, Justin Brazeau, and Trent Frederic. One year later, they’re holding down the last wild card spot with a very different roster.
Kraken angle: Very unlikely. Seattle has a healthy amount of young talent in the NHL and in the pipeline, plus plenty of early-round picks in the coming drafts. A major teardown at the deadline makes little sense.
What should the Kraken do?
With the Kraken in the playoff hunt and several players on expiring contracts, they have multiple paths available. It’s unlikely they’ll be a major player at the deadline, but if an opportunity arises to add an impact player with term, they’ll be in the mix. They also have pieces that could help any playoff team, along with prospects and picks that rebuilding clubs covet.
They have options, but staying relatively quiet might be the most realistic outcome.
So what’s your take? If you were Seattle Kraken general manager Jason Botterill, which lane would you choose, and how bold would you be as the deadline approaches?
“We’re going streaking! Through the quad, and into the gymnasium!” – Frank Ricard, Old School, 2003
The Seattle Kraken have had an up-and-down season, bouncing between winning and losing streaks. Recently, the crew at Sound Of Hockey held a Mailbag segment on Episode 369 of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. They did not get through every question, but one submission stood out to me and inspired this article.
FMammal asked on the Patreon, “Does it matter if a team is streaky the way the Kraken seem to be, or is the only important thing the point total after all 82 games?”
We are going to take this one level deeper and also explore how streaky teams perform in the playoffs.
Definitions
Let’s start by defining the types of streaks used in this analysis.
Point streak: Three or more consecutive games in which a team earns at least one point in each game. This includes wins of any kind and overtime or shootout losses.
Losing streak: Three or more consecutive games in which a team loses. This includes regulation losses, overtime losses and shootout losses.
Win streak: Three or more consecutive games in which a team wins and earns two points in each game, including regulation, overtime and shootout victories.
To evaluate streakiness and playoff success, I created the following metrics:
Streakiness tier: Low (under 49 games spent in point streaks or losing streaks), Medium (50 to 60 games), High (61 games or more).
Balance ratio: The number of games teams are on point streaks divided by the total number of games on any streak. Any value above 0.50 means a team earned points in more games than it lost while streaking.
Playoff depth score (PDS): Teams earn one point for making the playoffs and one point for each round won. A Stanley Cup champion earns five points. Teams that miss the playoffs earn zero. For example, when Seattle made the playoffs in 2022-23 and lost in the second round, the Kraken earned a PDS of two.
Kraken streaks this season
For this piece, streak data is based on point streaks and losing streaks, unless otherwise noted.
The Kraken rank 13th in the NHL with nine total streaks this season.
The streaks break down as follows:
Five-game point streak (Oct. 9–18): eight of 10 points
Five-game point streak (Oct. 23–Nov. 3): eight of 10 points
Three-game point streak (Nov. 11–15): five of six points
Three-game point streak (Nov. 20–23): five of six points
Six-game losing streak (Nov. 23–Dec. 8): one of 12 points
Four-game losing streak (Dec. 12–18): zero of eight points
10-game point streak (Dec. 20–Jan. 8): 18 of 20 points
Four-game losing streak (Jan. 14–19): one of eight points
Four-game win streak (Jan. 25–31): eight of eight points
It may not feel like it at times, but Seattle has had six point streaks and only three losing streaks. That amounts to 30 games on point streaks and 14 games on losing streaks.
The 10-game point streak ranks sixth in the NHL this season.
Streakiness and playoff results
Data was collected only from seasons in which the Kraken have existed, covering 2021-22 through the current season.
During that span, teams with a balance ratio below 0.50 never made the playoffs. A balance ratio under 0.50 means a team spent more games on losing streaks than point streaks. Losing more games than you win is not a recipe for success.
The heatmap focuses on teams with a balance ratio of 0.51 or higher. The Kraken currently sit at 0.68, based on 30 point-streak games and 14 losing-streak games (30 of 44 games).
Playoff depth score (Number of teams in bucket)
The results seem to align with intuition. Teams with higher balance ratios perform better in the playoffs. There is also a trend showing that playoff depth score improves as streakiness increases for teams above a 0.68 balance ratio.
Balance ratio 0.68–0.84: PDS rises from 1.57 to 1.77, a 12.7 percent increase
Balance ratio 0.85–1.00: PDS rises from 2.25 to 2.60, a 15.6 percent increase
The Kraken currently sit at a 0.68 balance ratio and are trending toward 67 total streak games. That would place them in the High streakiness tier.
Among the 13 teams in that bucket, 12 made the playoffs in the last four seasons, and eight reached at least the second round. The 2023-24 Edmonton Oilers advanced the furthest, losing in the Stanley Cup Final.
Seattle sits on the cutoff line. When teams drop below a 0.68 balance ratio, only eight of 16 made the playoffs. Of those eight, six entered as wild cards and two finished third in their division. In every case, those teams opened the playoffs as underdogs, drawing higher-seeded opponents and facing a steeper path to advancing.
A necessary caveat
This heatmap has a flaw.
As streakiness increases, teams with strong balance ratios are also winning more games overall. That inflates playoff success. Looking at average standings points for teams in the 0.68–0.84 bucket shows the issue clearly.
Low streakiness: 98 points
Medium streakiness: 102 points
High streakiness: 106 points
It would be expected that a 106-point team would perform better in the playoffs than a 98-point team, and that is exactly what is being shown here.
Standings points matter more
Breaking standings points into buckets and slicing them by streakiness tier produces inconsistent results. If streakiness alone drove playoff success, each standings-point bucket would show the same trend. The buckets do not show this.
The consistent signal is simpler as shown in the next chart. As standings points increase, playoff depth scores increase. Better teams tend to go further in the playoffs.
Final takeaway
So, does it matter if a team is streaky, or is the final point total all that matters?
The standings point total matters most.
How a team gets there matters less than the final point total. Streaks can help build momentum, but they ultimately show up in the standings. Make the playoffs, and the slate is mostly clean.
Streakiness only becomes an issue when losing streaks pile up. As long as the Kraken keep their balance ratio at or above 0.68, they are positioning themselves to qualify and avoid the most difficult first-round matchups.
Some bonus charts
As part of this research, I pulled additional streak data to provide more context. The charts below show how the Kraken have compared to league averages over the past four seasons in terms of their longest winning, point and losing streaks.
As the season continues, the focus should remain on the standings rather than the emotional swings that come with streaky play. If Seattle keeps earning points at its current rate, the path to the playoffs remains clear, regardless of how bumpy the ride feels along the way.
Blaiz Grubic
Blaiz Grubic is a contributor at Sound Of Hockey. A passionate hockey fan and player for over 30 years, Blaiz grew up in the Pacific Northwest and is an alumni of Washington State University (Go Cougs!). When he’s not playing, watching, or writing about hockey, he enjoys quality time with his wife and daughter or getting out on a golf course for a quick round. Follow @blaizg on BlueSky or X.
We’re about a week away from lighting the torch in Milan for the Winter Olympics, to which NHL and PWHL players will be making the voyage over the Atlantic Ocean to play in the tournament, which means there will be few games locally for most of February.
For the players not going to the Olympics, the break will be a nice time to relax, recover and get ready for the race to the playoffs. But for fans, especially those of the Seattle Kraken and Torrent, the shortest calendar month of the year is about to feel like the longest.
The Kraken only play one home game in February, which is the very last day of the month against the Vancouver Canucks. That’s the same with the Torrent, who will play just a day earlier against the Toronto Sceptres.
No live hockey for a month? Really?
Have no fear, there are plenty of alternative ways for fans to get some games in. Here’s what’s happening around the region this month to get your live hockey fix until the pro teams return to Seattle.
WHL season in full swing
Fans will need to head north to Everett or south to Kent to catch live WHL action.
The Silvertips are flying high once again this season. At now 38-6-2-1, they sit 12 points ahead for first place in the Western Conference. Get up there to see Landon DuPont while there’s time! He’s really something special to watch in person. Check in on Seattle Kraken forward prospect Julius Miettinen too, who has 19 goals and 25 assists in 31 games this season.
Everett is looking tough to beat once again. Having made the playoffs every year in team history, the Tips are still searching for their elusive first WHL championship. It’s bound to come one of these years, right?
Meanwhile, down at accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, things have not been as smooth.
What was shaping up to be a promising year for the Thunderbirds coming in quickly went south, as the team struggled out of the gate, traded star Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes to Prince Albert, and retooled on the fly. Additions such as top-five WHL point-getter Cameron Schmidt and Noah Kosick have helped stabilize the lineup, though the T-Birds still sit just 10th in the conference at 18-22-3-2.
While things haven’t been perfect, the T-Birds are still hanging around the Western Conference playoff picture, only five points behind Victoria for the final spot. A rematch of last year’s playoff series with Everett could be in store if they find a way to get there.
Other hockey in the region worth noting includes the Seattle Totems and Bremerton Sockeyes of the USPHL, whose seasons are ramping up. And if you’re really starved for hockey, head to Cheney for the ACHA PAC-8 tournament from Feb. 6-8, featuring UW, WSU, WWU and EWU.
February hockey calendar (notable promotions included):
Sunday, Feb. 1: Everett vs. Tri-City, 4 p.m., Angel of the Winds Arena -Mascot Mania Night
Sunday, Feb. 1: Seattle vs. Penticton, 5 p.m., accesso ShoWare Center
Friday, Feb. 6: Everett vs. Kamloops, 7 p.m., Angel of the Winds Arena
Friday, Feb. 6: Seattle vs. Portland, 7 p.m., accesso ShoWare Center
Saturday, Feb. 7: Everett vs. Victoria, 6 p.m., Angel of the Winds Arena -Great Small Dog Race Night
Friday, Feb. 13: Seattle vs. Tri-City, 7 p.m., accesso ShoWare Center
Friday, Feb. 20: Seattle vs. Portland, 7 p.m., accesso ShoWare Center -Girls Night Out
Saturday, Feb. 21: Everett vs. Seattle, 6 p.m., Angel of the Winds Arena
The Seattle Kraken are riding a nine-game point streak, going 8-0-1 in that stretch. On Dec. 19, just before the streak began, Seattle was tied for last in the NHL with 30 points after matching a franchise-worst stretch at 1-9-1. Since then, the Kraken have collected 17 of 18 possible points and now sit third in the Pacific Division.
As fans suffered through Losing Streak Camille and Losing Streak Darren, there were still reasons for optimism. All but two games, both against Edmonton, were one-goal losses once empty-net goals were removed. The Kraken were competitive but consistently finished on the wrong side of the result. Interestingly, by the eye test, Seattle has not played as clean during the current points streak as it did during the losing stretch.
To explore that discrepancy, I compared game-level data from three segments: the current point streak, the losing streaks, and the games prior to Camille and Darren. With the point streak at nine games, the losing stretch at 11, and the pre-Camille segment at 21 games, all comparisons use per-game averages. Data is based on all situations and sourced from MoneyPuck.
Pre-Camille: 21 games from Oct. 9 to Nov. 22
Losing streaks: 11 games from Nov. 23 to Dec. 18
Points streak: nine games from Dec. 20 to Jan. 6
Expected and actual goals
On Nov. 22, just before Losing Streak Camille, the Kraken ranked third-to-last in the NHL in goals scored. With only 2.58 expected goals for per game, Seattle relied heavily on defensive structure and low-event games.
Several trends stand out in the data. During the pre-Camille stretch, expected and actual goals for and against tracked closely. As Seattle pushed for more offense during the losing streak, expected goals for increased by 16.9 percent. The results did not follow. Actual scoring fell to two goals per game, while expected goals against jumped 27.4 percent to 2.91.
That trend reversed during the turnaround. Expected goals for climbed again to 3.16, but the finishing finally arrived. Over the past nine games, the Kraken have averaged 3.89 goals per game while allowing just 1.89.
There are also red flags. During the point streak, expected goals against sit at 3.69 per game. Across the season to date, a 3.69 xGA would rank last in the NHL. Vancouver currently holds that honor at 3.52. As the eye test suggested, Seattle often posted higher expected goals for than expected goals against during the losing streaks, but the scoring support was not there.
Goaltending
For this section, the focus is on team-level goaltending rather than individual performances. Team save percentage shows a strong relationship with goal support, particularly when Seattle scores first.
Pre-Camille: 13 of 21 games with the first goal, 61.9 percent
Losing streaks: three of 11 games, 27.3 percent
Point streak: eight of nine games, 88.9 percent
Goaltending has been a major strength during the point streak, after dipping below .900 during the losing stretch.
Playing with the lead also continues to set this team up for success. Seattle has scored first in 24 of 41 games this season.
Despite expected goals against reaching their highest point of the season, the goaltenders have delivered. Over the last nine games, the Kraken have posted 16.2 goals saved above expected. Across the rest of the season, including pre-Camille and the losing streaks, they sit nearly even at minus 0.4.
Shots
Before the losing streak, Seattle generated only 24.4 shots on goal per game. If that pace held through Jan. 6, the Kraken would rank last in the NHL. During that stretch, there was a clear shift toward urgency and putting more pucks on net.
Shots on goal increased from 24.4 to 28.3 per game, a 16 percent jump that closely mirrors the 16.9 percent increase in expected goals for. Shot attempts rose even more sharply, up 19.5 percent.
That increase came with tradeoffs. Missed shots rose 23.1 percent and blocked shots climbed 21.9 percent. Both exceeded the growth in overall shot attempts, meaning a larger share of shots failed to reach the net.
The point streak tells a different story. Shot attempts are at their lowest point of the season, driven in part by Seattle frequently playing with the lead.
During the point streak, the Kraken have trailed for just 3.1 percent of total game time, or 17:03.
Even with fewer shot attempts, shot quality and efficiency have improved. Missed shots are down 39.5 percent and blocked shots are down 33.1 percent. Shots on goal have dipped by only one per game, to 27.3, and remain 11.9 percent higher than during the pre-Camille stretch.
Kraken can’t rest on their laurels
The Kraken continue to benefit from the current point streak, but there is little margin for complacency. Offensive progress is real, and goaltending has been the anchor. The balance between offense and defensive structure remains a constant tug-of-war. Limiting high-danger chances and bringing expected goals against back down should be a priority as Seattle looks to sustain its scoring gains.
The Kraken will look to extend their point streak to 10 games Thursday against the Minnesota Wild at Climate Pledge Arena. The Wild are coming off two losses to the Los Angeles Kings (one regulation and one shootout loss).
Feel free to leave any comments or questions below, and Go Kraken.
Blaiz Grubic
Blaiz Grubic is a contributor at Sound Of Hockey. A passionate hockey fan and player for over 30 years, Blaiz grew up in the Pacific Northwest and is an alumni of Washington State University (Go Cougs!). When he’s not playing, watching, or writing about hockey, he enjoys quality time with his wife and daughter or getting out on a golf course for a quick round. Follow @blaizg on BlueSky or X.
