Happy New Year, Kraken fans. As the Seattle Kraken roll into 2026, it is time for the January update of the Strive for 95 points series.
The Kraken stumbled into December on a three-game skid to close November. They aimed to right the ship, but the turnaround took longer than expected. Seattle went 1-9-1 over an 11-game stretch, earning just three points. That tied the worst 11-game run in franchise history. The previous stretch came during the inaugural season from Feb. 14, 2022, through March 8, 2022.
Seattle opens January at home against the Nashville Predators, beginning the third of four straight back-to-back sets. The Kraken finally broke through with a second-leg back-to-back win on Dec. 23, the first time they had done that in more than a year and a half. They have also earned points in each of their last three back-to-backs, collecting four total points across those three games. That is a trend worth monitoring.
December recap
There is no sugarcoating December. The losing streaks playfully dubbed Losing Streak Camille and Cynthia by the Sound Of Hockey Podcast were not kind to Seattle. As losses piled up, the Kraken slid down the standings and were tied for last in the NHL in points from Dec. 19 through Dec. 21.
Panic followed, much like the elves in my favorite Christmas movie when Santa was seen (bonus points if you can name the movie). In that moment, Steve steadied the North Pole and guided them through a Level 3 gift wrap incision. The Kraken did the same, closing December on a 4-0-1 run and climbing from last place to two points out of a wild-card spot with games in hand. By points percentage, Seattle currently ranks eighth in the Western Conference and would hold the final wild-card position. The playoff race is very much alive.
A closer look at December shows only one truly poor outing, a 9-4 loss to Edmonton. Seattle has historically struggled against the Oilers, holding a 4-13-1 lifetime record in the series. Teams have off nights, and this one fits that category. Outside of that game, the Kraken went 5-6-1 over their other 12 contests.
Head coach Lane Lambert emphasized defensive structure, and it showed. Excluding empty-net goals, all 12 of those games were decided by a single goal. Seattle lost more than it won, but consistently played tight, competitive hockey. That approach should translate over the long haul and turn close games into points more often than it did in December.
Between the pipes
Seattle received strong goaltending throughout December. The lack of wins was not the fault of Joey Daccord or Philipp Grubauer.
Grubauer led the way with a .920 save percentage and a 2-3 record in five starts. Daccord posted a .908 save percentage with a 3-4-1 record. Both appeared in the nine-goal loss to Edmonton. If that game is excluded, Daccord’s save percentage improves to .926, while Grubauer’s rises to .935.
Joey Daccord
Philipp Grubauer
One of the biggest differences this season compared to previous years is consistency. The Kraken are playing the same style regardless of who is in net. That requires confidence in the goaltenders and a defensive structure that allows them to anticipate shots and manage rebounds.
Many believed Seattle should have bought out Grubauer’s contract during the offseason. Through the first half of the season, general manager Jason Botterill looks wise for holding onto him.
When asked by Darren Brown where Grubauer’s confidence level sits after a strong stretch, Grubauer said, “Just taking it one game at a time. Working with [goaltending coach Colin] Zulianello has been unbelievable. The support from the coaching staff is always huge.”
Target win percentages
December’s target was 16 points. The Kraken fell short, earning 11 points. They now need to make up five points over the next three and a half months.
This update includes games through Feb. 5 due to the Olympic break from Feb. 6 through Feb. 24. The March update will cover Feb. 25 through March 31. With the standings tightly packed, the playoff cut line could fall below 95 points, but the Strive for 95 pace remains the benchmark. Below are the updated target win percentages needed to maintain a 95-point pace.
Updated tiers
This season has made tiering difficult with so many teams clustered together. In the Eastern Conference, every team sits above .500 and within six points of a playoff spot. The Western Conference shows slightly more separation, though much of the conference remains tightly packed behind Colorado, Dallas and Minnesota.
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
Minnesota moves into this tier. The Wild made headlines by trading for superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes. Since the trade, Minnesota is 6-1-1 and holds the third-best record in the NHL. Colorado and Dallas sit atop the league, completing a Central Division podium sweep.
Bubble tier
Buffalo joins the bubble after a 10-game winning streak to close December, moving into the final wild-card spot in the East. New Jersey welcomed back Jack Hughes from a hand injury on Dec. 21, but the Devils have failed to gain traction, going 1-3-1 since his return. Nashville enjoyed an outstanding month, collecting 10 wins, moving them to just one point outside a wild-card spot. Calgary also moves up a tier after finding its stride, rattling off nine wins in December. Calder Trophy runner-up and former Everett Silvertips goaltender Dustin Wolf started eight of those nine victories.
Tanker tier
Tanker teams: Chicago and Winnipeg slid to the bottom after a brutal December. The two teams combined for only five wins in December, two by the Jets and three by the Blackhawks. Chicago and Winnipeg both posted a .286 points percentage for the month of December.
January and early February breakdown
With the standings bunched, most of Seattle’s upcoming opponents fall into the bubble tier. That group accounts for 16 of the Kraken’s next 19 games. Seattle faces two Playoff Bound teams, hosting Minnesota before a road trip to Carolina. The lone tanker matchup is the season’s second meeting with Vancouver on Friday.
The Kraken closed December with a shootout loss to Vancouver in the second leg of a back-to-back. The Canucks did not look sharp in that game. Coincidentally, the Jan. 2 rematch also comes at the end of a back-to-back, giving Seattle a chance to respond after the shootout loss.
Of the 19 games leading into the Olympic break, Seattle plays 10 on the road and nine at home. A six-game homestand from Jan. 19 through Jan. 29 ties for the longest of the season. January is the busiest month on the schedule with 17 games. Including early February games, the Kraken face four back-to-back sets and will need continued strong play from their goaltending tandem.
The overall target for the month is 24 points in 19 games. Tier-specific targets break down as follows:
Playoff Bound: two points in two games
Bubble: 20 points in 16 games
Tanker: two points in one game
There’s always time for a bow
With the named losing streaks (hopefully) in the rearview mirror and a five-game point streak in hand, the Kraken look to start the new year on the right note against Nashville at Climate Pledge Arena.
As the league approaches the Olympic break, this stretch could shape Seattle’s approach to the March 6 trade deadline. With a three-week pause, general managers will have time to assess whether to buy, sell, or stand pat. If the Kraken remain in a playoff position or within striking distance, limited activity makes sense. A slide could push Seattle into seller territory. As John Barr recently pointed out in a Kraken Roundtable on the trade deadline, “If an opportunity arises to add a player like Jordan Kyrou, someone who fills a clear need and has meaningful term left on his contract, the Kraken should absolutely jump at it.”
The second half of the season sets up compelling storylines as separation in the standings begins to take shape. With games in hand and a track record of tight, competitive play, a playoff spot remains a realistic outcome for the Kraken.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments 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 Kraken closed out their four‑game road trip through Calgary and California with the kind of gritty, resilient win that was a staple of this team in the early stages of the season, edging the Kings 3–2 to complete the first three-game Golden State sweep in franchise history.
All three victories came in regulation against teams sitting above Seattle in the standings, a detail that matters a lot more than it sounds. And on top of that, the Kraken finally snapped their long‑running curse on the second half of back‑to‑backs, a streak that stretched all the way back to March 5, 2024. It wasn’t always pretty, and there were long stretches spent absorbing pressure, but Seattle’s structure held, their depth delivered, and they flew home for the holiday break with six massive points in their pocket.
Takeaway 1: No Dunn, no Montour, no problem
The Kraken walked into Los Angeles missing their top two defensemen and still found a way to clamp things down when it mattered. Vince Dunn’s late injury in Anaheim forced him out Tuesday, and with Brandon Montour already sidelined, Seattle needed someone to step into the void. Enter Ryker Evans.
Evans logged a season high 21:36 and carried 82 percent of the team’s power-play minutes. Evans always looks comfortable when taking an expanded role, and no game was probably bigger than Tuesday night. The team needed him to step up, and he delivered.
Seattle also got Berkly Catton back in the lineup for the first time since Dec. 6. He didn’t get on the scoresheet, but he flashed the skill that makes him such an intriguing piece of the future. The little shake-and-go moves, the space creation, the confidence. Yes, there were turnovers. Yes, there was a penalty. But for a player jumping back in cold, it was an encouraging return.
And the fourth line? They were outstanding again. Tye Kartye, Ben Meyers, and Jacob Melanson continue to give Seattle honest, heavy minutes. Meyers’ goal stood up as the game winner, and he’s quietly become a reliable penalty-killing option. That line is earning every shift it gets.
Two weeks ago, the Kraken’s penalty kill was in freefall, giving up seven goals on eight opportunities over a brutal three-game stretch. Since then, the turnaround has been dramatic. Seattle has posted kill rates of 83.3 percent over the last eight games and 88.9 percent during the California swing, driven by a structural adjustment the team made earlier this month.
The power play has been just as impressive. With nine goals on their last 28 opportunities, Seattle is converting at 32.1 percent since Dec. 7, the third best mark in the NHL over that span.
Special teams were sinking this team earlier in the month. Now they’re helping to drag it back into relevance.
Takeaway 3: Just when we thought we were out, they pull us back in
Let’s be clear: the Kraken still have a long climb ahead if they want to be taken seriously as a playoff contender. But sweeping the California teams — all in regulation, all above Seattle in the standings — is a massive step in the right direction.
The underlying numbers won’t blow anyone away. The Kings carried long stretches of play, and Seattle spent plenty of time weathering pressure. But the Kraken defended the interior, kept L.A. to the outside, and found timely goals despite missing four key players.
Help is coming, too. Jared McCann and Jaden Schwartz are inching closer to returns, and their presence should give this team a much needed offensive jolt.
Three straight regulation wins against division opponents is enough to make things interesting again.
Odds and Ends
Seattle scored first in all three games and trailed for just 1:19 across the entire 180 minute trip.
Tuesday marked the Kraken’s 27th one-goal game of the season (excluding empty netters), second only to the Kings.
Eeli Tolvanen extended his points streak to five games, equaling a career best he set back in 2022-23.
Jamie Oleksiak might have had his best game of the season. His defensive play led directly to the Ben Meyers goals, and he was stellar defensively.
Goaltending has been outstanding for the Kraken lately. Philipp Grubauer and Joey Daccord have really carried them through these three games.
And a quick nod to the Seattle Torrent, who held on for a tense one-goal win of their own against Montreal. For those of us running dual screens, those final 10 minutes were… not relaxing.
We’ve crossed another 10-game mark in the Seattle Kraken season. The previous installments of this series carried a tone of optimism, but if you’re looking for silver linings this time, you may want to take this one off. The 2025–26 Kraken just endured one of the roughest stretches in franchise history. The theme of this 10-for-10 is less about excitement and more about confronting the reality of what’s unfolded over the past three weeks.
If you’re still reading, don’t forget, I warned you.
Data point 1: Points percentage in the Pacific Division
10 games ago, Seattle sat third in the Pacific, just two points behind division-leading Anaheim with a game in hand. Since then, they’ve been the worst-performing team in the division, even allowing Vancouver to gain ground.
The Kraken now find themselves tied for sixth in the Pacific and five points out of the final wild card spot.
Data point 2: Goals for and against (excluding empty-netters)
Scoring has been a season-long issue, but the last 10 games have been especially brutal, with the Kraken averaging just two non-empty-net goals per game. Meanwhile, defensive lapses have led to more goals against.
With Jared McCann and Jaden Schwartz sidelined for at least two more weeks, offensive relief is nowhere in sight.
Data point 3: Special teams
Special teams have mirrored the broader struggles. In one three-game stretch, Seattle allowed seven of eight opposing power plays to convert while scoring just once on 11 opportunities.
The recent trend is slightly better: the penalty kill has stopped 10 of the last 12 chances, and the power play has clicked at 29.4 percent over the last four games.
Data point 4: Shot attempts per game
Earlier this season, shot volume was a glaring weakness. Over the last 10 games, attempts have increased—but much of that may be inflated by playing from behind.
Data point 5: Shooting percentage
More shots haven’t translated to more goals. Seattle’s shooting percentage has cratered to just 7.4 percent over this stretch.
Data point 6: High-danger chances (all situations)
The low shooting percentage is partly explained by shot quality. Seattle averages only 5.87 high-danger shots per game—the lowest in the NHL. The lone bright spot: they also allow the fewest high-danger shots against per game.
Data point 7: Defensive zone faceoffs
Chandler Stephenson has taken 44 percent of the team’s defensive zone draws this season, consistently facing the toughest matchups. This usage drags down his public analytics, since zone time isn’t factored into most models, but it underscores his importance in Lambert’s system.
Data point 8: Five-on-three power play time
Seattle has led the league with 4:44 of five-on-three time since November 23, yet they’ve failed to score. Against Utah, they squandered 1:42 of five-on-three in what was essentially a one-goal game (excluding empty-netters).
Data point 9: Goals against average (last 10 games)
While goals-against average isn’t the best measure of goalie performance, it does reflect team defense. Allowing fewer than three goals per game usually gives a team a chance to win. Seattle has hovered near that mark, though I’ve excluded the 9–4 drubbing in Edmonton as a mulligan.
Data point 10: Goals lost to injured reserve
Injuries remain the defining storyline. McCann and Schwartz—Seattle’s top two goal scorers—are both on IR. Without them, the Kraken continue to play tight, one-goal games (excluding empty-netters), but the margin for error is razor-thin.
Closing Thoughts
This 10-game stretch has been a sobering reminder of how fragile success can be in the NHL and how thin this Seattle Kraken team really is. The Kraken aren’t being blown out nightly, but the lack of scoring depth and reliance on injured stars has left them clinging to close games without the finishing power to tilt results in their favor.
The good news? The season is long, and reinforcements are on the horizon. If McCann and Schwartz return healthy, and if Lambert can coax more consistency from the special teams, Seattle still has a shot to claw back into the playoff picture but it will take an impressive turnaround. The margin is shrinking, and the next 10 games may define whether games 21 to 30 is just a stumble or the start of the collapse.
With Berkly Catton on the shelf for the foreseeable future, out week-to-week with an upper-body injury, it puts a pause to his much anticipated rookie season.
It was promising to see him out with a red sweater at morning skate on Sunday morning, but coach Lane Lambert said he’s still pretty far from a return.
20 games (well, 21 now) into his NHL career, the 19-year-old remains one of the youngest players in the league. Yet, it’s looking more and more like he will stay with the team for the entire season.
There are a lot of high hopes for Catton among Kraken faithful, with many thinking his playmaking abilities would pay dividends right away for a team that has struggled to find a consistent source of offense. In certain ways he has helped in this regard, but the player who once scored 54 goals in a season in the WHL has yet to find the back of the net as a pro, so the scoring touch hasn’t yet translated.
Obviously, the first 20 games are not going to define the next 20, the next 200 or an entire career. Not all development paths are created equal, but this is a large enough sample size to begin comparing and contrasting.
So, while his season is on pause, let’s take some time to compare Catton’s first 20 games with the other two Kraken first-rounders to reach that mark: Matty Beniers and Shane Wright.
Catton’s first 20
The Kraken had the option of sending Catton back to the Spokane Chiefs for another season, where he did not have much left to prove, or keeping him in the NHL for a full year and burning a season of his entry-level contract.
Drafted No. 8 overall by the Kraken in 2024, the decision to have him spend his first season in the pro ranks was a heavily calculated one by the front office and coaching staff, who felt it was in his best interest to stay in the NHL and learn the ropes a little earlier than normal.
Catton has experienced some ups and downs to start his NHL career. He came out of the gates hot with three assists in his first five games, including an assist in his debut.
But he went quiet over his next 15, recording only two helpers. He’s totaled 17 shots on goal so far with some quality chances, but he just hasn’t been able to finish.
He’s getting close, though, and gaining confidence along the way. Here’s one of those opportunities he had against the Islanders on Nov. 23.
Golden opportunity for Berkly Catton to get his first NHL goal, but Rittich shuts it down.
Catton has spent the majority of his young career playing on a line with Jordan Eberle and the aforementioned Wright, but he has also seen his fair share of different combinations—six in total, according to MoneyPuck.
He was averaging a little more than 12 minutes per night, with that number fluctuating game-to-game, as it often does for players his age.
Comparing it to Wright and Beniers
Wright, drafted No. 4 overall by the Kraken in 2022, split his first 20 NHL games across three seasons from 2022-23 to 2024-2025. He spent time in the OHL, AHL and at World Juniors between his NHL debut and reaching the 20-game mark.
When he was on the ice with the Kraken during those early stints, he produced at roughly the same pace he is producing at now, totaling five goals and two assists while getting about 11 minutes a game. It took Wright until the eighth game of his career to score his first NHL goal, memorably against Montreal.
While Wright hasn’t been the world-breaker he was hyped to be during his junior career, he has still developed into a solid NHL producer, with 63 points in 124 games.
Matty Beniers, meanwhile, is much more of an outlier when it comes to early-career production for the Kraken. His Rookie of the Year award and scoring in just his second ever game underscore that point.
Through his first 20 games, 10 at the end of the 2021-22 season and 10 in 2022-23, Beniers averaged nearly a point per game at seven goals and 10 assists. He was playing more than 18 minutes per night, a luxury that came when the Kraken were just starting out and building their foundation.
What’s to come…
In terms of production, it’s safe to say Catton’s first 20 games looked far more like Wright’s than Beniers’, although his path to 20 has been far more linear than that of Wright. While Catton is probably the most offensively gifted player of the three, it was always going to take something monumental to match Beniers’ first-year totals.
Many different factors play into these development paths. Top picks are always given plenty of runway, and Catton, like the rest of the Kraken’s first-rounders (all of whom are still under the age of 23), undoubtedly has way more time to become the player he was drafted to be. Benchmarks like these simply give context for what may come next.
So when he gets back, how do you think the next 20 games will look for Catton?
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?
