Kraken Snap Skid with Shootout Win Against Vegas
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Kraken Snap Skid with Shootout Win Against Vegas

It looked like the same story.

The Vegas Golden Knights executed a 4-on-2 rush, finished off by Brett Howden just 1:11 into the third period at Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday to put the Seattle Kraken down 3-1. 

After losing 10 of their past 11 games, including five straight in regulation entering Thursday, the Kraken’s playoff hopes are only alive in a minute mathematical sense. Crumbling down the stretch, unable to find the urgency needed to string together positive results, Seattle could only be expected to pack it in once again.

However, after Berkly Catton benefited from a fortuitous bounce to cut it to 3-2, Bobby McMann tied the game midway through the third period. The Kraken played through an eventful overtime period before Matty Beniers and Catton scored in the shootout to lift Seattle to a 4-3 win.

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Kraken Buried in ‘Unacceptable’ Loss to Blackhawks
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Kraken Buried in ‘Unacceptable’ Loss to Blackhawks

The Seattle Kraken’s odds to make the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs were slim entering Saturday night’s matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks at Climate Pledge Arena.

However, facing the team with the second-worst record in the league provided Seattle an opportunity to at least extend its hopes. The Kraken can’t control the other bubble team’s results, but they can control the effort and urgency required to put themselves in the best position possible.

Even then, there wasn’t enough on Saturday night. With a 4-2 loss to a bottom-feeding Blackhawks, the Kraken all but solidified their place among them.

“I would just use one word,” Seattle coach Lane Lambert said. “I’m disappointed.”

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Kraken Blow Lead, Allow Six Unanswered in Critical Loss to Utah
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Kraken Blow Lead, Allow Six Unanswered in Critical Loss to Utah

SEATTLE, Wash. - Jacob Melanson was doing Jacob Melanson things.

Moments after beating out a potential icing for the Seattle Kraken, which faced the Utah Mammoth at Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday, the 22-year-old forward redirected a Ryan Lindgren shot past Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka to extend Seattle’s lead to 3-1 early in the second period.

That kind of high-motor, physical play getting instantly rewarded is just what a Kraken team fighting for a Western Conference wild card spot needs. Instead, it was instantly stripped away.

The Mammoth successfully challenged for goaltender interference, bringing the score back to 2-1. Utah tied it four minutes later, erasing its 2-0 deficit and scoring four more unanswered goals to secure a 6-2 win.

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Bottom-Six Propels Kraken to Big Win Over Panthers
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Bottom-Six Propels Kraken to Big Win Over Panthers

After snapping their four-game losing streak with a 5-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks, the Seattle Kraken’s new-look top line and trade deadline acquisition Bobby McMann’s three-point debut stole the show. Less than 24 hours later, it was the Kraken bottom-six that powered Seattle to a back-to-back sweep with a 6-2 win against the Florida Panthers at Climate Pledge Arena on Sunday.

With two goals each from the third- and fourth-line, the Kraken displayed the top-to-bottom production they’ll need if they want to hold down a spot in the Western Conference playoff picture, which they reclaimed after San Jose lost 7-4 to Ottawa on Sunday. 

“We need everybody,” Kraken coach Lane Lambert said. “That’s the way it’s going to be, and certainly we need everybody and needed everybody on a second night of a back-to-back with a rested team here waiting for us, and Joey (Daccord) played well right off the start, and then our fourth line stepped up and got us going with some energy … so huge for us, but we’re a four-line hockey team, and that’s what we need out of them.”

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Kraken GM Jason Botterill Breaks Down McMann Acquisition, State of Team After Trade Deadline
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Kraken GM Jason Botterill Breaks Down McMann Acquisition, State of Team After Trade Deadline

Striking at close to midnight - at least proverbially - the Seattle Kraken acquired Bobby McMann from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-round pick right before the NHL Trade Deadline on Friday.

McMann, 29, is a forward on the final season of a two-year contract with a $1.35 million AAV. He has 19 goals and 32 points through 60 games this season, which ranks second-most on Seattle behind captain Jordan Eberle (42 points).

Of course, that production came with superstar Auston Matthews at center. According to Natural Stat Trick, McMann had 238:09 of 5-on-5 ice time on a line with Matthews and Max Domi, the most of any single line combination in Toronto this season. 

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‘We Were Committed’: Kraken Stick to Game Plan, Earn Massive 2-1 Win vs. Hurricanes
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‘We Were Committed’: Kraken Stick to Game Plan, Earn Massive 2-1 Win vs. Hurricanes

The Seattle Kraken knew exactly what they needed to do when the Carolina Hurricanes rolled into Climate Pledge Arena on Monday.

Entering the game with the second-best record in the NHL, Carolina averaged the second-most shots on goal per game (32) and had totaled the most combined shots on goal plus shot attempts (2,347 Fenwick For).

So it wasn’t a surprise when the Hurricanes outshot Seattle 36-15 by the end of the night. What was a surprise was that the Kraken put more of theirs into the back of the net.

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