Analysis: Jordan Eberle, Kraken Get Offensive in 6-1 Season-Opening Win Over Flames
It’s true the Seattle Kraken were facing the Calgary Flames, a team expected by most prognosticators to be at the bottom of the NHL standings this season and competing for a top draft pick. It’s also true tonight was just the first of a long 84-game season.
But make no mistake: the Kraken couldn’t have been much more dominant than they were in a season-opening 6-1 victory, kicking off year No. 2 of the Lane Lambert era with a bang.
“It’s good to see us start that way,” Vince Dunn said postgame. “It’s good to get that confidence rolling. It’s a quick turnaround after preseason. It was a pretty well-rounded team effort there. That’s huge.”
Analysis: Three Things That Must Happen for Kraken to Make Playoffs in 2026-27
The Seattle Kraken have missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the last three seasons and four of their five seasons as a franchise. If they want to end that drought in 2026-27, they cannot simply hope that things break their way. They need tangible improvements in the areas that have held them back year after year.
Nothing is guaranteed, but if the Kraken can check these three boxes, they could give themselves a legitimate chance to return to the postseason in year No. 2 under the watch of coach Lane Lambert:
Two 30-Plus Goal Scorers
Nothing like saying the Kraken need something that has never happened in franchise history before. The Kraken have only had one 30-goal scorer ever with Jared McCann’s 40-goal performance in 2022-23. His 29 goals that following season is the second most in franchise history.
Kraken Depth Shines in 4-2 Preseason Win vs. Canucks
The Seattle Kraken iced a roster of depth and bubble players, against a Vancouver Canucks team of a similar caliber. Still, the Kraken took care of business with a 4-2 win, where the team showed the wealth of talent battling for spots in the bottom of the lineup.
Seattle didn’t have any of their certain top-nine forwards (Jared McCann, Matty Beniers, Jordan Eberle, Bobby McMann, Chandler Stephenson, Mackie Samoskevich, Shane Wright, Kaapo Kakko, and Berkly Catton) play in the game. The “top line” featured Oscar Fisker-Mølgaard centering Frederik Gaudreau and Jani Nyman. Only one other line featured NHL hopefuls: Jake O’Brien with Jacob Melanson and Ben Myers.
Defensively, the Kraken also played more fringe roster players in Ryan Lindgren, Ville Ottavainen, Josh Mahura, Tyson Jugnauth, Cale Fleury, and Ty Nelson. Joey Daccord was pulled after saving all 14 shots he faced, and Nike Kokko allowed two goals on six shots.
Kraken Need Bounce-Back Season From Goalie Joey Daccord
There has been much discussion on how the Seattle Kraken can improve this offseason from their disappointing 34-37-11 season. From possible trades, free agent signings, the internal audit of the organization, and the draft, the fanbase has many opinions on what must be done for Seattle to turn the corner and get back to the playoffs.
One thing that is flying under the radar among the persistent Shane Wright trade rumors and free agency is the underwhelming performance of goalie Joey Daccord last year.
Daccord signed a five-year, $25 million contract ahead of the 2024-2025 season after showing flashes of brilliance the year before. He followed that up with a solid campaign, finishing eighth in the NHL in quality starts and 10th in saves. By most metrics, he was a top-half-of-the-league goalie. He had fully taken the starting job from Philipp Grubauer and made the Kraken look smart to give him that extension.
Then, last season happened. For whatever reason, things did not click as well for Daccord in 2025-26.
3 Takeaways From Kraken Management’s Season-Ending Press Conference
The Seattle Kraken hosted a season-ending press conference with general manager Jason Botterill and CEO Tod Leiweke at Kraken Community Iceplex on Wednesday.
What were some of the biggest takeaways that provided a glimpse into how the team will operate over the offseason and beyond?
Post-Mortem: Three Reasons Why Kraken Failed Once Again in 2025-26
The 2025-2026 NHL regular season is now over. The Seattle Kraken failed to score a goal in their season finale, going out without much of a whimper, falling 2-0 to Vegas to bring another disappointing campaign to an end.
The Kraken finished 34-37-11, totaling 79 points. That ranks third among the five seasons in Seattle Kraken history. They fell three points shy of being the second-highest point total in franchise history. They also failed to have a winning season in Lane Lambert’s first year as head coach, finishing below .500 for the fourth time out of the five years, along with three straight years of sub-.500 hockey.
The Kraken have gone through three head coaches in five seasons. It appears as if Lambert will get a second year, barring an unexpected development.
So, what happened? Why did the Kraken fail to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third straight season?
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.
Kraken the Ice: Have Kraken Become Calamari After Latest Deflating Loss to Mammoth?
While they still haven't been eliminated from playoff competition, the Kraken's chances continue to plummet by day as they suffered another devasting loss to the Mammoth.
Emerald City Spectrum writer Nick Lee offers up an unofficial obituary to Seattle's playoff chances after the latest defeat, explains why the time is now to extend Bobby McMann as he continues to score points in bunches, and breaks down what fans should be watching for the remainder of the season with the playoffs being a long shot.
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.
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.”
Kraken Fall Out of Playoff Spot as Skid Continues in 5-1 Loss to Avalanche
The difference between the first and second period was night and day for the Seattle Kraken against the Colorado Avalanche at Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday.
A lethargic effort from Seattle and a three-point period from Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon put the Kraken in a 3-0 hole through 20 minutes, but the home side came out of the gates swinging in the second period.
Despite building up a 10-0 shots on goal advantage through 10:25, Seattle could not manage to get on the board before Adam Larsson committed a tripping penalty to put the Kraken on the penalty kill.
What should have been a momentum killer was the exact opposite. Chandler Stephenson set up Ryker Evans for a short-handed goal, and Seattle was back in business.
For less than four minutes, unfortunately.
‘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.
Jordan Eberle, Kraken Right the Ship Against Rival Canucks in 5-1 Victory
The Kraken got off to a slow start following the Olympic break. They dropped back-to-back games on the road to come out of the break, by a combined score of 9-2. After entering the Olympic break in a strong playoff spot, Seattle’s position in the Western Conference looked tenuous out of the gate following the games in Milan.
Luckily for the Kraken, the worst team in the NHL showed up at Climate Pledge Arena, in the Vancouver Canucks.
Kraken Stumble Out of Olympic Break With 4-1 Loss to Stars
Coming off the extended Olympic break, the Seattle Kraken managed to put together the kind of start they wanted against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday.
Playing physical from the jump, Seattle did not allow a shot on goal from Dallas between 5:21 and 12:40 in the first period, and put together a productive power-play opportunity in that span, albeit without scoring.
However, the Stars picked up the pressure in the final minutes of the first, scoring just 1:19 before the intermission before taking a 2-0 lead 1:43 into the second. Before the second period was half over, the Kraken trailed 4-0 en route to a 4-1 loss.
‘Always Want to Get That One Back’: Wright Pulls Kraken Past Maple Leafs to Third Straight Win
Redeeming himself after an early snafu on Thursday night, Shane Wright’s two-goal effort steered the Kraken past the Maple Leafs in a convincing 5-2 win. Jumping into third place in the Pacific Division, how did Seattle get it done at Climate Pledge Arena?
Kraken Bounce Back With Third-Period Burst Against Devils
After entering the third period at Climate Pledge Arena tied 1-1 against the Devils on Sunday, the Kraken managed to put just four more shots on goal with a goalie in the net. Luckily for them, two of them went in, allowing them to secure a much-needed win.
Mistakes Continue to Plague Kraken in Return Home in 6-3 Loss to Penguins
A third period goal from Eeli Tolvanen gave the Kraken life, trimming the Penguins’ lead to 4-3. But the home side couldn’t find the equalizer before Rickard Rakell slipped an ugly goal past goalie Joey Daccord en route to a 6-3 Penguins win.
Kraken’s Second Period Burst Leads to 7-4 Win Against Bruins as Kartye Returns to Ice
With Eeli Tolvanen out, coach Lane Lambert broke up the highly productive fourth line for the Kraken on Tuesday night. It was a risky move, but one that paid off and then some as red-hot Seattle earned a 7-4 home win over Boston.
Analysis: What’s Behind Longstanding Kraken’s Shootout Woes?
There have been many persistent issues over the Seattle Kraken’s first few years of existence, and problems on the shootout are perhaps an under-discussed one. Why have the Kraken struggled to gain the edge in the one-on-one?
Kraken Settle for 3-2 Shootout Loss to Canucks
The Kraken outshot the Canucks by 16 across the third period and overtime, but couldn’t beat goaltender Kevin Lankinen with the game hanging in the balance, who turned in a gem to snap Seattle’s four-game winning streak at Climate Pledge Arena.
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