Kraken’s Jekyll-and-Hyde Play Continues to Plague Seattle
Analysis Nick Lee Analysis Nick Lee

Kraken’s Jekyll-and-Hyde Play Continues to Plague Seattle

You know that friend or family member that spends several years in college, not knowing what they want to do when they graduate? They declare and undeclare major after major, switching career paths faster that Indiana Jones replacing the idol in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

That is the Seattle Kraken in 2025-2026. They cannot decide if they are playoff team or not. During certain stretches, they look like they can compete with anyone. They get back into a playoff spot and look like they will have postseason hockey in Seattle. Then, out of the blue, they look like a team playing hockey together for the first time in their lives.

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Kraken Fall Back Into Bad Habits, Suffer 6-2 Loss to Lightning
News Joe Pohoryles News Joe Pohoryles

Kraken Fall Back Into Bad Habits, Suffer 6-2 Loss to Lightning

It started with Jared McCann.

The Seattle Kraken forward said as much, referring to his turnover to Tampa Bay Lightning forward Gage Concalves on a hit along the boards that ultimately led to the latter giving his side a 1-0 lead just 5:45 into Tuesday’s game at Climate Pledge Arena, but it didn’t end there.

Between Tampa’s relentless forecheck and a couple of crucial mistakes on Seattle’s end, the Lightning stormed to a 3-0 lead. The Kraken managed to cut it to 3-2 midway through the second period, but more mistakes doomed them to a 6-2 loss.

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Bottom-Six Propels Kraken to Big Win Over Panthers
News Joe Pohoryles News Joe Pohoryles

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 Waste Crucial Homestand with ‘Mind-Boggling’ Mistakes
Analysis Nick Lee Analysis Nick Lee

Kraken Waste Crucial Homestand with ‘Mind-Boggling’ Mistakes

The Seattle Kraken arrived back in the Emerald City after dropping the first two games on the road following the Olympic break. Then, Kraken fans perked up as the team rattled off wins against the lowly Canucks and talented Hurricanes.

Things were looking up. The fanbase was rejuvenated. There were still four games left in the longest stretch of consecutive home games on the entire Kraken schedule.

They played three very beatable teams before a date with the top team in the entire NHL, the Colorado Avalanche. Instead of taking advantage of a stretch of winnable games at home, the Kraken dropped all four, failing to take advantage of a prime opportunity.

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Kraken Fall Out of Playoff Spot as Skid Continues in 5-1 Loss to Avalanche
News, Game Day Joe Pohoryles News, Game Day Joe Pohoryles

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.

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Kraken GM Jason Botterill Breaks Down McMann Acquisition, State of Team After Trade Deadline
News, Features Joe Pohoryles News, Features Joe Pohoryles

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
News, Game Day Joe Pohoryles News, Game Day Joe Pohoryles

‘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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Kraken Struggle to Shake Bad Habits in 5-1 Loss to Blues
News, Game Day Joe Pohoryles News, Game Day Joe Pohoryles

Kraken Struggle to Shake Bad Habits in 5-1 Loss to Blues

It wasn’t pretty, but it was exactly what the Seattle Kraken wanted.

After allowing three tip-in goals in a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars the night before, the Kraken expressed a desire, a necessity, to throw more pucks on net to create scoring chances for themselves.

“We just need to get pucks towards the net, and get a greasy one,” defenseman Ryker Evans told reporters in Dallas after Wednesday’s game. “We were just trying to make a fancy play or just pass it, and we just need to get it to the net.”

So after Seattle allowed two goals in the first 95 seconds of the second period against the St. Louis Blues to go down 3-1 on Thursday, it appeared Evans followed through when the Kraken needed someone to cut the deficit. 

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Kraken Stumble Out of Olympic Break With 4-1 Loss to Stars
News, Game Day Joe Pohoryles News, Game Day Joe Pohoryles

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.

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