News Kraken Team Notes

[Seattle Kraken]

Monday Musings: Still on a ride

It was another roller‑coaster week for the Seattle Kraken, who traded off losses and wins to finish 2–2–0. Things opened with a 6–3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in which the Kraken started late, battled back, but ultimately came up short. Two days later, they skated to a convincing, though not dominant, 4–1 win over the New York Islanders, and it briefly felt like things were back on track heading into a very important Friday night matchup with the Anaheim Ducks.

I don’t have much desire to relive the Ducks game, but as poorly as the Kraken played for the first two periods, they were within one goal for most of the third. They had their chances, too. Look at the Kraken’s shot attempts by period, excluding blocked shots.

I’m not trying to spin that loss, but even in one of their worst games of the season, they were somehow still in it. Then they rebounded Sunday at got a needed 4-2 win over the New Jersey Devils.

As of Monday morning, they sit four points back of Anaheim for third in the Pacific Division and are tied with the Sharks and Kings for the final wild‑card spot. San Jose and Los Angeles hold the advantage because they’ve each played one fewer game than Seattle.

Even with all that swirling around, it’s worth zooming out for a second and taking stock of where this team actually sits in the bigger picture.

Sticking around​

I wasn’t feeling great about this team after either the Penguins game or the Ducks game, but despite the poor results, the Kraken remain firmly in the playoff mix. Even I need to remind myself that this is all I asked for at the start of the season, and I probably shouldn’t get too emotional after a loss. They’ve had their share of stinkers, but they can beat anyone, which makes tuning in easy. The team is healthy and, believe it or not, starting to score some goals. If they can lock down the defensive structure that defined their early‑season success, they have a decent chance of making the playoffs.

Sabotage returns​

For those who haven’t been to a game lately, Kraken game ops brought back “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys as the player‑intro song. The switch happened for the Islanders game, and based on what I saw online, fans had been clamoring for its return. The Kraken were 10–8–5 with “Cochise” by Audioslave as the intro and are 2–1–0 with “Sabotage” this season. I genuinely wonder what went into the decision to insert “Cochise” in the first place and how “Sabotage” made its way back. My guess is fan feedback drove the return, which is nice to think about.

Sabotage IS back! #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/hpZOOaqfie

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) January 24, 2026

Quick thoughts on Shane Wright​

I’ve had no fewer than 20 people ask me what’s going on with the Shane Wright narrative, so I feel obligated to share my perspective. We spent a good chunk of time on it in the latest Sound Of Hockey Podcast, and Curtis Isacke brought the heat with some data on Wright’s season to date, so I highly recommend checking that out (the Wright discussion starts around the 31:40 mark).

Are the Kraken “shopping” Shane Wright? No. Are they listening to offers? Yes, just as they should for every player.

You don’t need to be an insider to see that roughly 20 NHL teams are looking for a center, while the Kraken have five or six centers playing in their lineup every night. Center is where Seattle’s depth lies, and to acquire a top‑six, high‑end, goal‑scoring winger, you have to give up something of value.

Theoretically, any center could be available, but only a few would fetch the return Seattle needs, which is where Wright enters the conversation. It really is that simple. I’m not disputing that discussions are happening, but I am not sure Wright will be traded this season.

Other musings​

• Sunday’s win was their first against the Devils since January 2023. They have still never won in New Jersey. The only other team they haven’t beaten on the road is Utah.
• For the ninth time in the last 10 games, the Kraken gave up the first goal. It’s a trend that has been all too common after they opened the season so strong in scoring first. They’re 16–6–3 when scoring first and 7–13–6 when allowing the first goal.
• Naturally, after I just posted about how good the Kraken’s special teams have been lately, they went 0‑for‑4 on the power play and allowed two goals on the penalty kill.
• After going 27 games without a goal, Berkly Catton now has five in his last 11. He’s tied with Matty Beniers and Jared McCann for the most goals in that span despite playing significantly fewer minutes.
• One small thing I picked up on Sunday was the “face-off and change” pattern in the third period. Several times, Chandler Stephenson took a defensive‑zone draw with Freddy Gaudreau on the wing. They aren’t on the same line, but more than a couple of times I noticed head coach Lane Lambert sending them out together for the face-off, and once the puck was cleared, one of them would change.
• It’s been 16 years since I started the NHLtoSeattle grassroots movement, and 13 years since the Seahawks won the Super Bowl. I mention them together because I remember feeling emboldened by that run to back‑to‑back Super Bowls and the civic pride that washed over the city. It validated what I was doing and reminded me of the value sports bring to a community. Sports bring people together, and I think we need more of that in the world right now. Go Hawks.

Goal of the week​

This was an easy one…

Player performances​

Carson Rehkopf (CVF) – Rehkopf is no stranger to this section of Monday Musings, but it has been a while since we mentioned him. He recorded his first professional hat trick on Wednesday night.

CARSON REHKOPF WITH HIS FIRST PRO HAT TRICK!!!!! 4-2 FIIIIREEEEBIRDDSSSSS! pic.twitter.com/pIktElzQdC

— Coachella Valley Firebirds (@Firebirds) January 22, 2026

Jake O’Brien (BRA/SEA) – The Kraken’s 2025 first‑round pick returned to the Brantford Bulldogs lineup last Sunday and has 10 points in four games.

Logan Morrison (CVF) – Morrison has points in eight of his last 10 games and has quietly put up strong numbers for the Firebirds. He has 20 goals in 39 games this season and is on pace for 37.

The week ahead​

I’m sure I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but with six points on the table this week, the Kraken should aim for three. They host the Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, before hitting the road for a Saturday matchup with the Vegas Golden Knights.

The home games will be a challenge, but they’re catching both the Capitals and Leafs at a good time because neither team is playing its best hockey right now. Vegas has lost three of its last four but still has seven wins in its last 10. If nothing else, this season keeps giving us reasons to stay plugged in and see where the next twist in the ride takes us.

The post Monday Musings: Still on a ride appeared first on Sound Of Hockey.

Source: https://soundofhockey.com/2026/01/26/monday-musings-still-on-a-ride/

 

[Seattle Kraken]

Three Takeaways – Jared McCann has four-point night, Kraken beat Capitals 5-1

What a night for the Seattle Kraken’s first line, which produced nearly all the offense in a 5-1 drubbing of a reeling Washington Capitals team.

Seattle got off on a better foot than it has in recent games, going through the first period tied 0-0, then rode Jared McCann’s impressive night to a convincing victory.

“They had an outstanding game,” coach Lane Lambert said of Seattle’s first line. “And it’s very important to have those guys do that. And we look forward to more of that.”

McCann finished with two goals and two assists, Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle each had a goal and an assist, and Philipp Grubauer was solid again (when he had to be), stopping 19 shots.

Here are Three Takeaways from a 5-1 Kraken win over the Capitals.

Takeaway 1: Better start​

After going 10 straight games giving up a goal in the first 10 minutes, it was refreshing to see Seattle get through the opening frame with a 0-0 tie. There were a couple of hairy moments in that first period, including a Jacob Chychrun shot that slid behind Grubauer but missed wide of the far post, and another chance in which Vince Dunn stepped in front of an open net to save a sure goal.

Phew!

Jakob Chychrun sends it behind Grubauer and out the other side. pic.twitter.com/w5UYPu4ICA

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) January 28, 2026

Aside from those two scares, Seattle controlled almost the entire period and came away with a 13-4 shots-on-goal advantage and a clean slate heading to the second.

“We’ve addressed [our starts]. We’ve talked about it many times,” Eberle said. “I mean, obviously we know the stats on giving up the first goal. I mean, just a collective mindset of being ready, and that just means, maybe getting it in deep and trying to establish a forecheck. You’re not going to score the first goal every game, that’s the reality of this league. It’s a good league, other teams are good, but you can try and— especially at home, put your will and establish your game early. So good start tonight and [we’ve got to] keep it going.”

Seattle then got on the board with a power-play goal early in the second period, and things got on the rails quickly.

Takeaway 2: Jared McCann gets robbed of the hat trick​

It was McCann who opened the scoring, converting on the power play to make it 1-0 at 1:15 of the second period by one-timing Eberle’s pass from the top of the right circle against the grain and past Logan Thompson.

MCCANN CAN!

Really nifty shot here by Jared McCann, back against the grain on Thompson. Power-play goal.

1-0 #SeaKraken https://t.co/UWsAui9mPI pic.twitter.com/owOFPWWxUR

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) January 28, 2026

He followed that up with his second of the game at 10:09, cleaning up a Beniers rebound that landed right on his stick with a yawning cage in front of him.

“On the first one, Ebs found me through the slot there,” McCann said. “I just tried to get it on net as quick as possible, and kind of— I didn’t get all of it, but it was a good-placed shot, I guess. And the second one there, I just tried to battle my way to the net, and it kind of kicked off the pad there, right to me, backdoor.”

From there—once McCann officially landed on hat-trick watch—things started to get weird. First, with a chance at a natural hat trick, he rang a shot hard off the left post, which Eberle swept into the net to make it 3-0 at 17:54 of the second. There went the natty hatty.

O CAPTAIN!

How rude of Jordan Eberle to steal the natural hat trick opportunity from Jared McCann.

3-0 #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/1NJSlpWXwa

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) January 28, 2026

Things got really weird early in the final period, when McCann appeared to score his third goal, making it 4-0 at 1:27. As he celebrated, hats rained down onto the ice. Only after every fan who wanted to throw a hat had done so did the officials make it clear that they were considering wiping the goal off the board.

“The linesman called the high-sticking penalty, and when a linesman sees a high stick, he can’t blow it down right away,” coach Lane Lambert said. “So the play went on for quite a while, obviously, and then they reviewed it, and that was the rule, and that’s the way it goes. So, we couldn’t change it. We just had to buckle down and get through it.”

Replay showed that Matty Beniers had clipped Justin Sourdif nearly a full minute before McCann summoned the barrage of hats from the crowd. The linesman properly reported the penalty at the next stoppage, which just so happened be McCann’s goal.

“I’ve never seen— I didn’t even know that was an option,” Eberle said, dumbfounded. “I’ve never seen that. I mean, obviously, massive momentum swing when you get the fourth and put them away, and they take it away, give you a four-minute penalty.”

Added McCann: “I just feel bad for people who threw their hats on the ice, to be honest.”

The officials ultimately got it right, but it was a bizarre circumstance. Alex Ovechkin capitalized on the four-minute power play with career goal No. 919, briefly giving the Capitals a pulse.

Credit to the Kraken for sticking with it, though, killing off the remainder of that penalty and then adding goals from Beniers and Ryker Evans down the stretch to put the game away.

Takeaway 3: Melanson’s first NHL fight​

The legend of Jacob Melanson continued to grow Tuesday. He delivered seven more hits and is now averaging just under five hits per game in his brief NHL career. He also drove hard to the net and was the target of a Ryker Evans pass that caromed in off Tom Wilson.

RYKER STRIKER!

Two straight games with a goal for Ryker Evans, who gets a good bounce of Tom Wilson's skate.

4-1 #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/xhGEFutPHn

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) January 28, 2026

But he brought the crowd to its feet one last time late in the game after Brandon Duhaime wrestled him to the ice in the corner and then laid on him. When the two finally got up, Melanson gave Duhaime a shot, and they jostled all the way up the ice. Once Duhaime cross-checked Melanson up high, the gloves finally came off.

FISTICUFFS!

Saw that one coming. Jacob Melanson gets his first NHL fight with Brandon Duhaime.

The two were going at it all shift after Duhaime laid on Melanson in the corner. #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/HYmoEiLbNJ

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) January 28, 2026

It was one of those fights you could see coming from a mile away. What I loved about it is that Melanson is clearly trying to play a physical game at all times without putting his team at a disadvantage. He got some licks in on Duhaime but tried several times to skate away. When he finally accepted the fight, Duhaime ended up with the extra penalty.

How can you not love this kid?

Darren Brown​

Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email [email protected].

Read more from Darren

The post Three Takeaways – Jared McCann has four-point night, Kraken beat Capitals 5-1 appeared first on Sound Of Hockey.

Source: https://soundofhockey.com/2026/01/28/kraken-defeat-capitals-mccann-four-points/

 

[Seattle Kraken]

Kraken Notebook – Melanson under Duhaime’s skin, Lindgren on facing his brother’s team

After a big 5-1 win over the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, the Seattle Kraken had a light day Wednesday, with only Cale Fleury, Josh Mahura, Tye Kartye, Joey Daccord, and Matt Murray taking part in a very optional practice.

Sound Of Hockey took the opportunity to catch up with a couple of players who were not on the ice: defenseman Ryan Lindgren and forward Jacob Melanson.

What happened between Brandon Duhaime and Jacob Melanson?​

Apparently, Capitals forward Brandon Duhaime is not a fan of Jacob Melanson’s physical style of play. We all saw Tuesday night that Duhaime did everything he could to get Melanson to drop the gloves, a request to which Melanson finally acquiesced in the closing minutes of the contest, when the score was well out of reach for Washington.

“I don’t know [what I did to him], but I mean, if I got that guy that mad at me, then I must be doing my job the right way,” Melanson said. “So, I mean, obviously, he wanted it the whole night, and he finally got it.”

What we didn’t catch live during the game was that Duhaime—apparently intentionally—stuck the butt end of his stick over the boards from inside Washington’s bench and poked Melanson in the face as Melanson rushed up the ice during the second period.

Wait… this replay is better. What was Duhaime thinking?!

[Shooter McGavin voice]: "Doug, kick him off the tour!" https://t.co/am17AzMOPv pic.twitter.com/jJIqiCu9HM

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) January 28, 2026

Melanson said he didn’t realize during the game that it was Duhaime’s stick that caught him in the face, nor that the poke was apparently intentional.

“I didn’t [know it was him], and I feel like that would have made things a little different, but I mean, it’s just part of the game. He’s trying to get under my skin, and I respect it.”

Melanson got the last laugh several times over, with his team winning the game convincingly and Duhaime taking an extra penalty during the end-of-game melee. Duhaime was also handed a $2,500 fine from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety on Wednesday morning for unsportsmanlike conduct (the poke from the bench).

“Obviously, it’s a 5-1 hockey game, one minute left, it’s not really the time to have a fight. But I mean, he wouldn’t back down,” Melanson said. “I tried to skate away from it a few times, but I’m also not going to show that I’m just going to skate away every time and that I will answer the bell.”

Checking in with Jacob Melanson to try to understand why Brandon Duhaime was so mad at him last night. #SeaKraken #allcaps pic.twitter.com/9tkijPN3FG

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) January 28, 2026

Battle of the Lindgrens​

One storyline that flew under the radar in Tuesday’s game against Washington was that Ryan Lindgren was facing his brother Charlie in the 2026 Lindgren Bowl. Unfortunately, Charlie—a goaltender for the Capitals—did not play, backing up Logan Thompson in this particular contest.

Still, it was a chance for Ryan Lindgren to reflect on how unique it is to face his brother in NHL competition.

“Yeah, it really is the coolest thing,” Ryan said. “It’s something we both dreamed of growing up was playing the NHL, and any time we get to play against each other is… I mean, it’s incredible. Obviously, it’s a little more fun when he’s in net, but, yeah, it’s really special.”

The two teams meeting is always a unique moment for the Lindgren family, which has been known to convene whenever the brothers’ respective teams square off.

“It’s always fun to see [Charlie], and my parents come into town, my grandpa, my other brother,” Ryan said. “And I think more so for them, too, they really, really love it and really enjoy seeing us out there together. So, yeah, it’s incredible.

“We’re both very fortunate that our parents and family supported us through everything, and for them to come out and watch and enjoy it as well is really cool.”

So what did the Lindgren family do when they all gathered in Seattle? Pretty much what any family would do when visiting from out of town.

“We were able to watch the Seahawks game with them and spent a lot of time together. And then Monday, we had breakfast in the morning and then kind of spent the day in Seattle, went to Pike Place, and then got dinner again after. So, we just tried to spend as much time together as we can.”

Of course, this was not the first time the brothers’ teams had faced each other, and in previous matchups, Charlie has even tended goal for the Capitals instead of riding the pine.

In fact, they first faced each other in the AHL, when Ryan was in the Rangers’ farm system playing for the Hartford Wolf Pack and Charlie was in the Canadiens’ system with the Laval Rocket. Most notably, they also squared off in the 2024 playoffs, when Ryan’s Rangers faced Charlie’s Capitals, with Charlie playing the entire series for Washington.

“We were lucky enough to sweep them, too,” Ryan said with a smirk. “So, I kind of got that over him, which is nice. But yeah, like I said, it’s really special just getting to play against him.”

Odds and ends​

• Despite the win Tuesday, the Kraken did not gain any ground in the standings and instead just held serve with the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks. All three teams remain deadlocked at 57 points, but San Jose currently occupies the final wild-card spot. The target for Seattle has to be the third-place position ahead of the Kings, Sharks, and Anaheim Ducks; the top three spots are the only ones where you’re not also battling desperate teams from the Central Division.
• On Thursday, coach Lane Lambert will face the team for whom he served as an associate head coach last season, the Toronto Maple Leafs. Seattle is 1-0-0 against the Leafs this season, thanks to Josh Mahura’s dazzling overtime goal in Toronto on Oct. 18.
• With nine goals in January, Matty Beniers is now tied with Jordan Eberle (November 2021) for the most goals in a month by a Kraken player. One more either Thursday or Saturday, and he will set a new record.
• Thanks to the impending Olympic break being bookended by road games, Thursday marks Seattle’s last home game until Feb. 28.

Darren Brown​

Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email [email protected].

Read more from Darren

The post Kraken Notebook – Melanson under Duhaime’s skin, Lindgren on facing his brother’s team appeared first on Sound Of Hockey.

Source: https://soundofhockey.com/2026/01/2...es-skin-lindgren-on-facing-his-brothers-team/