RSS Kraken Team Notes

[Seattle Kraken]

Three Takeaways – Kraken rally around Brandon Montour in emotional 3-2 win over Oilers

They did it for Monty.

On an emotional day and night in which Brandon Montour returned from a four-game hiatus that was due to the tragic passing of his older brother, Cameron, the Seattle Kraken pulled out an impressive 3-2 win over the always-dangerous Edmonton Oilers.

“He’s a brother. I mean, anytime someone goes through something like that, it’s extremely hard,” Jordan Eberle said, his voice cracking slightly. “Just for him to be out here tonight and battling with us, it just shows his compassion and the level that he has… You just try to be there as much as you can for him.”

Meanwhile, the first game back after a long road trip is traditionally viewed as a difficult one for the home team, but Seattle was ready for the challenge. Although Edmonton pushed hard and spent long stretches in the offensive zone during the third period, the Kraken bent but didn’t break, sticking to their structure and snagging a few opportunistic goals.

In the end, Joey Daccord delivered an outstanding performance, Eberle scored two crucial goals, and the fourth line chipped in with some magic.

Here are Three Takeaways from a 3-2 Kraken win over the Edmonton Oilers.

Takeaway #1: An emotional day​

Montour took the ice with the Kraken at Saturday’s morning skate for the first time since the team had announced he would be leaving the recent road trip to deal with a personal matter.

While the team practiced, word came that Montour planned to address the media about his absence. Following the skate, he stood at his stall and—unprompted—spoke through tears about the devastating loss of his brother after a long and painful battle with ALS.

“So, my older brother’s been dealing with ALS for three, four years now, and it was a rough week,” Montour managed to say. “I’m very proud and very happy to be his brother. He’s somebody that I’ve looked up to since, obviously, Day 1. [He was] a great son, brother, best friend, father. He’s got two baby girls.

“He battled hard. It puts everything in perspective with the highs that I’ve had in the last couple years with winning and hockey and having babies and creating my own family. [All that time], he was at home battling. Right until Monday when it happened, he was smiling, and he was ready.”

An extremely emotional Brandon Montour discusses losing his older brother Cameron this past week after a long fight with ALS. #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/Gau614Xm96

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 25, 2025

It was one of those “bigger than sports” moments—a reminder that the professional athletes we admire are humans who sometimes face unimaginable challenges away from the rink. In the case of Montour, who is so affable and carries such a big personality, it’s hard to imagine the grief he’s managed through privately for years.

One thing we often hear from athletes who’ve endured emotional trauma is that returning to competition provides an outlet—a way to take their minds off what’s happened.

“It’s important to have him back, not only as a player, but certainly as a leader,” head coach Lane Lambert said Saturday morning. “And it’s important for him to get back into the groove of the game and maybe take his mind off a little bit of the outside part of it. But certainly, we feel for him, we’ve supported, and we’ll continue to support.”

Just as you wouldn’t have known Montour was carrying such a burden behind the scenes, you wouldn’t have known from watching him play Saturday that he’d just experienced one of the hardest weeks of his life. He looked like his old self—flying around, jumping up in the play, driving offense, and finishing with three shots on goal and a plus-one rating in 23:39 of ice time.

“In my mind, [Montour] didn’t miss a beat,” Lambert said. “Full credit to him for what he’s doing and how he played, and obviously, we’re all with him and feeling for him.”

Takeaway #2: Goals off rushes​

Lane Lambert has placed plenty of emphasis this season on creating net-front traffic, and Seattle has found success scoring those gritty goals in tight. But that wasn’t how the Kraken scored their three goals Saturday against a leaky Stuart Skinner.

Instead, all three goals came off the rush—two from 2-on-1’s and one from a breakaway.

In a way, this game represented a “new way to win” for the 2025-26 Kraken, who turned defense into offense (another Lambert hallmark) on all three tallies.

Eberle opened the scoring early after Berkly Catton poked the puck past an over-aggressive Evan Bouchard, springing his linemates. Beniers slowed at the blue line and sauced a perfect pass. Eberle caught it and ripped it past Skinner, who looked oddly off balance.

O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN!

2-on-1 after Vince Dunn dumped Connor McDavid on his tuchus.

Matty Beniers hits Jordan Eberle, and Stuart Skinner moves politely out of the way.

1-0 #SeaKraken. pic.twitter.com/AzLsBTdr1Z

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 26, 2025

In the second period, the fourth line contributed after an outstanding defensive sequence led to another 2-on-1 for Tye Kartye and Ryan Winterton. Winterton made a phenomenal pass to Kartye, and Skinner did the Kraken another favor by getting himself caught down on the ice and ineffectively diving for the puck.

KARTYE PARTYE!

At the end of a long shift in the defensive zone, Ryan Winterton makes an outstanding pass to Tye Kartye.

Skinner inexplicably dives for it and misses.

2-0 #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/GxEUWLDl7W

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 26, 2025

“I was calling for it, but that was an unreal pass from [Winterton]. Made it pretty easy for me,” Kartye said.

Eberle’s second of the night pushed Seattle’s lead to 3-1 at 12:11 of the third, when Bouchard (who also scored a power-play goal) again misplayed the puck at the offensive blue line. He whiffed trying to swat it deeper, sending it straight to Beniers, who sent Eberle on a breakaway. Eberle snapped it over Skinner’s shoulder for what proved to be the game-winning goal.

O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN AGAIN!

Bouchard whiffs on a puck at the blue line, and Beniers sends Eberle on a breakaway. He goes BarrDown Studios for his second of the game.

3-1 #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/vTgMuJXE8k

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 26, 2025

Takeaway #3: Another outstanding night for Joey​

When Daccord earned his 32-save shutout Thursday in Winnipeg, I wrote that he didn’t need to be spectacular because the Kraken defended so well in front of him. Seattle again defended well Saturday, but against the supremely talented Oilers, chances are inevitable.

Daccord was brilliant, yielding only a Bouchard power-play blast and a Darnell Nurse deflection goal.

“Joey’s been outstanding,” Eberle said. “I think there’s nights where he’s had to make some big saves, and tonight was no different. To get wins, you need good goaltending, and obviously, he’s been there.”

Daccord stopped 31 shots, many of them in the “10-bell” category, while Skinner at the other end occasionally looked like he was ducking out of the way. I can’t believe the Oilers didn’t upgrade their goalie situation this offseason.

Anyway, it was an excellent performance from Daccord and a massive win for the Kraken, who improved to 5-2-2 on the season.

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 – Kraken rally around Brandon Montour in emotional 3-2 win over Oilers appeared first on Sound Of Hockey.

Source: https://soundofhockey.com/2025/10/26/kraken-oilers-brandon-montour/

 

[Seattle Kraken]

Photo Gallery – Kraken vs Oilers – Oct 25th

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The post Photo Gallery – Kraken vs Oilers – Oct 25th appeared first on Sound Of Hockey.

Source: https://soundofhockey.com/2025/10/25/photo-gallery-kraken-vs-oilers-oct-25th/

 

[Seattle Kraken]

Monday Musings: Kraken playing stingy

The Kraken are officially off to the best start in franchise history, and this week, they won games in style, knocking off last season’s Presidents’ Trophy winner, the Winnipeg Jets, and the two-time Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers. I try not to get too excited about early-season success, but honestly, they’re making it really hard to contain emotions.

Stingy hockey​

One of the areas we flagged as a potential opportunity for improvement heading into the season was team defense. Head coach Lane Lambert came in with a reputation for being defensively sound, and so far, he’s delivered on that front.

The Kraken are allowing just 2.67 goals per game, the 10th fewest in the league, down more than half a goal from last season’s average. That’s a meaningful step forward and a big part of why they’ve been so competitive night after night.

The one area starting to show some cracks, though, is the penalty kill. Seattle’s penalty kill currently sits at 70 percent, which ranks 26th in the NHL. It didn’t start out this way; through the first four games, they were killing off 75 percent of their penalties, but things took a dip after Freddy Gaudreau was injured late in the second period of Game 4 against Ottawa.

Since that injury, the Kraken have killed just 67 percent of their penalties. That tracks, given that Gaudreau was on the ice for nearly 45 percent of Seattle’s total penalty-kill time before he went down. There’s no reason to hit the panic button yet, but it’s clear the Kraken miss Gaudreau’s steadiness and structure when they’re down a man.

If there are few areas of improvement the Kraken will be looking to tighten up heading into November, the penalty kill is probably one of them. Having said all that, Lambert did comment recently that he likes the way the penalty kill is performing, even though the stats aren’t reflecting particularly strong execution.

Tight hockey​

Lambert has also talked about patience and getting comfortable in tight games. So far, the Kraken are walking the walk in this regard. In the seven games where they’ve picked up at least a point, 93.4 percent of the game time has been played either tied or within a one-goal margin.

I’m not saying a one-goal lead suddenly feels safe, but it definitely feels safer than it used to. In each of the last two games, Seattle entered the third period up by one. Across those two games, the opponents nearly doubled the Kraken’s shot attempts in the third, but Seattle held firm, keeping their defensive structure intact and limiting dangerous chances to close things out. Here’s a look at the third-period shot attempts against from those two games:

The Kraken are also blocking more shots than ever. Through nine games, they’re averaging 18.4 blocked shots per game, up from 16.2 last season. It’s not just players throwing their bodies in front of pucks for fun—it’s a byproduct of how the team is defending. They’re protecting the middle of the ice, forcing opponents into lower-danger areas, and as a result, they’re getting in front of more shots.

And, of course, teams tend to block more when they’re ahead—especially late in games when they’re collapsing to protect the lead. Vince Dunn gave us a perfect example Saturday night, blocking two shots in the final 15 seconds to seal the win. That’s commitment.

Rolling through October​

Heading into the season, there was plenty of concern (mostly from the Sound Of Hockey crew) that October could be rough for the Kraken. They faced a six-game road trip, eight of 11 matchups against 2025 playoff teams, and an entirely new coaching staff installing fresh systems. That’s a lot to handle right out of the gate.

Then you add a boatload of injuries on top of all that? Yeah, it had the makings of a rocky start.

Instead, the Kraken have turned it into one of the most impressive opening months in franchise history. No matter what happens Tuesday, October has already been a massive statement, and it’s been a lot of fun to watch.

Other Musings​

• The dying minutes of the Kraken–Oilers game featured some hysterically long shifts. For the Kraken: Jordan Eberle (1:44), Chandler Stephenson (1:40), Jaden Schwartz (1:45), Dunn (1:43), and Brandon Montour (2:22). For Edmonton: Evan Bouchard (2:21), Leon Draisaitl (2:28), Jake Walman (2:15), and Connor McDavid (2:30). That’s a lot of tired legs.
• It was confounding to see neither team use a timeout in those closing moments. Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch probably didn’t want to give the Kraken a breather, while Lane Lambert likely didn’t want to give Edmonton a chance to draw up a play.
• Saturday night was the first time this season that McDavid was held without a single shot attempt. The last time that happened was Dec. 28, 2024.
• Saturday also marked the seventh time this season the Kraken scored the first goal of a game, the most in the NHL so far.
• The Kraken are now 4-1-2 against last year’s playoff teams… Not too shabby.
• In case you missed it, Kaapo Kakko is back skating and is currently day-to-day. It looks like he’s getting closer to returning, but with a three-day break between Tuesday’s game against Montreal and Saturday’s matchup with the Rangers, my money is on that Rangers game being his season debut.
• Schwartz continues to be one of the more underrated players on the roster. He factored into all three goals against Winnipeg on Thursday, but his real value goes beyond the scoresheet. He is excellent along the walls, helping the Kraken gain and keep possession in key moments.
• It’s way too early to be scoreboard watching, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t quietly rooting for every other Pacific Division team to lose every night.
• Last week I said we’d get a better sense of how Lambert plans to handle the three-goalie rotation with Joey Daccord as the starter and Philipp Grubauer and Matt Murray as the backups. I was wrong. We still have no idea how this is going to shake out. Both backups have played fine—just fine—but neither has really grabbed the spotlight yet.
• The Coachella Valley Firebirds picked up their first win of the season last Wednesday and now sit at 2-3-1. It could be a bit of a transition year for the Kraken’s AHL affiliate, but this roster is loaded with real prospects. My eyes lit up when I saw their top power-play unit: Logan Morrison, Carson Rehkopf, Jagger Firkus, Tyson Jugnauth, and Oscar Fisker Mølgaard. Other than Morrison, every one of those players is 21 or younger.

MOLGAARD WITH THE POWERPLAY GOAL!! 4-3 pic.twitter.com/ZqwhOMlqlf

— Coachella Valley Firebirds (@Firebirds) October 26, 2025

• And finally, a reminder that the PWHL season kicks off in November! PWHL Seattle opens on the road against PWHL Vancouver on Friday, Nov. 21, with their first home game a week later on Nov. 28. Tickets are limited, so if you want to witness history, now’s the time to grab them.

Goal of the week​

This was such a huge goal for the Kraken, and I just love the setup from Ryan Winterton who is probably one of the unsung contributors to the early Kraken success.

2-0 #seaKraken

The fourth line has been a big part of the last two games – they get rewarded. Two big blocks by Kartye, a battle won by Meyers and then an odd man rush Winterton->Kartye-> pic.twitter.com/YUZjswxKb2

— Alison (@AlisonL) October 26, 2025

Player performances​

Jordan Eberle (SEA) – Three goals in the last two games, including a clutch third-period tally that stood as the game-winner against Edmonton on Saturday night.

Nathan Villeneuve (SBY/SEA) – The Kraken prospect put up seven points over two games this past weekend. After missing the first six games of Sudbury’s season due to an injury sustained in Kraken training camp, he’s racked up 13 points in just seven games so far.

Semyon Vyazovoi (SYA/SEA) – The first goalie ever drafted by the Kraken (back in 2021) had three wins and a .936 save percentage over the last week in the KHL. He’s expected to come to North America next season.

The week ahead​

After a busy start to the season, the Kraken have a lighter schedule this week with just two home games: Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens and Saturday against the New York Rangers.

Seattle will look to avenge that overtime loss to Montreal from a few weeks back when the Kraken had the win in their grasp before the Canadiens tied it with under three minutes left in regulation. Montreal currently sits atop the Atlantic Division with a 7-3-0 record and has quickly earned the title of “most fun team to watch” in the early going.

On Saturday, the Kraken host the last-place Rangers—yes, Mike Sullivan’s new team is last place in the Metropolitan Division. New York has struggled to score and is still searching for its first win at Madison Square Garden, though oddly enough, they’re 3-1-1 on the road.

It’ll also be Will Borgen’s first game back at Climate Pledge Arena since the trade that brought Kaapo Kakko to Seattle last season. I always liked Borgen, who really hit his stride during the 2022–23 campaign. My favorite on-ice memory of his will always be that Winter Classic goal… but his “baking skills” might have left the bigger impression.

And finally…

To be clear, I still don’t know exactly what kind of team this is, and that’s okay. What I do know is that they’ve built a solid defensive identity, they’re winning close games, and they’re doing it while short-handed and still learning a new system. If that’s the foundation, the ceiling could be pretty high.

The post Monday Musings: Kraken playing stingy appeared first on Sound Of Hockey.

Source: https://soundofhockey.com/2025/10/27/monday-musings-playing-stingy/

 

[Seattle Kraken]

Kraken Notebook: Limiting odd-man rushes, Kakko and McCann injury updates

After the Kraken defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 in overtime at home on Oct. 11, Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said something about Seattle that piqued my interest:

“They had a game plan, and they weren’t going to lose D up the ice. Even though I think they did a pretty good job of getting involved in the offense, it didn’t allow us a lot of odd-man rushes to get through the neutral zone clean. So I think it took us a while to figure that part out.”

The high-flying, downright lethal offensive talent of the Vegas Golden Knights couldn’t generate odd-man rushes against Seattle? How is that possible? What has head coach Lane Lambert changed so successfully?

“I wouldn’t say there’s necessarily a ton of things different,” Matty Beniers said. “I think Lane is just big on details and making sure everyone knows where they need to be at all times, and we’re gonna be there. That just builds trust over time.”

Since that Vegas game, I’ve been watching closely for odd-man rushes against—and anecdotally, there just haven’t been many.

To make sure my eyes weren’t deceiving me, I checked in with best friend of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, Alison Lukan, who confirmed that the Kraken are, in fact, No. 1 in the NHL at limiting odd-man rushes against.

How about that?

Good tracking, staying above their defensemen​

A few goals against have come off the rush—one that jumps to mind is the Alex Newhook goal in Seattle’s 5-4 overtime loss in Montreal—but even in those cases, the Kraken have generally had numbers back.

On that Newhook goal, for instance, Seattle had three players in defensive posture, with Mason Marchment back and helping Adam Larsson and Vince Dunn. The Kraken defenders were technically outnumbered, since Habs defenseman Alexandre Carrier jumped up to support Ivan Demidov, Newhook, and Oliver Kapanen, but Demidov still had to make an elite cut to get around Dunn and thread a perfect seam pass to Newhook.

Alex Newhook scores off a rush and a great pass by Ivan Demidov, and the #SeaKraken are chasing for the first time this season.

1-0 #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/YJ2fYH6x77

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 14, 2025

“I think [we’re doing] pretty good [in limiting odd-man rushes],” Lambert said Monday. “I think that we’ve talked about it as a group here. I think there’s some things that we can do better when we come into the zone with some of our reads, so that will again enhance our ability to not give up any chances or things like that off the rush, so it’s a work in progress.”

I also spoke with Beniers on Monday about Seattle’s improved defensive structure and mentioned the Demidov–Newhook connection as one of only a handful of times I could recall an opponent scoring off a rush.

“The Demidov play was brought up today,” Beniers said with a smile. Funny timing.

It makes sense that this play would be discussed with the Canadiens visiting Climate Pledge Arena on Tuesday. But it also shows just how intent Lambert and his staff are on not allowing the same mistakes to happen twice.

Beniers said Lambert has emphasized “tracking”—another term for backchecking—and how players should react when they find themselves behind the play and chasing to rejoin Seattle’s defensive unit.

“That’s definitely a focus for us,” Beniers said. “On every play that could potentially happen, Lane’s trying to make sure that we have a plan for each time. If it’s a speed kick, if it’s a standing still guy on the wall, if there’s guys coming back, and you’re the fourth guy, or you’re the third guy, or you’re the fifth guy, he paints it pretty clear, so we know what we’re doing.”

Another factor Beniers pointed to in explaining Seattle’s success at limiting dangerous chances is “having a good F3.”

For context, F1, F2, and F3 refer to forechecking responsibilities, with F1 and F2 being the first two forwards into the offensive zone, usually pressuring the opponent’s puck carrier or working down low. The third forward (F3) stays high, available for a shot and ready to support the defense when the puck transitions the other way. When that happens, Beniers says the F3 must stay above any defensemen joining the rush.

“It’s getting back and staying above their D, especially against teams like Vegas with [Jack] Eichel that have active D or last game with Edmonton,” Beniers said. “They obviously have [Connor] McDavid flying around, and their D are pretty active too. It’s definitely a focus going into the game, just making sure we’re staying above them. And if you stay above a guy, you don’t give them a lot of time and space to create those rush chances.”

“It’s believing that we’re a good hockey team”​

We’ve heard several players in the last week utter some variation of the phrase, “We believe we’re a good hockey team.” In discussing Seattle’s early-season defensive success with netminder Joey Daccord, he echoed that sentiment.

“I think it’s mindset,” Daccord said of what’s different about this version of the Kraken. “We’ve added some pieces, but we’re obviously down a lot of bodies right now and still finding ways to win. I think it’s a mindset from our group. I think it’s self-belief, I think it’s believing that we’re a good hockey team.”

Daccord added that having a strong game plan to keep opponents to the outside and limit rush chances is critical, but sustained success depends on total buy-in.

“I just think there’s a commitment to defensive structure and everyone being in the right spots,” Daccord said. “You look at the block that [Vince Dunn] made with a second left in the game [against Edmonton], those are game-winning plays. And that’s the mentality we have to have for 82 games.”

Injury updates​

Seattle’s ongoing injury woes make its 5-2-2 start even more impressive. Even with Brandon Montour back from his leave of absence, the Kraken remain without four regulars—Kaapo Kakko, Ryker Evans, Freddy Gaudreau, and Jared McCann—all on injured reserve.

There’s some good news and some bad news on that front.

First, the good: Kaapo Kakko appears ahead of schedule in his recovery and could return sooner than the original six-week timeline suggested. The team gave that estimate on Sept. 28, which would have put the Finnish winger’s return around Nov. 9. But Kakko was a full participant in Monday’s practice, even joining line rushes and taking light contact.

Kaapo is also participating in drills… https://t.co/EpDuLpMzcd pic.twitter.com/Ieb91BVhZW

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 27, 2025

He’s unlikely to play Tuesday against Montreal, but Saturday’s game against the New York Rangers looks like a realistic target.

On the other hand, McCann has now missed four games and doesn’t appear close to returning. I asked Lambert if McCann is progressing or still in a holding pattern.

“He’s in a little bit of a holding pattern,” Lambert said. “So, we’ll see where we go with him. We should know more here, day to day, as we go forward.”

The Kraken haven’t changed McCann’s official status, but based on Lambert’s comments and McCann’s continued absence from practice, I wouldn’t expect to see him in a game any time soon. Hopefully, whatever the Kraken do learn about their best goal scorer in the coming days doesn’t bring worse news than that.

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: Limiting odd-man rushes, Kakko and McCann injury updates appeared first on Sound Of Hockey.

Source: https://soundofhockey.com/2025/10/27/kraken-defense-limiting-rushes-mccann-kakko-injury/

 

[Seattle Kraken]

Three Takeaways – Montour leads Kraken rally back from 3-0, but Canadiens win in OT

If you missed Tuesday’s game between the Seattle Kraken and Montreal Canadiens and plan to go back and watch, I might recommend skipping ahead a bit. In fact, you can probably fast-forward all the way to about 13 minutes remaining in the third period, when Montreal defenseman Jayden Struble took an ill-advised penalty inside Seattle’s blue line, hooking Berkly Catton on the hands.

That’s when the tide finally started to turn for the Kraken, who looked flat through the first two periods. They’d shown more jam to start the third but had then just allowed their second power-play goal against at 5:55 of the final frame.

But on that Struble penalty, Seattle coach Lane Lambert opted to send out the second power-play unit instead of the first—which had struggled mightily in the contest—and Catton connected with Brandon Montour to finally get the Kraken on the board.

From there, it was the Brandon Montour Show, as he put the team on his back and willed Seattle to an astonishing point in the standings.

The Kraken ultimately came up short, but that was one heckuva comeback. Here are Three Takeaways from a 4-3 Kraken overtime loss to the Canadiens.

Takeaway #1: Brandon Montour… that’s it… that’s the Takeaway​

Like most of the Kraken, Montour wasn’t having his best outing through two periods. One sequence that stood out came late in the first, when he threw an errant pass toward Adam Larsson, then got caught flat-footed in no-man’s land and was walked by Kirby Dach. Joey Daccord sprawled and flared his left pad out, robbing Dach and keeping the score 2-0 through the first period.

Woof. Sloppy puck play leads to a power move by Kirby Dach. Joey Daccord stretches out and robs him with the left toe. pic.twitter.com/A0jqc5bEOY

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 29, 2025

But just when Seattle appeared ready to fade quietly into the night, sinking into a 3-0 deficit with 14 minutes left, Montour lifted up his teammates with two goals and an assist in under 10 minutes.

Both his goals were simple one-timers through traffic, using Montreal defenders as screens. On the first, he fired low on the ice and got a fortunate redirection off Alexandre Carrier’s stick that ramped the puck into the top corner over Jakub Dobes.

BRANDON BOMBTOUR!

The power play comes through! Catton with a simple pass, and Montour one-times it and gets a good bounce off Alexandre Carrier. Schwartz with the screen. #SeaKraken on the board, but still a big hill to climb.

3-1. pic.twitter.com/utmOyr3LmW

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 29, 2025

“Just getting the shot,” Montour said. “I don’t even know— at that time [of the power-play goal], we might have had 12 shots on net, 11 shots on net. We didn’t give that goalie much work tonight, but [we had Jaden Schwartz], guys in front of the net, I just tried to get it there and kind of find a lane. Nice to see them go through.”

Montour’s next trick was helping Eeli Tolvanen turn a broken play into a perfect setup for Shane Wright. Both Montour and Tolvanen drove hard to the net, lost the puck, then kept the play alive with a retrieval and pass behind the net back to Montour. He quickly found Wright in the slot, who ripped it through traffic and beat Dobes clean.

Then, with the game on the line, Montour did it again—completing Seattle’s three-goal comeback with his second of the night. With Daccord off for an extra skater, Montour blasted another one-timer from distance that found its way in.

“We found ways to get a few more pucks to the net [in the third period] and get them in,” Lambert said. “Obviously, we did a really good job 6-on-5, and our power play scored a big goal for us to get us going. And again, it’s just another shot. There were power plays at the start of the game where we just passed it around. We’ve got to get pucks to the net.”

Remember, Montour is playing with a heavy heart; he’s just one game removed from a leave of absence after the passing of his brother, Cameron, on Monday following a battle with ALS.

“It’s pretty amazing to see [what he’s doing],” Wright said of Montour. “What he’s been through the last couple of weeks here, to even just be here, let alone playing as well as he is, and perform at that level. He always performs that way, day in, day out. It’s really special.”

Takeaway #2: Some interesting line shuffling​

As Seattle struggled to generate any semblance of offense through the first two periods, the only trio that consistently created pressure was the fourth line of Tye Kartye, Ben Meyers, and Ryan Winterton.

Late in the second, with the Kraken desperate for a spark, Winterton, who looked fast and pesky all night, was suddenly elevated to the second line with Jaden Schwartz and Chandler Stephenson.

When Seattle came out for the third, Lambert had also moved Jani Nyman down to the fourth line, while the new third line featured Mason Marchment, Wright, and Tolvanen.

The juggling worked. And while Nyman’s move to the fourth line could be seen as a demotion, he made an almost immediate impact, going right after Dach following a dangerous hit on Meyers.

Yikes. Bad hit by Dach on Ben Meyers, and the whole #SeaKraken team goes after him.

Nyman and Dach each got 2 minutes. We'll play 4v4. pic.twitter.com/aNj8C63PGJ

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 29, 2025

Wright’s goal that got Seattle within 3-2 came during the ensuing 4-on-4.

“I think it was fantastic [by Jani],” Lambert said. “We have to be team tough, and when one of our teammates gets hit, which we considered it to be a dirty hit, we have to stand up for him. And I thought it was a good momentum turner.”

Takeaway #3: Cole Caufield finishes the job​

Just like when the Kraken and Canadiens went to overtime in Montreal on Oct. 14, Cole Caufield scored his second of the game to end it. The circumstances were different this time—Seattle rallied instead of Montreal—but the result was the same.

COLE CAUFIELD ÉTABLIT UN NOUVEAU RECORD DE FRANCHISE POUR LE NOMBRE DE BUTS EN PROLONGATION

COLE CAUFIELD, THE MOST OT GOALS IN FRANCHISE HISTORY#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/8cYFKq2suT

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 29, 2025

“Honestly, we had the puck, we lost the puck, they made a stretch pass, and we got it back,” Caufield said. “Hockey happens fast, and I saw a hole there, and luckily it went in. I [made it look] like I was going behind the net, and I just stopped up. I’ve never played goalie before, but that can’t be too easy to grab the post there. So, I just made a read.”

Caufield remains an elite scorer, surrounded by other top-tier talent that makes Montreal a skilled and increasingly dangerous team for the foreseeable future.

“I thought [Caufield] was excellent on both sides of the puck,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “I thought he was crisp, and he defended hard. He had his fastball tonight.”

Seattle’s season series with Montreal is now complete, with the Kraken finishing 0-0-2 against the Habs. Perhaps these two teams will meet again in the Stanley Cup Final, though?

Okay, I’ll show myself out.

It would have been nice for the Kraken to cap off the comeback with a win, but earning a point on a night when they trailed 3-0 with 14 minutes to go is no small feat.

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].

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The post Three Takeaways – Montour leads Kraken rally back from 3-0, but Canadiens win in OT appeared first on Sound Of Hockey.

Source: https://soundofhockey.com/2025/10/29/kraken-canadiens-brandon-montour-cole-caufield-overtime/

 

[Seattle Kraken]

Strive for 95 (points) – November update for the Kraken and their playoff chances

All aboard the Lane Train! Head coach Lane Lambert has navigated the Seattle Kraken to their best start in franchise history, going 5-2-3 for 13 points in 10 games, and sitting second in the Pacific Division. The Kraken’s previous best start was last season when they finished October with 11 points in 11 games. This season, they bested that mark in just 10 games. Seattle wrapped up its October schedule on the 28th, so all statistics are as of that date.

Injuries​

What’s more impressive about this start is the Kraken have continued to collect points despite a slew of injuries. In total, Kraken starters have missed 36 man-games.

• Ryker Evans – 10
• Kaapo Kakko – 10
• Freddy Gaudreau – 6
• Jared McCann – 5
• Brandon Montour (personal) – 4
• Mason Marchment – 1

Fighting through the injuries and missed games, the Kraken have maintained their defensive structure, making them a tough team to play against. As of Oct. 28, the Kraken ranked ninth in the NHL in goals-against average at 2.80.

The injuries also created opportunity, allowing Berkly Catton to make his NHL debut. He’s maintained a spot on the top line with Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle. Catton has yet to score his first goal but has three assists through five games and looks like he belongs in the NHL.

October update​

The Kraken had a target of 11 points for October and exceeded it, earning points in eight of 10 games for a total of 13. If you remember from the October edition of Strive for 95, the Kraken had five games against Playoff Bound teams, four against Bubble teams, and one against a Tanker team. Last season, the Kraken struggled against the Playoff Bound tier with a .234 points percentage. This season, they thrived in that tier, earning eight of 10 possible points (.800 points percentage).

October target versus actual

Against the Bubble tier, they hit their target with five points. Two of those came against a sneaky-good Montreal team, with both matchups going to overtime. The lone Tanker-tier game, a matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers, was their worst performance of the month, which included Joey Daccord getting pulled. However, the Flyers appear to be improved this season, holding a 5-1 home record and sitting in the final wild card spot in the East.

The Kraken have played a sound defensive game, focusing on limiting high- and medium-danger chances while allowing opponents to take low-danger shots. The coaching staff has done an excellent job getting the team to buy into this structure, and the results speak for themselves. One nitpick: even at 5-2-3, the Kraken have scored just 28 goals and have an even goal differential. Getting the offense rolling would elevate this team further, but their identity is clearly rooted in strong defensive play and structure.

data from moneypuck.com

Updated tiers​

Through the first month of the season, there are plenty of new names in playoff position. It’s early, so expect these tiers to shift as the season progresses.

Bolded teams are teams the Kraken play in November. ‘x2’ indicates the Kraken face that team twice. Up and down arrows show teams that moved between tiers.

Notes on tier movement​

Atlantic Division: Montreal and Detroit have played strong hockey to start, but moving them into the Playoff Bound tier feels premature. November will be telling for both clubs. Florida and Toronto are hovering around .500, so they stay put for now but remain on watch.

Metropolitan Division: Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are both in playoff position with winning records, so they move out of the Tanker tier for now.

Central Division: Utah looks legit, scoring in bunches and remaining undefeated at home. That success forced a bit of a reshuffle, as having four teams from one division in the Playoff Bound tier this early felt excessive. Dallas slides down to the Bubble tier. Meanwhile, Minnesota and St. Louis have struggled out of the gate and move to the Tanker tier—not because they’ve given up, but because they’ve yet to find their rhythm.

Pacific Division: Calgary has struggled to find the back of the net and ranks last in the league in goals per game at 2.09, prompting their drop in tier.

November breakdown​

November features 14 games — eight at home and six on the road — including two sets of back-to-backs. The road games are split between two trips, the first being a two-game swing and the second a four-game swing. The Kraken are two points above a 95-point pace, but there’s no reason to ease off the gas. The monthly target is 17 points.

Playoff Bound tier​

The Kraken face just one team in this tier in November—the Winnipeg Jets at home. In their first meeting this season, Seattle shut Winnipeg out 3-0 as Daccord outdueled three-time Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck. Target: one point.

Bubble tier​

Seattle will play 10 games against eight teams in this category, including two each versus Dallas and Chicago. They’ll also face Detroit, Pittsburgh, Columbus, the Islanders, Rangers, and Edmonton. Target: 11 points.

Tanker tier​

There will be one game versus St. Louis and two against San Jose. The Blues and Sharks currently rank 31st and 32nd in goals against per game, at 4.4 and 4.6 respectively. Target: five points.

Looking ahead​

It’s still early, and teams are feeling each other out. As the season progresses, the tiers will become clearer. The Kraken have started strong and put themselves in a good position to succeed. They can’t look too far ahead, but with only one game against a Playoff Bound team in November, there’s an opportunity to bank more points.

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.

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The post Strive for 95 (points) – November update for the Kraken and their playoff chances appeared first on Sound Of Hockey.

Source: https://soundofhockey.com/2025/10/3...ate-for-the-kraken-and-their-playoff-chances/

 

[Seattle Kraken]

Down on the Farm – College hockey seasons under way for Kraken prospects

“Down on the Farm” is your weekly Seattle Kraken prospects update. This week we’ll set the table for the Seattle Kraken prospects playing NCAA hockey this season, update on injuries and standout performances, and pass along other notes from around the Kraken system.

As always, if you have a Kraken prospect-related question you’d like to see featured in a future column, drop us a note below or on X or BlueSky @deepseahockey or @sound_hockey. Let’s dive in.

Several Kraken prospects assume key roles for their NCAA teams​

Though they play here in North America, Kraken prospects playing NCAA hockey often fly under the radar. Several factors contribute to this. Most notably, fans and media based in the Pacific Northwest simply don’t see these players play as much. College players aren’t available to participate in Kraken rookie camp (or training camp) due to their college commitments. And once college games begin, it is often difficult or impractical to watch them because the various NCAA conferences have their own broadcast agreements or streaming packages.

At the same time, the college path from the draft to the NHL (or AHL) is a much slower one. Players often stay at school for three or four years before team and player are forced to make a call on the player’s professional future. This is a longer time horizon than applies to CHL prospects, for example, and it tends to push these players down the list of priorities.

That said, thanks in part to an NCAA rule change rendering CHL players eligible for college hockey, the Kraken have more prospects than ever playing in the NCAA ranks. Let’s check in on these players and where things stand for them.

Clarke Caswell | F | Freshman | Univ. of Denver (NCAA)​

Forward Clarke Caswell, 19, played the last three seasons for the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL. After the Kraken selected Caswell in the fifth round of the 2024 draft, he was a leader for Swift Current on the ice (1.29 points per game) and off (as the team’s captain).

Still too young to play professionally in the AHL and with little left to prove in junior hockey, the NCAA option appealed to the young center. “When Denver showed their interest, it helped me make the decision,” Caswell told Bob Condor of SeattleKraken.com.

It would have been reasonable to expect a decreased role or move to the wing for Caswell following this college hockey move, but he earned a key position immediately. Caswell has skated as a top-of-the-lineup center and top power-play forward. Every game he ranks among the top Denver forwards in ice time. And the production has followed: With six points in six games, Caswell trails only Hagen Burrows (Lightning draft pick) and Eric Pohlkamp (Sharks draft pick) for the Pioneers.

Ollie Josephson | F | Freshman | Univ. of North Dakota (NCAA)​

Similar to Caswell, forward Ollie Josephson was the captain of his WHL team last season and a key all-situations contributor. Josephson, 19, was not the prolific scorer Caswell was, though. He profiles as more of a defend-and-counterattack playmaker. He’s slightly smaller in stature and without the junior scoring resume, but the realistic best-case scenario for Josephson is as a Ryan Winterton-type professional.

With this in mind, it was not a foregone conclusion Josephson would have the opportunity to climb the developmental ladder this year. When North Dakota asked him to take a visit in Grand Forks, “I was fully going to go back to Red Deer,” Josephson told Condor, referring to his WHL club. The opportunity with North Dakota—another top NCAA team—was too much to pass up though.

Looking at North Dakota’s impressive depth chart over the summer, I was hoping Josephson would simply earn a regular, bottom-six role. Josephson has done so much more than that in the early going. He has skated as a top-nine center with a role on both special teams units. This is an immense opportunity for Josephson to prove that his low-event, defensive style can translate against stronger competition.

Ben MacDonald | F | Junior | Harvard Univ. (NCAA)​

Perennially, MacDonald’s Harvard Crimson are the last team to take the ice for the season, and this year is no different. With Harvard’s season beginning Friday, the entire Kraken organization is finally underway. MacDonald, 21, has skated mostly on the wing for Harvard in his first two seasons. He has also operated from the half wall on Crimson power-play units, which has helped him improve his per-game scoring statistics year over year. Now a junior and coming off a solid Kraken Development Camp, MacDonald will look to take the production to the next level.

Barrett Hall | F | Junior | St. Cloud State (NCAA)​

Now in his third year at St. Cloud State, Hall has elevated his status as a leader (alternate captain) and scorer (more than a point per game) for the Huskies. Hall’s nine points are second on the team behind only Anaheim Ducks draft pick Austin Burnevik. His plus-three plus-minus leads the team.

Zaccharya Wisdom | F | Junior | Western Michigan Univ. (NCAA)​

Wisdom, 21, played his first two college hockey seasons as a bottom-six winger for Colorado College. Over the summer, Wisdom transferred to Western Michigan University, a national championship contender. At the time I viewed it as an opportunity for a modest upgrade in competition level and a chance to improve his production when surrounded by better talent. His production in the early going has borne that out. His .67 points per game through six games would be an NCAA career high.

Wisdom and Western Michigan square off against Hall and St. Cloud State twice this weekend.

Notes on three more Kraken prospects​

Lleyton Roed | F | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)​

Roed was injured during the second prospect scrimmage against the Vancouver Canucks at Kraken Rookie Camp. Subsequently, it was reported to be an upper-body injury that would require a two-month absence. Even so, Roed returned to the Firebirds lineup on Thursday night approximately two weeks ahead of schedule. Roed tallied an assist in the Firebirds win.

Tyson Jugnauth | D | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)​

Speaking of the Firebirds win, defenseman Tyson Jugnauth was credited with the overtime winner on a shot that was initially saved but took a “fortuitous” bounce of a San Diego Gulls defender. Jugnauth will certainly take it; it’s the young blueliner’s first professional goal.

The San Diego Gulls helped Tyson Jugnauth score his first pro goal.
Only problem?
He plays for the Coachella Valley Firebirds.@Firebirds | @TheAHL | @pdxwinterhawks | @BadgerMHockey#LetsFly #AHL pic.twitter.com/rfttyEHgep

— FloHockey (@FloHockey) October 31, 2025

Jagger Firkus | F | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)​

As we have detailed over the last couple of weeks, a lot of responsibility has fallen on a group of young Firebirds players to grow into the scoring production void left by Max McCormick, Jani Nyman, and others. With Eduard Sale sidelined week-to-week, the pressure was probably felt most keenly by second-year forward Jagger Firkus.

Well, Firkus responded with two goals and two assists in three contests this week. If the Firebirds are going to hang around the playoff picture this season, I suspect Firkus’ emergence as a consistent top scoring threat will be a big reason why.

Kraken prospects data update​

Nathan Villeneuve is really hitting his stride in the OHL right now. The Sudbury captain had nine points (two goals, seven assists) in three games over the last week. That effort is enough to earn him Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week.

Jake O’Brien now leads the OHL in total points and points per game.

Semyon Vyazovoi, 22, is scalding hot right now. After a slow start, he now leads the KHL in save percentage among all under-25 goalies with at least nine games played.

Nikke Kokko left the Firebirds game last Friday, Oct. 24, with an upper-body injury. The Firebirds have since deemed Kokko day-to-day. Victor Ostman has started each Firebirds game since, with Jack LaFontaine active as the backup.

Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week tracker​

2: Kim Saarinen, Julius Miettinen

1: Jake O’Brien, Semyon Vyazovoi, Nathan Villeneuve

Previewing the week ahead​

As mentioned above, MacDonald’s Harvard Crimson finally join the fray Friday against the University of Connecticut Huskies. The Deep Sea Hockey Games of the Week pit Kraken prospects Hall and Wisdom against each other on both Friday and Saturday.

Tracking 2026 NHL Draft prospects: J.P. Hurlbert​

Hurlbert was widely regarded as a top-45 prospect coming into the year after a solid season for the United States National Team Development Program. Now with the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL, he has taken his scoring production to a new level. His 28 points in 15 games lead the entire WHL by a wide margin. If he keeps up any semblance of this scoring pace, he won’t make it out of the first half or Round 1 in June.

Recent prospect updates​

October 25, 2005: Mølgaard is an all-situations contributor as an AHL rookie

October 17, 2025: Tyson Jugnauth earns important role with the Firebirds

October 10, 2025: Firebirds drop the puck on the 2025-26 season

October 3, 2025: Catton makes his case for the NHL Roster

September 26, 2025: Junior seasons begin, J.R. Avon settles in

Curtis Isacke

Curtis is a Sound Of Hockey contributor and member of the Kraken press corps. Curtis is an attorney by day, and he has read the NHL collective bargaining agreement and bylaws so you don’t have to. He can be found analyzing the Kraken, NHL Draft, and other hockey topics on Twitter and Bluesky @deepseahockey.

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The post Down on the Farm – College hockey seasons under way for Kraken prospects appeared first on Sound Of Hockey.

Source: https://soundofhockey.com/2025/10/3...ockey-seasons-under-way-for-kraken-prospects/

 

[Seattle Kraken]

10 for 10: 10 data points in the Kraken’s first 10 games

Introducing a new recurring feature here at Sound Of Hockey called 10 for 10. Every 10 games, we’ll take a step back and look at 10 different stats that tell the story of where the Seattle Kraken are trending.

Some numbers will be straightforward, things like goals, shot attempts, or save percentage, while others might be a little more offbeat or meant to challenge assumptions about the team. Each stat will include a visual and a short breakdown to help make sense (or nonsense) of what’s happening with the Kraken over the last 10 games.

Data Point 1: Pace​

It’s been well reported, and often mentioned on broadcasts, that the Kraken are off to their best start in franchise history. Here’s how that path looks compared to other seasons:

As Blaiz pointed out earlier this week, November shapes up as a much softer stretch from a strength-of-schedule perspective, but the 2022–23 team earned 17 out of a possible 20 points in games 11–20. Keeping pace with that group could still be a challenge.

Data Point 2: Rebound goals​

I first started thinking about “rebound goals” when I read an article about the Kraken head coach’s vision for the team. It got me thinking more about those gritty, inside-area chances Seattle has been trying to create. For this analysis, I defined a rebound goal as a goal scored within three seconds of another shot on goal.

The chart above shows all situations; two of the Kraken’s rebound goals came on the power play. Worth noting, Seattle has only allowed two rebound goals against, which is tied for the third fewest in the league.

Data Point 3: Shot attempts against off the faceoff​

We’ve established that the faceoff stats tracked and published by the league aren’t all that useful, but one thing we can tease out is the number of shot attempts for and against following a draw. That gives us a decent proxy for possession after a faceoff.

I started to worry about this when the Kraken allowed three goals immediately after faceoffs during their road trip. If you want to see the goals, here are some examples:

• Cole Caufield (OT vs. Montreal)
• John Tavares (3rd period, also a rebound goal)
• Jakob Chychrun (2nd period vs. Washington)

Those turned out to be the only faceoff goals allowed by the Kraken this season, but could it be a symptom of a bigger issue? Let’s look at the data.

It doesn’t seem to be as big of an issue as I might have thought. The Kraken are definitely allowing more shot attempts after a faceoff than most other teams in the league but not as many shots are getting through to the goalie. And like I mentioned above, only a few made it in the net.

Data Point 4: Penalty kill success rate and volume​

One area that’s gotten plenty of attention is Seattle’s penalty kill. From a percentage standpoint, the Kraken rank 29th in the NHL with a 64 percent success rate. The positive spin? They haven’t been shorthanded often, allowing nine power-play goals—tied for 18th in the league.

Regardless of how you frame it, though, 64 percent is brutally low. If the Kraken continue to play tight games, even a modest improvement toward league average could be the difference in picking up a few extra points in the standings.

It’s also interesting that the PK is among the best in the NHL at limiting high-danger opportunities during the PK, despite the team’s struggles at preventing goals. Lambert spoke about this on Saturday morning.

Hear from Lane Lambert on the #SeaKraken having outstanding underlying PK numbers but poor PK stats in terms of allowing goals. pic.twitter.com/bc3Wkz7iHB

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 1, 2025

Data Point 5: Scoring first​

Seattle has earned points in all but one game when not scoring first (Philadelphia). Seattle has scored first in seven of its first 10 games, winning five of those. On a league-wide basis, 90 percent of the time, teams that score first get at least a point and 66 percent of the time they win. For further context, last season’s team scored first in just 42.7 percent of its games (35 total).

On the other hand, Seattle has earned at least a point in every game when giving up the first goal (Philadelphia).

Data Point 6: Average goals against​

This has been the story of Seattle’s early-season success. The Kraken have tightened up defensively, which gives them a chance to win every night. Last season, they allowed 3.2 goals per game compared to just 2.8 through the first 10 games this year.

On the flip side, Kraken goal scoring is down a bit, but getting Kaapo Kakko and (hopefully) Jared McCann back should help boost that.

Data Point 7: Goal differential (excluding empty-net goals)​

One data point I probably over-index to when evaluating teams is their goal differential excluding empty-net goals. My target for the Kraken to remain competitive and in the playoff hunt is around even to plus-five.

Right now, they sit at minus-one, which isn’t great on paper but isn’t alarming either. With the exception of the season opener against Anaheim, all of Seattle’s wins have come by a single non-empty-net goal, which explains why their differential trails their solid 5-2-3 record.

Last season’s Kraken were plus-five after 10 games (5-4-1). Considering this year’s injury issues, I’ll take that minus-one in stride.

Data Point 8: Games lost to injury or absence​

It would be irresponsible to talk about the first 10 games without mentioning the injury bug that’s bitten this team since preseason. It started when Kaapo Kakko broke his hand on a slash in an exhibition game, and it’s snowballed from there.

The good news: Ryker Evans and Kakko both appear close to returning, and Freddy Gaudreau is back skating.

Data Point 9: Berkly Catton’s ice time​

One silver lining of all those injuries has been the opportunity for Berkly Catton to get NHL reps. His first two games coincided with Seattle’s roughest stretch of the season, but that also meant more ice time for him in situations where the Kraken were chasing offense rather than protecting leads.

Catton is just four games away from burning the first year of his entry-level contract, so it’ll be interesting to see how the team handles him over the next few weeks. He’s clearly shown flashes of NHL skill, but he still makes the occasional high-risk mistake. With margins of victory this thin, every decision on his usage matters.

Data Point 10: Goalie starts​

I was hoping these 10 games would clarify how the Kraken plan to manage their three-goalie situation, but honestly, it’s still hard to tell. For now, it looks like they’re just riding Joey Daccord except in back-to-back situations.

Wrapping it up​

This series is a bit of an experiment, so I’d love to hear your feedback. Which metrics helped you understand the Kraken better, and which ones left you wanting more? I’ll adjust and evolve 10 for 10 as we go, so tell me what should make the cut for Games 11–20.

The post 10 for 10: 10 data points in the Kraken’s first 10 games appeared first on Sound Of Hockey.

Source: https://soundofhockey.com/2025/11/01/10-for-10-10-data-points-in-the-krakens-first-10-games/

 

[Seattle Kraken]

Three Takeaways – Kraken earn another point but struggle to generate offense in OT loss to Rangers

The Seattle Kraken lost to the New York Rangers 3-2 in overtime on Saturday, their second straight overtime loss. The game had a different flow from Tuesday’s 4-3 OT loss to the Montreal Canadiens, but the story felt familiar: Seattle again struggled to create much offense, instead sitting back for most of the game and relying heavily on defensive-zone structure and Joey Daccord to earn a point.

Chandler Stephenson scored on the power play, and Brandon Montour’s second-period missile tied the game 2-2, but that was all the offense Seattle could muster. Will Cuylle’s game-winner off a 2-on-1 gave the Rangers the rightful win.

BRANDON BOMBTOUR!

After some good zone time, Schwartz finds Montour coming off the bench. He fires a howitzer over Shesterkin's glove for his third goal in two games.

2-2 #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/ovLO6HTDoK

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 2, 2025

Here are Three Takeaways from a 3-2 Kraken overtime loss to the Rangers.

Takeaway #1: Kraken not generating enough​

One of the things many things I’ve admired about Lane Lambert’s approach to coaching the Kraken is his postgame honesty. He tends to identify the problem clearly and directly—soft-spoken but precise in his assessment.

After Saturday’s game, in which the Kraken spent most of the night trapped in their own zone and managed only 13 shots on Igor Shesterkin—the fewest in franchise history—I asked Lambert if he was comfortable with how much time his team has spent defending.

Here’s what he said:

“Well, I think the answer’s obvious. We don’t want to spend this much time in our zone. We’re battling when we do, but again, the first period was a classic example of what I’ve been talking about all year long. We’re misfiring on passes, we’re not— at times, I’m not saying all the time. Our guys are working, and they’re giving it everything they have from that standpoint, but we’ve got to find a way out of our zone better and have more composure and more poise. It’s the bottom line. We turn the puck over, and we spend another 30 or 40 seconds in our zone. So, we wonder why, that’s why.”

Good insight from Lane Lambert on the #SeaKraken’s struggles at breaking the puck out of their zone. pic.twitter.com/PI1T0Zmhhh

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 2, 2025

It was a perfect summation of what we were all seeing, especially in those first 20 minutes when Seattle simply couldn’t get out of its own end. The Kraken defend well when the other team has the puck, but when they finally regain possession, too often they throw a bad pass or bobble the puck, allowing the forecheck to reset and keeping Seattle on its heels.

Problem No. 1: The Kraken aren’t exiting their zone cleanly enough to even put themselves in position to attack.

Problem No. 2—especially on Saturday—is that when they do get set up in the offensive zone, they’re not pulling the trigger. Case in point: In the final 30 seconds of regulation, Seattle had the Rangers pinned. They passed around the perimeter so long it felt like a buzzer-beating winner was inevitable. But with the puck on Montour’s stick at the top of the slot, the horn sounded before a shot was even sent in Shesterkin’s general direction.

“It’s fair to say [we didn’t have a shoot-first mentality],” Lambert said. “I think we passed up too many shots when we did have good opportunities… At the same time, they defend well, they’re in lanes. So it’s easy to say, ‘Shoot the puck,’ but if people are in the lanes, it’s a little bit harder to do. It’s not going to get through. But at the same time, I thought we passed up shots, and we had opportunities to shoot pucks from even bad angles and create a second opportunity, and we didn’t.”

Takeaway #2: Kaapo Kakko returns​

It was good to see Kaapo Kakko back in the lineup Saturday, facing his former team for the first time since being traded to Seattle by the Rangers on Dec. 18, 2024. The Finnish winger, who broke his hand on a slash during preseason, played 14:16 in his season debut.

“Always the first game is kind of hard. I mean, I’ve been working out well and skating and doing all those things,” Kakko said. “I think, some good things, but I can be a lot better.”

He skated on a line with Mason Marchment and Shane Wright, which didn’t look all that effective. Lambert began mixing things up in the third period, so we’ll see if that combination sticks moving forward. The three played 8:13 together, though Kakko also logged 2:34 with Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle. Meanwhile, Berkly Catton’s ice time dipped to 11:36 after playing over 16 minutes Tuesday against Montreal.

“That was my first time playing with both [Wright and Marchment],” Kakko said. “I usually played with Matty last year, so I think it takes, always, some time when you start to play with new guys. But there’s a couple of good things. I think we got one pretty good chance, but yeah, that can be better, also.”

After Kakko arrived last season, he was attached at the hip to Beniers, so it was surprising to see them separated for this game. I’m curious how long it will take before Lambert puts them back together.

“I thought he played well,” Lambert said of Kakko. “Big, strong body. You could see what he is going to add to our team down low in the offensive zone.”

I had high hopes Kakko’s return would provide an instant offensive spark, but that didn’t happen in his first game back. Still, it’s a big boost for Seattle to have him healthy and in the mix again, and continuing to move toward having more of their regular players back.

Takeaway #3: Another standings point​

It’s early to start obsessing over the standings (although Blaiz’s story on Saturday noted that Halloween can be an early playoff indicator), but the Pacific Division already looks like a grind. From the first-place Vegas Golden Knights to the sixth-place Vancouver Canucks, there’s currently only a three-point gap.

That means every point matters—even the ones Seattle is “stealing” from games it probably should have lost in regulation. Saturday’s OT point against the Rangers fits that description, as does Tuesday’s comeback against Montreal.

While it’s fair to be frustrated by the lack of offensive zone time, it’s also impressive that the Kraken continue to find ways to collect points. 11 games into the season, they’ve lost just twice in regulation and remain unbeaten in regulation at home.

They’re showing exactly what Lambert promised back in training camp: that if they stick to their defensive structure, they’ll be competitive every night. Even on a night when they didn’t generate nearly enough offensively, they still found a way to come away with something.

Now, if they can just figure out how to play some offense…

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 – Kraken earn another point but struggle to generate offense in OT loss to Rangers appeared first on Sound Of Hockey.

Source: https://soundofhockey.com/2025/11/02/kraken-lose-to-rangers-in-overtime/

 

[Seattle Kraken]

Are Halloween standings an indicator of playoff contention?

Most of my podcast listening time comes while walking my two dogs, George and Eddie. A few weeks ago, when the Kraken were 2-0, I found myself listening to a 32 Thoughts episode from Oct. 13 about not overreacting to two games. I don’t remember much from the podcast, but Elliotte Friedman made a statement that made me look at George and Eddie with a quizzical look and think, “Is that true?”

Friedman said that by Nov. 1, teams that are four or more points out of the playoffs only make the postseason 14 percent of the time. I spot-checked this over the last eight full seasons, and while the percentage was slightly higher at 20 percent, the general idea holds true.

Historically, I’ve always used Thanksgiving as a decent checkpoint for playoff projections. Roughly 75 percent of teams in playoff position at that time end up making it. For this analysis, I looked at the last eight full seasons (2015–2024), skipping the two pandemic-shortened ones (2019–20 and 2020–21).

Instead of focusing on teams that missed, I analyzed how clubs in playoff position fared using Halloween, not Thanksgiving, as the checkpoint. To go a layer deeper, I broke down standings by position—first, second, or third in the division, and the first or second wild card slots.

Thanksgiving​

The tricky thing about Thanksgiving is its variability. It falls on the fourth Thursday of November, meaning it can land anywhere between Nov. 22 and Nov. 28. That variability means teams have played anywhere from 18 to 25 games by then, though most have around 20.

Across the eight seasons studied, 76.6 percent of teams in playoff position at Thanksgiving made the postseason. Here’s how that breaks down by standings position:

The first chart may be a bit dense at first glance. It shows, from left to right, how often teams in each divisional or wild card position at Thanksgiving went on to make the playoffs. The final bar in each cluster represents the overall average for that season.

To make it easier to digest, the second chart below simplifies things by showing the average playoff rates for each standings position across all eight seasons:

As expected, standings position matters. Teams in the top two division spots make the playoffs far more often than those in third or wild card positions. In fact, teams in the top two averaged an 89.1 percent playoff rate, 25 percent higher than teams in third or wild card slots. Wild card and third-place teams landed in the 60th percentile, giving them better than even odds to make the postseason.

Halloween​

By Halloween, most teams have played between eight and 13 games, with only minor differences in games played. I wanted to see if this much earlier checkpoint could still serve as a gauge for postseason likelihood. My assumption was that it would be too early to draw meaningful conclusion—but the data suggests otherwise.

Teams sitting first, second, or third in their division on Halloween made the playoffs more often than not. Overall, the success rate dropped by just over 10 percent to 66.4 percent, compared with Thanksgiving’s 76.6 percent.

However, the wild card positions were far less stable. Teams in those spots made the postseason less than half the time. What surprised me most was that first- and second-place teams at Halloween made the playoffs 82.8 percent of the time—an impressive number given that only about 10 games have been played.

The takeaway: division leaders at Halloween already have a strong foothold, while wild card teams face much shakier odds. Thanksgiving remains a more reliable indicator, especially for teams hovering around the bubble.

Where the Kraken sit​

Seattle wrapped up their October games on Oct. 28, sitting second in the Pacific Division. As other teams played later in the month, Seattle slipped into the final wild card spot. A late rally by Los Angeles on Oct. 30, sparked by two goals from Corey Perry with the goalie pulled, earned the Kings a point and moved the Kraken down in the standings.

On Halloween night, the Anaheim Ducks beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-2, bumping Seattle down another spot into the second wild card position.

Still, it’s a solid place to be, especially since the Kraken hold games in hand. Anaheim and Seattle have played only 10 games so far, while the rest of the Western Conference has played 11 or 12. When Seattle made the playoffs in its second season, it also held the second wild card spot on Halloween.

The Kraken have experience fighting from this position and will need to stay sharp heading into November, when the strength of their schedule softens a bit.

Based on Halloween data, the Kraken have a 66.4 percent chance to hang on to a playoff spot. They’ll look to improve those odds by Thanksgiving as they continue their homestand against the New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks, and San Jose Sharks.

As requested in the comments adding a picture of Eddie and George.

Eddie and George

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.

Read more from Blaiz

The post Are Halloween standings an indicator of playoff contention? appeared first on Sound Of Hockey.

Source: https://soundofhockey.com/2025/11/01/are-halloween-standings-an-indicator-of-playoff-contention/

 

[Seattle Kraken]

Monday Musings: Is there reason for concern?

The Seattle Kraken managed two out of four possible points in a light week on the schedule. If you had told me that the Seattle Kraken would come away with two points from games against the red-hot Montreal Canadiens and the New York Rangers, I would have been happy. Still, something about these two games left me a little concerned.

Generating offense​

We knew this team would look different this season, with a greater focus on structure and a more defensive mindset. Naturally, that means some offensive output would have to take a hit. Gone are the risky offensive-zone pinches or dicey forechecks that might lead to an odd-man advantage the other way.

So far, it’s working. This Kraken team continues to enjoy the best start in franchise history, and as of Monday morning, they’re sitting in a Wild Card spot with a 5-2-4 record.

That said, they’ve struggled to generate much offense. Seattle is averaging 2.73 goals per game, down 0.26 from last season, which ranks 24th in the NHL. It’s hard to call that an “issue,” given their record, but it’s at least an area for improvement.

A big driver behind the lower scoring rate appears to be a lack of shot volume. The Kraken are averaging the fewest shots on goal per game in team history and currently sit dead last in the league in that category.

In a vacuum, that trend is concerning, but given their record, it may just be the cost of winning with this system. It’s also worth noting that Jared McCann has now missed six straight games, and his return could certainly help spark the offense.

Other musings​

• One thing I worried about early this season was whether this team could come back from multi-goal deficits with such a defense-first approach. While it didn’t end in victory, the Kraken erased a three-goal deficit in the third period against Montreal, proof that they can still come back. I was pleasantly surprised.
• Saturday’s 13 shots on goal against the Rangers marked the lowest total in a game in franchise history.
• The Rangers’ top line of Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, and J.T. Miller dominated on Saturday. They didn’t get on the scoresheet, but they combined for 11 of New York’s 25 shots in regulation and seemed to play all their shifts in the offensive zone.
• One area that still needs work for Seattle is the penalty kill. The good news: the Kraken killed all three of their penalties on Saturday. The bad news: they gave up a season-high nine shots against while doing it.
• Saturday also marked the sixth overtime game of the season. The Kraken only had 13 all of last year. They’re now 2-0-4 in games that reach overtime.

• The San Jose Sharks have also played six overtime games this season, and they will visit Seattle on Wednesday.
• It was great to see Kaapo Kakko back in the lineup on Saturday, though it’ll take some time for him to look like the Kakko we saw late last season. He played most of the game alongside Shane Wright and Mason Marchment, but about halfway through the third, he ended up playing a few shifts with Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle.
• One thing that could help Seattle’s scoring woes: getting Eeli Tolvanen going. He has yet to score this season. At this same point last year, he had four goals.
• Joey Daccord started his ninth game of the season. I’ve been a little concerned about him being overworked, but there are actually 14 goalies league-wide with nine or more starts, and the schedule has allowed him time to recuperate between games, so maybe I shouldn’t worry (yet).
• Berkly Catton had just two shifts and 1:17 of ice time in the third period on Saturday. I think he’s shown he can play in the NHL, but once the roster is fully healthy, I’m not sure he gives them the best chance to win every night.
• In case you missed it, Kraken prospect Jake O’Brien was named the OHL Player of the Month for October after posting seven goals and 19 assists in 12 games for the Brantford Bulldogs. He’s already added six more points in two games to start November.

Jake O’Brien was unstoppable this weekend!

The @SeattleKraken prospect tallied 8 points this weekend, earning him the @cogeco #OHLPOTW honours.

DETAILS : https://t.co/4A1oSkD2Y3@BulldogsOHL | @Flohockey pic.twitter.com/KiFDfNIRrA

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) October 13, 2025

Goal of the week​

Nice goal by former Kraken Andre Burakovsky

ANDRE BURAKOVSKY GOES THROUGH HIS LEGS *AND* THE DEFENDER’S FOR THIS GOAL

WHAT. A. GOAL. pic.twitter.com/fLdUOjWY49

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) October 31, 2025

Player performances​

Brandon Montour (SEA) – Monty had three goals and one assist in two games this week. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say the Kraken might have come away empty-handed without him.

Julius Miettinen (EVT/SEA) – The big Finnish prospect is off to a strong start with the Everett Silvertips, posting two goals and three assists over the weekend.

Connor Bedard (CHI) – The 2023 first-overall pick had three goals and four assists in his last three games. He enters Monday’s matchup against Seattle riding a four-game point streak.

The week ahead​

The Kraken play four games this week, Monday vs. Chicago, Wednesday vs. San Jose, then a dreaded back-to-back road set on Saturday and Sunday against St. Louis and Dallas, respectively.

The Blackhawks and Sharks won’t be easy matchups; both have been playing well lately. Chicago (5-4-3) has been hovering around the wild card bubble, and Monday marks Burakovsky’s first game back in Seattle since being traded to the Blackhawks this summer. Burky is off to his best start since his first season with the Kraken in 2022–23.

I’m especially curious to see how Seattle matches up against San Jose. The Sharks are full of young talent but have struggled defensively, allowing four goals per game, second most in the NHL. Can the Kraken take advantage of that?

It’s still a bit early to throw around “must-win” talk, but this week presents a real opportunity to bank some points. Five out of eight would be solid; six would be outstanding.

And finally…​

It’s still early, but the Kraken are above .500 and in a wild card position, and that’s something to be happy about. That said, I’d be lying if I said the lack of offensive production over the last two games doesn’t concern me a little. Based on this week’s matchups, we should get a much clearer picture of whether that concern is warranted.

Are you worried about the offense, or do you think this is just how winning hockey looks with the current roster under Lambert?

The post Monday Musings: Is there reason for concern? appeared first on Sound Of Hockey.

Source: https://soundofhockey.com/2025/11/03/lack-of-offense-a-cause-for-concern/

 

[Seattle Kraken]

Three takeaways – Kraken move into first place in Pacific Division with win over Blackhawks

The Seattle Kraken defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 on Monday night. The win pushed Seattle into sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division with 16 points.

It was Andre Burakovsky’s first trip back to Seattle since being traded to Chicago during the offseason. The move has worked out well for Burakovsky so far—he scored the Blackhawks’ lone goal and now has 10 points this season (five goals, five assists).

But even with Burakovsky’s goal that temporarily closed the gap to 2-1, Jamie Oleksiak opened the scoring in the second period, and the Kraken really never looked back.

Matty Beniers scored on the power play, and captain Jordan Eberle added an insurance goal to put the game out of reach. Beniers and Eberle assisted on each other’s goals, giving both two-point nights. Eberle now leads Seattle with five goals, while Eeli Tolvanen picked up an assist to extend his point streak to three games. Tolvanen has four assists through the first 12 games but has yet to find the back of the net.

Here are Three Takeaways from a 3-1 Kraken win over the Blackhawks.

Takeaway #1 – Offense!​

After a lackluster offensive effort against the Rangers on Saturday, when Seattle recorded a franchise-worst 13 shots on goal, the message was clear: get pucks on net. Head coach Lane Lambert shuffled his lines before facing Chicago.

Tolvanen moved up alongside Beniers and Eberle. Kaapo Kakko joined Chandler Stephenson and Jaden Schwartz. Jani Nyman, scratched against the Rangers, rejoined the lineup with Shane Wright and Mason Marchment. Berkly Catton centered the fourth line between Tye Kartye and Ryan Winterton.

Based on the morning skate, it didn’t appear Catton would play, but the coaching staff opted to give him a look at center. The fourth line stood out with its energy, though Catton logged a team-low 7:07 of ice time.

Seattle started with urgency, firing eight shots in the first eight minutes. They slowed down after that and finished with 24 total shots. Still, it was encouraging to see the coaching staff identify a problem from the previous game and make changes that delivered results.

As John Barr noted in Monday Musings, the Kraken are averaging 23.9 shots per game—right on par with this performance, though there’s still room for improvement. Interestingly, Seattle had just five shots in the second period but scored twice.

Takeaway #2 – Special teams​

Seattle excelled on both sides of special teams in this game. The Kraken successfully killed all three penalties, maintaining their strong defensive effort. Seattle has now gone two straight games without allowing a power-play goal. Chicago generated some chances, but the Kraken stayed active with their sticks, blocked shots, and leaned on a steady Joey Daccord in net.

In John Barr’s new 10 for 10 series, he noted Seattle’s penalty kill sat at 64 percent through 10 games. After two perfect games, that number is up to 71 percent—still not great, but trending in the right direction.

It only took eight seconds for the Kraken to convert on their first power-play attempt, and they were 1-for-2 on the night.

Beniers wastes no time! ️
Buries it on the powerplay with helpers from Captain Eberle and Tolvanen. #SeaKraken up 2-0! pic.twitter.com/304o2NnhmM

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 4, 2025

This goal was fun to watch. All five skaters touched the puck before Beniers buried it. Stephenson tied up his man on the draw, Beniers supported and moved it to Vince Dunn, who slid it over to Tolvanen for the shot. Eberle corralled the rebound and appeared to drift behind the net before sending a perfect backhand pass to Beniers in the slot, who fired it home. A thing of beauty.

After the game, Beniers said of Eberle’s pass: “You know, it’s funny, I knew it was coming. No doubt in my mind. That’s just the type of player [Eberle] is.”

Takeaway #3 – Joey! Joey! Joey!​

It was a bit unexpected that Daccord wasn’t among the three stars of the night. He posted a .967 save percentage and allowed just one goal, saving 2.52 goals above expected per MoneyPuck. Connor Bedard led the rush on Chicago’s lone tally, getting around Adam Larsson to the puck along the boards and feeding Burakovsky for a quick five-hole finish.

What made Daccord’s outing so impressive was his calm positioning. He didn’t need to make any highlight-reel saves because he was square to the puck all night. When a goalie doesn’t need to scramble, it usually means he’s in full control.

With Chicago’s net empty, Daccord twice attempted a goalie goal to the delight of the Climate Pledge Arena crowd. His first shot had a real chance but was stopped by defenseman Artyom Levshunov. Fans erupted into a “Joey! Joey! Joey!” chant, encouraging him to try again. His second attempt missed the mark, but the crowd loved every moment. Seattle fans will have to wait a little longer for the elusive goalie goal.

Joey wanted in on the scoring — took two shots at the empty net, but not tonight#SeaKraken win it 3-1!!! pic.twitter.com/oCaL9uUN9x

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 4, 2025

Strong response​

This was a strong response to Saturday’s low-shot game. Chicago started backup goaltender Arvid Soderblom, so this was a matchup the Kraken should win—and they did. Next up, Seattle faces the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 5 to close out the homestand.

The post Three takeaways – Kraken move into first place in Pacific Division with win over Blackhawks appeared first on Sound Of Hockey.

Source: https://soundofhockey.com/2025/11/0...in-pacific-division-with-win-over-blackhawks/

 

[Seattle Kraken]

Photo Gallery – Kraken vs Blackhawks – Nov 3rd

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The post Photo Gallery – Kraken vs Blackhawks – Nov 3rd appeared first on Sound Of Hockey.

Source: https://soundofhockey.com/2025/11/03/photo-gallery-kraken-vs-blackhawks-nov-3rd/

 

[Seattle Kraken]

Three Takeaways – Kraken wrap up homestand with 6-1 loss to the Sharks

The Seattle Kraken wrapped up their five-game homestand with a frustrating 6-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday. Seattle finished with a 2-1-2 record during these five games, earning points in four of five for a total of six. But this matchup had all the makings of a trap game, and the Kraken fell right into it, coming away with their first home regulation loss of the season in ugly fashion.

San Jose has a talented young core and a goalie that was drafted in the first round in 2020. The Sharks can score, as Seattle learned the hard way—they’re now tied for second in the Western Conference in goals scored at 48.

Macklin Celebrini opened the scoring on San Jose’s first shot of the night. Jaden Schwartz lost a battle on the boards, and Tyler Toffoli jumped on the loose puck, feeding a wide-open Celebrini, who made no mistake. The Kraken responded with strong pressure in the first period, outshooting the Sharks 10-6 and tying the game 1-1 (more on that later). But just two minutes after that, former Kraken Alexander Wennberg found Ethan Cardwell, who one-timed the puck past Joey Daccord. From there, the Sharks never looked back, piling on four more goals.

Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov was outstanding, stopping 28 of 29 shots. He earned his third win of the season and is now 3-1 in his last four games.

Takeaway #1 – Winter is here​

Ryan Winterton scored his first NHL goal on Wednesday night in his 34th career game. It felt like it was only a matter of time, but winter has officially arrived.

#SeaKraken GOAL! WINTER IS HERE!

Ryan Winterton has a prime breakaway chance that is saved, but he gets the puck back in the slot and makes no mistake the second time.

First NHL goal for Ryan Winterton!

Game tied 1-1. pic.twitter.com/1uj2OUoDCX

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 6, 2025

Just before his goal, Winterton nearly converted on a partial breakaway, but Askarov turned him aside. Moments later, he found open ice in the slot, corralled a deflected shot from Ryan Lindgren that bounced off Wennberg, and ripped it into the top right corner.

It was great to see Winterton get his first, even if it came in a blowout loss. Now that the monkey’s off his back, hopefully the goals start coming more frequently for a young player who seems to be proving himself as a full-time NHLer.

Takeaway #2 – Unraveled in the deep​

Winterton’s goal tied the game 1-1, and it felt like the ice was tilted in Seattle’s favor for much of the first period. The team looked composed and confident—but that quickly unraveled as the Sharks regained control.

The Kraken struggled to make crisp passes in any zone, leading to turnovers and killing offensive pressure in the second and third periods. Lane Lambert didn’t mince words after the game: “I didn’t like our game. I didn’t like the way we played. I thought we were too loose, and we did not play to our identity tonight.”

Nothing went right, including goaltending. Daccord was pulled after allowing five goals, and Matt Murray entered in relief—only to give up a goal 30 seconds later when Toffoli scored on a breakaway coming out of the penalty box. Both Kraken goalies allowed goals on the first shot they faced.

Takeaway #3 – Power outage on the man advantage​

After scoring a power-play goal in each of the previous three games, the Kraken went 0-for-6 on the man advantage. Worse, they gave up a shorthanded goal when Vince Dunn was stripped by Collin Graf. Daccord made the initial save, but Graf recovered the puck and fed Ty Dellandrea, who buried it. That goal made it 5-1 and ended Daccord’s night. The tally wasn’t on him, but at that point, the team needed a change.

5-1 San Jose. Shorthanded goal at 3:24 in the third period.

Colin Graf strips Vince Dunn at the point and gets a breakaway chance. Joey Daccord saves the initial chance but Ty Dellandrea collects the rebound and scores.

Matt Murray takes over in net and makes his home debut. pic.twitter.com/YC7cXKRguu

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 6, 2025

Seattle generated 13 shots on the power play, but in the end, the Kraken got Askaroved. The Kraken also missed the net eight times.

When you have open looks, the puck needs to get to the net. Missing the net and sending the puck off the glass and out of the zone kills momentum and resets the penalty kill for the opposition. We saw this far too many times on Wednesday.

On to the next​

If you asked me which opponent at the start of this homestand looked most beatable, the Sharks would have been at the top of the list. Instead, they handed Seattle its only regulation loss of the stretch. While two more points from this one would have been nice, earning six points over five games is a decent result. The Kraken need to learn from this loss and quickly turn the page.

Seattle will now have Thursday and Friday to regroup before heading out on the road to face the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. That kicks off a short two-game trip, which concludes Sunday in Dallas for Seattle’s second back-to-back set of the season.

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.

Read more from Blaiz

The post Three Takeaways – Kraken wrap up homestand with 6-1 loss to the Sharks appeared first on Sound Of Hockey.

Source: https://soundofhockey.com/2025/11/0...en-wrap-up-homestand-with-loss-to-the-sharks/

 

[Seattle Kraken]

The Seattle Torrent Has Arrived

On an appropriately wet and dreary morning, PWHL Seattle invited some season ticket holders to the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPoP) for their team name and logo reveal. Due to an apparent IT snafu, both the name and logo were leaked prior to the event, but that didn’t put a damper on the excitement from fans. There were a surprising number of them, many already with jerseys, who showed up for the team early on a weekday morning.

The Big Reveal​

The wait is over, PWHL Seattle is dead, long live the Seattle Torrent. Alison Lukan was on hand to announce the new team name, and was joined on stage by general manager Meghan Turner, head coach Steve O’Rourke and most of the players (except those currently in Cleveland with Team Canada and Team USA for the rivalry series).

O’Rourke and Turner weren’t shy about their anticipation for the season. Even without any formal practices, the team already is building an identity. “We’re looking to be a positive force on the ice'” said O’Rourke, “it starts with the coaching staff connecting to the players , and the players to each other and that’s when you start to see the force come together.” He wants the fans to feel that force, both when the team takes the ice and when they are out in the community.

These are exciting times, Turner admitted she hasn’t been sleeping and O’Rourke already fired up about a potential rivalry with Vancouver, telling Lukan, “There’s no getting around it. We came in together, we’re gonna be judged together, so the rivalry’s on.” Over 150 Seattle fans are already planning to attend the season opener in Vancouver, which had both leaders waxing poetic about the incredible support the team has already received from the community. O’Rourke pointed to the amazing atmosphere created by Sounders fans who travel when the team plays in Vancouver, and is eager to build on that tradition.

Turner is also looking forward the home opener on November 28th. “We’re ready to go,” she said, “we want teams to come in to Climate Pledge and be a little nervous about stepping on the ice.” She told the crowd that “the fans mean everything to us…and if the Takeover Tour was any indication, Climate Pledge is going to be buzzing.”

The name and logo were made official with a hype video highlighting the area’s natural beauty, the unstoppable nature of water, the intensity of the players, and how these elements will come together to build the teams identity. Hilary Knight also sent a video in her Team USA uniform and shared her thoughts on the branding. She (and Alison) also encouraged folks to tune in to the first game of the rivalry series today at 4:00pm on the NHL Network (or at Rough and Tumble Pub).

Goalie Corrine Schroeder took to the podium next, seeming nervous, but also maybe excited to be speaking to the crowd. She praised fans enthusiasm since day one, and the teams eagerness to become a part of the incredible Seattle sports community.

Team Reactions​

What was Schroeder’s first impression of the logo? She loved it, and thought it fitting, both in the literal sense, with all the waterways and rain the area, but also was fitting in terms of team identity. “That’s what we want to be like,” she said “we want to be relentless, we want to be unpredictable, we really want to be a powerhouse.”

First-round Torrent draft pick Jenna Buglioni also weighed in, excited that the branding fit with other sports teams in Seattle. She was eager for the Torrent to “carve our path” in the rich history of Seattle sports. She also enjoyed the iconic S, saying it goes well with the “brother team” in the Seattle Kraken.

GM Meghan Turner admitted she had known the team name for a few months, and it was a hard secret to keep. She thought the name was fitting, bringing together power and momentum. “It’s relentless” she said, “and I think it will play in to how we expect to step on the ice”. Turner shouted out the league for the creation of the branding but admitted that “it’s our job to bring it to life and to Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, and we are really excited to do so.”

Team gear is available now for purchase at the Seattle Center Armory and online. The Torrent will take to the ice for their first ever practice next week on November 11th at Kraken Community Iceplex.

Reactions from fans online seem to be mixed. Personally, it’s growing on me, especially after all the talk of powerful waterways and forces of nature. Let me know, what do you think of the team name and logo?

The post The Seattle Torrent Has Arrived appeared first on Sound Of Hockey.

Source: https://soundofhockey.com/2025/11/06/seattle-torrent-name-and-logo-reveal/

 

[Seattle Kraken]

Photo Gallery – Kraken vs Sharks – Nov 5th

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The post Photo Gallery – Kraken vs Sharks – Nov 5th appeared first on Sound Of Hockey.

Source: https://soundofhockey.com/2025/11/05/photo-gallery-kraken-vs-sharks-nov-5th/

 

[Seattle Kraken]

Down on the Farm – Caden Price looks the part in pro debut

“Down on the Farm” is your weekly Seattle Kraken prospects update. This week we’ll highlight Caden Price’s solid AHL debut in Coachella Valley, breaking down his many strengths, and identifying areas for further development as he gets acquainted with the professional game. This week’s update will be a little shorter than usual due to some travel involving this Sound Of Hockey intern, but we’ll still pass along video and data from around the Kraken system, as always.

If you have a Kraken prospect-related question you’d like to see featured in a future column, drop us a note below or on X or BlueSky @deepseahockey or @sound_hockey. Let’s dive in.

Analyzing Caden Price’s pro debut​

Caden Price has played in just nine professional games, all this season, with the Coachella Valley Firebirds. But he has already shown a broad base of skills that could be the foundation of a successful NHL career.

He’s an excellent athlete, who excelled in fitness training at Kraken rookie camp. This translates into his skating, which is equal parts agile and powerful. There are always gains that can be made, but his smooth skating is a solid building block for him. Defensively, he can win races to break a forecheck and cut off attack angles. With the puck on his stick, he’s an asset transporting through center ice and into the offensive zone, particularly in reduced manpower scenarios.

Similarly, while he can continue to get stronger, he doesn’t look outmatched physically so far. He can make plays with his body and strength when needed.

Price also flashes very good two-way stick skills. Defensively, he’s active trying to disrupt rushers at the blue line. Offensively, he’s able to carry the puck deep into the offensive zone with forward-like feel. On his first shift in the video below, he roves deep into the offensive zone, wins a puck battle with physicality behind the net, and then holds just long enough to find an open teammate net front for a one-timer goal. It’s a very good sequence for Price.

On the negative side, he needs to bring down the frequency of his mistakes. His breakouts can be skillful one moment and then hesitant or confounding the next. He doesn’t always make the best reads off the puck or make the right decisions with it, which raises some questions about his instincts and ice vision.

I do think he can make strides with more repetitions, though. The discrete skills are there to succeed. He just needs to coalesce them all. By the end of this season and early next, we may see a much steadier player. If so, we’ll be looking at a likely NHLer.

Notes on four more Kraken prospects​

Ollie Josephson | F | Freshman | Univ. of North Dakota (NCAA)​

Ollie Josephson scored two goals and added two assists in two games for the University of North Dakota last week. Josephson has not been known for his offensive counting stats, even in junior hockey, so it is good to see some offensive finish showing up against this older, stronger level of competition. The performance makes Josephson our Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week.

Nikke Kokko | G | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)​

Kokko returned to the lineup on Wednesday, Nov. 5, and earned the win over the Colorado Eagles. He had missed 11 days with a lower-body injury suffered during the Firebirds’ Oct. 24 game against the Calgary Wranglers. Though the raw numbers weren’t very strong for Kokko in his return (he allowed five goals on 24 shots), he should be helpful for a Firebirds team that is looking to improve its early-season defensive production. Through nine games, the Firebirds have given up almost 3.9 goals per game, which tied for second most in the AHL.

Ty Nelson | D | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)​

Nelson also returned from a multi-week injury on Wednesday, Nov. 5, against the Eagles. Nelson has been a stalwart, steadying presence on the blue line for the Firebirds since early last season. He’s another piece, along with Kokko, that will be crucial to righting the ship defensively.

J.R. Avon | F | Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)​

Speaking of the Nov. 5 game, J.R. Avon scored the game-winning shootout goal for the Firebirds that night. His success reminded me of my conversation with him back in camp. When I asked him to highlight areas where he feels he can make a difference on the ice, he noted his speed and also his shootout skills. Check and check, so far, for Avon.

In better news, the Coachella Valley Firebirds win 6-5 in a shootout, with a goal from J.R. Avon the decisive shootout score. pic.twitter.com/nDmnedeABD

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 6, 2025

Kraken prospects data update​

Julius Miettinen had two goals and added an assist in Everett’s only game over the last seven days. The Silvertips will be more active over the next seven, with four games scheduled before our next update.

Jake O’Brien leads the OHL in total points and points per game (among those with at least five games played). His 25 assists are also tops in that league.

Semyon Vyazovoi, 22, remains scalding hot. He has won his last six starts in a row and is now just .03 points off the KHL save percentage lead. He leads all under-25 KHL goalies in save percentage by a wide margin.

With Kokko back, Jack LaFontaine has returned to the Kansas City Mavericks. Victor Ostman started every game while Kokko was out.

Sound Of Hockey Prospect of the Week tracker​

2: Kim Saarinen, Julius Miettinen

1: Jake O’Brien, Semyon Vyazovoi, Nathan Villeneuve, Ollie Josephson

Previewing the week ahead​

The Deep Sea Hockey Games of the Week pit Kraken prospects Clarke Caswell and Zaccharya Wisdom against each other on both Friday and Saturday.

Tracking 2026 NHL Draft prospects: Mathis Preston​

Spokane Chief Mathis Preston is the highest-regarded U.S. Division WHL player eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft. Most public draft analysts project him as a top-10 pick. He has six goals and eight assists through Spokane’s first 15 games this year.

Recent prospect updates​

October 31, 2025: College hockey seasons under way for Kraken prospects

October 25, 2005: Mølgaard is an all-situations contributor as an AHL rookie

October 17, 2025: Tyson Jugnauth earns important role with the Firebirds

October 10, 2025: Firebirds drop the puck on the 2025-26 season

October 3, 2025: Catton makes his case for the NHL Roster

September 26, 2025: Junior seasons begin, J.R. Avon settles in

Curtis Isacke

Curtis is a Sound Of Hockey contributor and member of the Kraken press corps. Curtis is an attorney by day, and he has read the NHL collective bargaining agreement and bylaws so you don’t have to. He can be found analyzing the Kraken, NHL Draft, and other hockey topics on Twitter and Bluesky @deepseahockey.

Read more from Curtis

The post Down on the Farm – Caden Price looks the part in pro debut appeared first on Sound Of Hockey.

Source: https://soundofhockey.com/2025/11/07/down-on-the-farm-caden-price-looks-the-part-in-pro-debut/

 

[Seattle Kraken]

Three takeaways – Kraken split weekend games versus Blues and Stars

The Seattle Kraken took a quick back‑to‑back trip: St. Louis on Saturday and Dallas on Sunday. Joey Daccord went on injured reserve (IR) with an upper‑body injury before the trip and did not travel. By rule, he will miss at least seven days. That meant both Philipp Grubauer and Matt Murray would start.

Saturday: Comeback in St. Louis​

The Blues have struggled defensively and have allowed an NHL‑worst 63 goals. Seattle started fast and controlled play early. Then a risky pass through the slot by Ryan Winterton was picked off and buried by Dylan Holloway. A sloppy line change led to a too‑many‑men penalty. On the ensuing Blues powerplay, a pass attempt deflected off Adam Larsson and in. St. Louis led 2‑0.

Seattle answered in the second. Ryker Evans and Eeli Tolvanen scored their first goals of the season to tie it 2‑2. It was also Evans’ first game this season. The Kraken pushed after the equalizer and carried momentum. It felt like the go‑ahead goal was coming.

Instead, Jordan Kyrou pounced after a crease scramble and lifted the puck over a sprawling Grubauer. St. Louis led 3‑2 in the third.

It stayed that way until the final second. With Grubauer pulled, Chandler Stephenson scored with 0.5 on the clock. The league initiated a review after Jordan Eberle’s skate contacted Joel Hofer’s stick in the crease. Officials ruled no goalie interference. To overtime they went.

Seattle won the opening draw and held the puck throughout OT. Shane Wright took the first shot and buried it. The Kraken snatched two points. It was Wright’s first career overtime winner.

Sunday: Close loss in Dallas​

Murray drew the start and was sharp, stopping 22 of 24 shots. Jaden Schwartz tipped an Adam Larsson shot to give Seattle a 1‑0 lead. Dallas answered 1:09 later on the powerplay. Wyatt Johnston pulled the puck across the crease and backhanded it in. The goal took some wind from Seattle’s sails.

Dallas controlled most of the first. With under a minute left, Tyler Seguin settled a bouncing puck, slipped past Ryan Lindgren, and tucked it under a sprawling Murray for a 2-1 lead.

Seattle did not fold. The Kraken pushed hard in the second and third, outshooting Dallas 24‑14 over the final 40. They generated several grade‑A chances, but Stars goaltender Casey DeSmith turned them aside.

Seattle remains winless in the second game of back‑to‑backs over their last 15. This one felt different. The Kraken skated well and delivered a quality effort against a contending team. It goes down as a loss, but play like that will win more than it loses.

Seattle remains winless in the second game of its last 15 back‑to‑back sets. This one felt different. The Kraken skated well and delivered a quality effort against a contending team. It goes down as a loss, but play like that will win more than it loses.

Takeaway #1 – Berkly Catton hits 10 games​

Ten NHL games is a key marker for CHL‑eligible players. If a player is returned before that 10th game, the entry‑level contract slides, preserving three full years. With the game against the Stars on Sunday, Catton has now played 10 games, so this season will count as the first year of his deal. It’s a positive sign he could stay with the Kraken all season, but nothing is guaranteed.

The next marker is 40 games on the NHL roster, which accrues an NHL season. Accrued seasons determine when a player reaches unrestricted free agency (UFA). If Catton is on the roster for 40 games, even without playing, he would be UFA‑eligible at age 25. If not, he hits UFA at 26.

Catton has three assists through 10 games and looks more comfortable each night. The coaching staff is managing his minutes to set him up for success. He logged 10:05 in St. Louis and 8:48 in Dallas. Trust the process. His development is trending well.

Takeaway #2 – Goalies giving Seattle a chance​

Head coach Lane Lambert’s group is building around structure and defense. That helps the goaltenders do their jobs. Both netminders gave Seattle a real shot to win this weekend.

Grubauer’s win required late heroics, but those moments only mattered because the “German Gentleman” kept it within one in the third. Murray allowed two in Dallas and kept Seattle one bounce from a tie.

Last season, the Kraken often looked different with Grubauer in net, and not in a good way. With Daccord on IR, it was fair to wonder if the structure might crack. It didn’t. The group stayed connected, limited breakdowns, and remained competitive in both games.

Takeaway #3 – In it until the end​

The loss to San Jose felt like an early-season low point, just 16 games in. Seattle responded with two committed efforts. The Kraken put 61 shots on net over the weekend, up from the season 23.9‑per‑game average noted in Monday Musings. They chased in both games yet kept applying pressure while staying sound defensively.

That push earned the win in St. Louis. You could argue the performance in Dallas was even better, even if the result wasn’t. The effort is what matters here. If they keep this up, the wins will follow.

Wrapping up​

A win in the second leg at Dallas would have snapped an ugly streak. Still, a weekend split on the road carries plenty of positives. Seattle now returns home for a three‑game homestand, starting with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, Nov. 11.

The post Three takeaways – Kraken split weekend games versus Blues and Stars appeared first on Sound Of Hockey.

Source: https://soundofhockey.com/2025/11/0...n-split-weekend-games-versus-blues-and-stars/

 

[Seattle Kraken]

Monday Musings: The Kraken roller coaster

The Seattle Kraken went full emotional roller coaster mode this week. It started with a convincing, though not exactly dominant, win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday. Businesslike, efficient, and enough to keep the good vibes rolling. The Kraken had a two-goal lead and looked in control the entire game.

Then Thursday happened.

In what was easily the worst loss of the season, the Kraken laid a giant, smelly egg against the San Jose Sharks, getting thumped 6–1 at home by what was, at the time, the third-worst team in the league. It wasn’t just the score, it was the way it happened; mistakes up and down the lineup, lifeless stretches of play, and the kind of performance that makes you question everything. I know this because I did. Walking out of the arena, I found myself wondering: is this team actually good? Sure, every team gets blown out now and then, but when it’s my team getting blown out, I naturally take it personally.

And then came Saturday.

News broke in the morning that Joey Daccord was heading to injured reserve with an upper-body injury, an unexpected twist considering he was a full participant in Thursday’s practice. That meant Philipp Grubauer would get the nod against the St. Louis Blues. The early going was not promising. The Kraken looked sharp for the first five minutes, but a brutal turnover led to a Dylan Holloway goal, and five minutes later, a deflection off Adam Larsson’s stick on a penalty kill made it 2–0 Blues.

But this time, the Kraken pushed back. They clawed their way back to tie it in the second, showed some actual fight, and then, after falling behind again in the third, delivered one of the most dramatic comebacks in franchise history. Chandler Stephenson tied it with two seconds left in regulation, and Shane Wright sealed it in overtime with a slick finish off a beautiful drop pass from Eeli Tolvanen.

we know that’s wright ‍ pic.twitter.com/kE94Q4B0QT

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) November 9, 2025

Less than 24 hours later, the Kraken were back at it, facing the Dallas Stars on the second night of a back-to-back. Despite the quick turnaround, they brought the kind of compete level that’s become a hallmark of this year’s squad. Seattle outshot Dallas 31–24 and controlled long stretches of play, but couldn’t quite solve Casey DeSmith enough to tilt the scoreboard. A 2–1 loss stings, especially after Saturday’s emotional high, but the effort was there. And in a week defined by swings, this one at least ended with a fight.

Resilience on display?​

One of the few endearing traits of last season’s Kraken squad was its knack for clawing back from two-goal deficits to steal wins, something they did nine times last season. Primarily because of a lack of opportunity, this season’s group hadn’t shown that same capability, until Saturday.

There were hints of it earlier in the season, like the gutsy third-period rally against Montreal that forced overtime, even if it ended in a loss. But Saturday’s comeback against St. Louis felt different. It was gritty, dramatic, and decisive. For the first time this season, the Kraken didn’t just push back, they finished the job.

As a fan, it’s reassuring to know this team still has that gear. It’s the kind of team that refuses to fold, even when the odds tilt hard the other way.

19-year-old Berkly Catton plays game No. 10​

Berkly Catton officially hit the 10-game mark on Sunday, triggering him burning his first year of his entry-level contract. That’s a significant milestone, but it doesn’t necessarily lock him into the Kraken lineup for the rest of the season. Catton continues to flash the high-end skill that made him a top-10 pick, but he’s also shown the kind of youthful inconsistency that becomes costly when the margins are razor thin.

It’s worth remembering that burning a year of the ELC doesn’t guarantee a full NHL season. Daniel Sprong played 18 games for Pittsburgh in 2015–16 before being sent back to junior in December. Others have done that, but Sprong jumped to mind for some reason. With Jared McCann’s return looming, and assuming the injury bug doesn’t bite again, it’s fair to wonder if the Kraken might consider a similar path for Catton. Development isn’t linear, and sometimes the best move is the one that sets a player up for long-term success.

Kraken penalty kill challenges​

The Kraken’s penalty kill has been a sore spot for much of the season, and the numbers don’t sugarcoat it. Seattle currently sits 30th in the league in PK percentage. But over the last five games, there’s been a noticeable uptick in execution and structure. Yes, they’ve still allowed a power-play goal in each of the last three outings, but the overall kill rate and pressure on entries have looked sharper. For a unit that’s struggled, even marginal improvement feels like a step in the right direction.

Help may be on the horizon, too. Freddy Gaudreau, who was logging the most shorthanded minutes among Kraken forwards before landing on IR, is skating again and approaching the four-week mark of his original four-to-six-week recovery timeline. His return would be a welcome boost to a penalty kill group still trying to find its rhythm. If the Kraken can pair Gaudreau’s defensive instincts with the recent signs of progress, they might finally start digging out of the PK basement.

Other musings​

• Saturday night’s comeback win was the first time this season that the Kraken trailed at any point in a game and won. They also never led in the game.
• With his first NHL goal on Wednesday night against the Sharks, Ryan Winterton became the 50th player to score in Kraken history. He is the eighth player to record his first NHL goal as a member of the Seattle Kraken. Can you name the other seven?
• Eeli Tolvanen scored his first goal of the season off a rebound. That was the Kraken’s seventh rebound goal of the season. They rank third in the league in this category. Not sure how much weight this stat carries, but they were near the bottom last season. It’s another example of subtle, incremental improvement we are seeing this season.

first goal of the season? was just a matter of time. pic.twitter.com/zRmrWg0jve

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) November 9, 2025

• Faceoff possession was something the Kraken struggled with early in the season, but there has been some progress made in that part of the game. The Kraken had two faceoff goals over the weekend, which puts them at the top third of the league in this stat.
• With just one start each over the first 30 days of the season, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see either Philipp Grubauer or Matt Murray show signs of rust. Instead, both stepped up when called upon, delivering solid performances that gave the Kraken a chance to win both games.
• Saturday night marked the Kraken’s seventh overtime game of the season, tied with Montreal for the most.
• The Kraken are tied for second in points in the Pacific Division with 18. As strong a start as it’s been, they’re just two points ahead of seventh-place Edmonton. This division is tight.
• One team I’ve watched a lot lately is the Anaheim Ducks. They lead the Pacific in points and are the league leaders with 4.1 goals per game.
• The Kraken are now 0–2–0 on the season in the second game of back-to-backs. They were 0–12–0 in those games last season. Their next chance comes in a few weeks against the New York Islanders.
• Seattle Torrent forward Hilary Knight had a hat trick in Game 2 of the Rivalry Series between the USA and Canada. The Torrent were well represented in these two games with five players on Team USA and two on Team Canada. The U.S. won the first two games and will re-engage in early December.
• The Torrent open training camp on Tuesday and will head to Vancouver for two preseason games against the Vancouver Goldeneyes this coming weekend.
• Trivia answer: Matty Beniers, Shane Wright, Tye Kartye, Jani Nyman, Ryker Evans, Kole Lind, and Will Borgen scored their first NHL goals with the Kraken.

Goal of the Week​

Easy one this week.

.5 seconds on the clock?! yeah, stevie’s got it pic.twitter.com/hfAFvLFPed

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) November 9, 2025

Player Performances​

Marcus Johansson (MIN) – The former Kraken forward played his 1,000th NHL game on Sunday with the Minnesota Wild against Calgary. He only played 51 games with Seattle in 2021–22 but was a steady, reliable presence on a team not known for its steadiness.

Andre Burakovsky (CHI) – Another former Kraken is off to a great start with Chicago: seven goals and seven assists in 15 games.

Jagger Firkus (CVF/SEA) – Firkus is thriving in his second pro season with Coachella Valley, tallying 11 points in 11 games.

The week ahead​

The Kraken return to Climate Pledge Arena for a three-game homestand, and while home ice is always welcome, the schedule offers little breathing room.

• Tuesday: Columbus Blue Jackets. Don’t let their record fool you, Columbus is a young and exciting team that plays with pace. They’ll be on the second night of a back-to-back, but they’re more dangerous than the standings suggest.
• Thursday: Winnipeg Jets. Always a handful and likely still salty about the Kraken’s win in Manitoba earlier this season. Expect a heavy, structured game we have come to expect from the Jets.
• Saturday: San Jose Sharks return to Seattle riding a 7–2–1 stretch and fresh off a 6–1 dismantling of the Kraken just last week. That one stung, and you can bet the Kraken haven’t forgotten.

With key players still sidelined, grabbing three of six possible points would be a respectable outcome. But if they can swipe a little extra before heading out on a four-game road trip, it could go a long way toward keeping this early-season success rolling.

So, how are we feeling after all that? From despair to delirium and everything in between, this week had it all. Drop your thoughts, reactions, or emotional damage assessments below.

The post Monday Musings: The Kraken roller coaster appeared first on Sound Of Hockey.

Source: https://soundofhockey.com/2025/11/10/monday-musings-the-kraken-roller-coaster/

 

[Seattle Kraken]

Three Takeaways – Kraken fall to the Blue Jackets in a shootout 2-1

The Seattle Kraken came away with another point in a shootout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Normally, I’m happy taking a point and moving on to the next game, but this one felt deflating. Columbus was playing the second leg of a back-to-back and had lost to Edmonton on Monday night. The Blue Jackets were about a minute away from victory when the Oilers tied the game with a shorthanded goal. To make matters worse for them, the Blue Jackets have been battling a flu bug, and it’s suspected that Jet Greaves started both games due to the illness circulating through the team.

This was a tired opponent and a good opportunity for Seattle to grab two points. The Kraken played a solid game and did everything right, except score more than one goal. Ryan Winterton opened the scoring in the first period, and the Kraken held a 1-0 lead until late in the second when Columbus earned a two-man advantage. Adam Fantilli capitalized on the 5-on-3 to tie it 1-1. Columbus stayed disciplined, taking only two penalties, while Seattle’s power play again came up empty. The game went to a shootout, where the Kraken fell in the fourth round on a goal by Charlie Coyle.

Statistics provided by moneypuck.

Takeway #1 – Murray looks solid​

Matt Murray started his second straight game and looked even better than he did against Dallas, stopping 33 of 34 shots for a .971 save percentage. He looked calm and composed throughout, with his positioning spot on. It took a two-man advantage for Columbus to beat him, a scramble in front that ended with Fantilli burying a cross-ice pass into an open net. Even then, Murray nearly made the stop, getting a glove on it before it trickled in.

Lambert had two things to talk about in the post game presser.

Lack of scoring – "We've got to find a way to score. Like, when we have opportunities, we've got to bury them."

Matt Murray – "Yeah, he's really good. Just a big body who plays his angles very well, and I thought he… pic.twitter.com/REIsUkiL7g

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 12, 2025

As head coach Lane Lambert described: Murray played his angles well and used his size effectively, making it tough for Columbus to score. He saved 2.98 goals above expected, an impressive mark for the goaltender.

Takeaway #2 – Kartye, Meyers and Winterton​

The fourth line generated the most offensive pressure. While listed as the fourth unit, they logged more even-strength minutes than the Berkly Catton, Shane Wright, and Eeli Tolvanen line. Their goal came off a slick backhand pass from Ben Meyers to Winterton, who snapped it home.

Sweet dish from Ben Meyers to Ryan Winterton, who buries his second goal of the season. #SeaKraken 1-0 pic.twitter.com/yfOvJMq64O

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 12, 2025

Every time they hit the ice, they generated offense and kept pressure on the Blue Jackets. According to MoneyPuck.com, they had 10 shots on goal, the most of any Kraken line. They were fun to watch and kept the home crowd engaged.

With Freddie Gaudreau now skating again, decisions will need to be made if Meyers continues to perform like this.

Takeaway #3 – Lack of scoring​

For the second straight game, the Kraken scored just one goal. The good news: even with limited offense, the game was tied and they earned a point. That highlights how strong their defensive structure has been, no matter who’s in net.

Jaden Schwartz, Matty Beniers, and Kaapo Kakko led all forward lines in ice time, but the results weren’t there. They posted the lowest expected goals (0.143) and the highest expected goals against (1.129) of any Kraken line, far from ideal for a top unit.

Kakko, meanwhile, has yet to register a single point through six games. To be fair, Lambert has shuffled him around the top nine to find chemistry, but nothing has clicked yet. He hasn’t stayed on a line long enough to build consistency, but Seattle needs him to start producing for sustained success.

Wrapping up​

I started this piece slightly deflated, but by the end the Kraken’s effort reminded me there’s still plenty to build on. They still earned a point, and now it’s time to move forward with optimism. The Winnipeg Jets visit on Thursday, Nov. 13. Seattle shutout the Jets in their first meeting this season, so expect Winnipeg to come motivated.

nhl.com standings

The Kraken currently sit third in the Pacific Division, ahead of both the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers. The standings are tightening up, with the Anaheim Ducks, Seattle Kraken, and San Jose Sharks outperforming preseason expectations and adding a fun twist to the Pacific Division race as new faces mix in at the top.

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.

Read more from Blaiz

The post Three Takeaways – Kraken fall to the Blue Jackets in a shootout 2-1 appeared first on Sound Of Hockey.

Source: https://soundofhockey.com/2025/11/1...n-fall-to-the-blue-jackets-in-a-shootout-2-1/