The Western Conference wild card chase is essentially an extended version of musical chairs. Ten teams, including the Seattle Kraken, are vying for two playoff seats.
That added extra importance to Thursday’s New Year’s Day game at Climate Pledge Arena against the Nashville Predators, another team circling those two chairs.
Seattle’s Matty Beniers scored twice in the first 11 minutes, his second coming 10 seconds after a score by Jamie Oleksiak. The Kraken rode that three-goal eruption to a 4-1 throttling of the Preds. With the win, Seattle improves to 41 points, jumping over Nashville’s 40.
More critically, they jump into the 2nd wild card spot. Seattle is unbeaten in regulation in its last six (5-0-1).
Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer’s sensational 2025-26 season continues, as he frustrated Nashville when they ramped up their offense in the second half of the contest. Grubauer finished with 24 saves, allowing just one goal in each of his last two games, both victories.
1st Period
The departed Mason Marchment’s old number 27 is Berkly Catton’s new number 27. That’s the # Catton wore with such success in junior with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs. He previously wore #77.
After a nice blueline keep-in by Ryker Evans, his shot is tipped in front by Matty Beniers for his 5th of the season at 3:48.
Here’s a big way Grubauer is new and improved for ’25-’26. In past seasons, he’d been victimized by quick-response opponent goals after the Kraken had scored. Tonight, two Predators predators, Ryan O’Reilly and Filip Forsberg put testing drives on Grubauer, and he confidently saves both.
Fans at CPA are screaming for Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak to shoot, so he does. 2-0 Kraken at 10:41, as Juuse Saros has been beaten twice. “It was a matter of our forwards pressing them, and they got a little scrambly,” Oleksiak explained in an intermission interview.
The cheers haven’t subsided before the Kraken give them another reason to scream. Saros blockers Kaapo Kakko’s drive, but right to Jordan Eberle. The captain dribbles the puck into the crease, where Beniers deposits the loose change at 10:51. It took Matty 10 games to score his 5th goal, and seven minutes to get his 6th.
The surprise at this point is that Eeli Tolvanen doesn’t score on a 2-on-1 with Chandler Stephenson.
A clearly rattled Saros turns the puck over in the slot to Catton, who has visions of a wide open net for his first NHL goal. But Saros makes a remarkable recovery to clean up his own mistake.
2nd Period
Predators social media keeping a stiff upper lip.
Not to be lost in the Kraken offensive outburst, they’ve held Nashville to a total of 8 shots on goal more than halfway through the game.
Right after that’s written, Grubauer is called upon to make six stops in the next five minutes, almost as many as the previous 30. The lack of work did not affect his sharpness.
With 2:26 left in the period, longtime Preds defenseman and captain Roman Josi takes advantage of an Adam Larsson high-sticking penalty.
3rd Period
Seattle has faced a parade of backup goalies this season, opponents believing the Kraken’s 30th-ranked offense (2.57 goals per game) allowed them to rest their top netminders. However, tonight’s early 3-goal burst came against Saros, of whom Josi said in 2022, “I think there’s no better goalie in the world than him.” (Nashville Post)
Other side of the coin: the Kraken scored multiple 1st period goals in their last game, and no more afterward in a 3-2 shootout loss to Vancouver. A repeat tonight could spell trouble.
Oleksiak’s 55th block of the season is likely the most painful. Nicolas Hague puts all the mustard he can behind a 91 mph slapshot that crumples the 6-foot-7 “Big Rig.” He has to be helped off the ice and into the dressing room.
Another Kraken blueliner is almost lost when Nick Blankenburg’s shot hits Ryan Lindgren up high in the shoulder and cheek. Play is halted, but Lindgren is able to remain on the bench. With 10 minutes remaining, Oleksiak returns to the bench as well.
Posts at both ends: a Kraken odd-man break ends with Eberle feeding Kakko, who rings the post. Not much later, Steven Stamkos for Nashville redirects a pass behind Grubauer and off the right pipe. The original Kraken chance had been set up in their defensive zone, when Vince Dunn made a key block on Matt Wood’s high-danger chance.
Michael McCarron and Cole Smith are the latest to try to pound the puck past Grubauer from close range. The goalie won’t have it. He’s up to 23 saves, as Nashville is pouring on the offense.
After the Predators pull Saros for a sixth attacker with four minutes remaining, Evans is mugged and Jared McCann is cross-checked as play continues. Justice is served in the form of a empty-net goal from McCann, who at 17:47 wobbles a bouncing puck all the way down ice from the far boards in his own zone.
Up Next
After not playing their closest geographic rival all season, the Kraken on Friday meet the Vancouver Canucks for the second time in five days. The Canucks took the first clash at CPA on Dec. 29, 3-2 in a shootout. The rematch at Rogers Arena will be followed with a trip to Calgary to face off with the Flames on Monday. Note the early start time for that one, 6:30 pm Pacific.