First, debunking a couple of 2025-26 Seattle Kraken myths.
Common Wisdom: The Kraken are playing a more structured defensive style.
Reality: Not in the last two weeks they haven’t.
Since a 3-2 home loss to Dallas on Nov. 26, here are the game-by-game number of goals given up by Seattle: 4, 9, 4, 4, 2, 5, 3. But… But… two of the four goals by Minnesota were empty-netters, and Utah scored a pair of empty-netters as well.
True, if you ignore that on Friday, the Mammoth had trouble finding the target. According to Sport Logiq, Utah led in 5-on-5 offensive zone possession (43% to 35%) and had 16 more shot attempts (61-45, even more lopsided when you consider shot attempts on power plays favored the Kraken, 14-7). If the Woollys had better aim, they would have scored five anyway. Their 2nd period puck possession dominance was excruciating.
Against the Wild Dec. 8, it was more about the “eye test.” Marcus Johansson, on his 3rd period game-winning deflection? Left all alone in the low slot, a recurring theme. On a 1st period Minnesota power play, Mats Zuccarello had a clean look from point-blank range, followed by a Ryan Hartman breakaway. Fortunately, Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer saved both. Grubauer also bailed out his team on Yakov Trenin’s 2nd period shorthanded breakaway.
And from Sunday’s game story: “The Buffalo Sabres got a 1st period goal from Noah Ostland on a 2-on-1, and a 2nd period goal from Tage Thompson on a 2-on-0 – you read that right”
Common Wisdom: The Kraken power play is improved.
Reality: Only against the Los Angeles Kings.
Seattle’s power play overall ranks 16th at 19.1% – not great, not terrible, and not terribly different from the 18.9% they finished with in 2024-25 and 20.7% in 2023-24.
A look under the hood reveals a downward trend since the Kraken scored on one PP in each of games 2 through 6. Wednesday’s 3-2 victory over the Kings featured multiple extra-man scores – all three, in fact – for the lone time this season. Other than that one uncharacteristic explosion, the Kraken since their seventh game are 10-67 on the power play, an anemic 14.9% efficiency.
Injuries are a factor; right now, the team is without forwards Jared McCann, Jaden Schwartz and Berkley Catton. Forwards McCann, Kaapo Kakko and Freddy Gaudreau missed significant time earlier in the season. But even at full strength, Seattle doesn’t have the firepower to scare opposing penalty killers.
And 5-on-3 has been a disaster. The Kraken don’t have a two-man advantage marker this season, except for pulling the goalie while already on the power play, when Matty Beniers tied the game against the Kings. Against L.A. and Utah, Seattle failed to score up 5-on-3, including 1:42 vs. the Mammoth. Even Lane Lambert calling time out on Friday didn’t help.
Five-Ingredient Recipe For Return To Contention
Common Wisdom: The above sounds rather dire. Forget about being in a playoff spot at Thanksgiving. It sounds like the Kraken will be out of contention by Christmas.
Reality: Hard to argue, but let’s stoke those embers of hope, shall we? I mean, what else have we got going right now besides (admittedly far-fetched) hope?
It’s true that the Kraken have won just one of their past nine games. However, Seattle has already proven they can beat the league’s elite: Vegas (5th most points as of Monday), Anaheim (9th), Winnipeg (2024-25 President’s Trophy winner), and Edmonton (2-time defending Western Conference champion).
(1) Beat Their Peers
Their focus should be a return to banking points vs. teams with equivalent talent levels – like the Utah Mammoth, who had lost seven of their previous nine games, and Buffalo Sabres… because they’re the Buffalo Sabres. Seattle’s remaining strength of schedule is a cushy 20th, according to Tankathon.com. That includes four games with the Canucks, three each with the Predators and Flames, two with the Blues, and one each with the Sabres and Blackhawks.
(2) Stay Strong In Net
Goaltending is keeping the Kraken in games. The Athletic‘s most recent rankings placed Seattle’s netminding 13th in the league, second-best in the Pacific Division.
“Joey Daccord has been excellent for three straight seasons. He’s the best puck-playing goalie in the league, and actually saves his team from having to defend, and himself from having to make saves, every night because of it. What has the Kraken this high in this ranking, though, is how wily veterans Philipp Grubauer and Matt Murray (since injured) have played behind him.”
(3) Ask Santa For Better Health In 2026
Just what the doctor didn’t order: a flu bug sweeping through the dressing room this past weekend.
A team which relies on every oar stroking water can’t afford multiple bodies in sick bay. In addition to the forwards listed earlier, defensemen Brandon Montour and Ryker Evans have also spent time on IR, as have goalies Daccord and Matt Murray. AHL Coachella Valley doesn’t yet have adequate “next man up” replacements. All hands on deck is a must for Seattle to be competitive.
(4) Put The Special Back In Special Teams
As detailed above, lack of high-end scorers probably prohibits energizing the Kraken power play. The penalty kill, however, has no excuse to be the league’s worst (67.5%). Not when off-season additions of defenseman Ryan Lindgren and forward Freddy Gaudreau were touted for their PK proficiency.
Remarkably, Seattle has surrendered at least one goal while shorthanded in 20 of 30 games. One-goal losses to Dallas, Columbus and Detroit stick out for ineffective special teams. The coaching staff should make changing that a priority.
(5) Take Advantage Of Weak Division
More than a third of the way through the season, the Pacific Division is a hot mess. When records are boiled down to simple wins and losses, only the Ducks (19-13) and Golden Knights (16-15) are above even – Vegas just barely.
Compare that to the other divisions. The Central has three teams above “real” .500, while the Atlantic and Metro boast five each. The lower bar for playoff entry in the Pacific, and to some extent the Western Conference, provides the Kraken with a postseason path, if they pull out of their current tailspin.
Can they do it? HockeyReference.com gives Seattle about one in four odds of making the playoffs. In the immortal words of Jim Carrey from the movie Dumb and Dumber, “So you’re saying there’s a chance.”