If NHL teams are a reflection of their coach, no wonder the Seattle Kraken’s opponent Thursday at Climate Pledge Arena has been playing like they’re punch-drunk.
A recent gym accident left Toronto Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube with a 50-stitch horseshoe-shaped cut on his forehead, not to mention a black eye. His team, meanwhile, came in sitting fourth from the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, losers of three straight and seven of their last ten. And injured star William Nylander extended a middle finger toward the camera during a Sunday telecast.
Seattle pounced on a wounded and fragile opponent. The 8th and 9th goals by Shane (hey, trade THIS) Wright led the way. The Burlington, Ontario native has three goals, a third of his season total, in two games against Toronto. Scores by Matty (goals in four of his last five ) Beniers, Brandon (bobblehead DJ) Montour and Jared (back-to-back multi-point games) McCann also contributed to a 5-2 victory. Joey Daccord made 29 saves.
The Kraken finish a most productive homestand 4-2-0, with all four wins coming against teams from the East. In the crowded West, the Kraken moved into a tie with Anaheim for third place in the Pacific Division. The only blemish on a happy evening was an accidental 1st period hit to Berkly Catton’s head. He did not return.
Taylor Codomo photo
1st Period
From Kraken social media: “Before tonight’s puck drop, we celebrated #SeaKraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer’s selection to Team Germany and forwards Kaapo Kakko & Eeli Tolvanen’s selections to Team Finland at #MilanoCortina2026!”
Here’s a change for the better: an early goal, a first-shot-of-the-game goal, BY the Kraken. Matty Beniers collects a pass between the hashes from Jared McCann – how is a player left this wide open there? Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz gets a piece, but the puck pops behind him and nestles in the twine at 1:21.
The arena goes from raucous to hushed when Jaden Schwartz is down and not moving at center ice. He got the worst of a knee-on-knee collision, and wasn’t putting much weight on his right leg as he was assisted skating off the ice. Schwartz did return.
Berkly Catton becomes the second Kraken felled by an accidental collision. Catton ducks down to reach for a loose puck, which puts his head in contact with Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s elbow. No foul was called and none deserved, but Ekman-Larsson is clearly distraught. So is Catton, who is eventually able to skate off under his own power, but may have to go through concussion protocol.
Toronto’s Nick Robertson can shoot really hard. Daccord finds that out when Robertson one-times a bullet for a 1-1 tie at 15:02.
2nd Period
Maybe saves, like love, are better the second time around. Early on, Daccord and Stolarz both make fine, but routine, first stops, and extraordinary saves on the rebounds. Daccord denies Troy Stecher, and remarkably remains in position to also stop Stecher again when the puck rebounded to the defenseman.
Less than a minute later, Kraken 4th line good troublemakers Jacob Melanson and Ryan Winterton have bang-bang chances; Stolarz rejects both.
Defense leads to offense for Seattle. Right after Daccord denies Auston Matthews’ wraparound, Shane Wright backhands home his 8th of the season, first in 13 games, second in 22.
The floodgates have opened. 31 seconds after Wright’s goal, Freddy Gaudreau carries the puck over all three lines. He floats a pass to defenseman Brandon Montor, who one game after his bobblehead night squeezes a shot through Stolarz’ 5-hole for a 3-1 Kraken lead.
Defenseman Ryan Lindgren, who’s made a career of sacrificing his body, makes a painful block that helps kill a Seattle penalty. When he’s finally able to exit the ice, Lindgren gets stick taps from fellow blueliners Jamie Oleksiak and Montour. Shots favor Toronto after 40, 24-16.
3rd Period
As part of their season-long “Common Threads” promotion, tonight was Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander night.
The logos shown, used on Kraken jerseys for auction, were designed by local artist Kenji Stoll, a visual artist based in Tacoma. He’s a tattooer specializing in Japanese / American traditional.
Here’s a NOT change that’s NOT for the better. Seattle’s 31st-ranked penalty kill isn’t up to the job. Morgan Rielly scores at 6:04 to narrow the Toronto deficit to 3-2.
This game has been painful, literally. Toronto’s Matthews needs the referee’s whistle, and is slow to rise after incurring friendly fire. Then Shane Wright provides unfriendly fire to restore the two-goal Kraken lead at 8:32.
McCann put his 15th into an empty net at 17:23.
Up Next
Three games remain on Seattle’s pre-Olympic break schedule, all of them on the road. The trip begins Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights.