Kraken Fall Flat Against Ducks in One of Season’s Worst Showings
Friday night at Climate Pledge Arena, the Seattle Kraken delivered a performance that left fans frustrated, coaches bewildered, and the scoreboard a little too kind. The 4-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks wasn’t just another defeat-it was, by the team’s own admission, their most disjointed and disappointing effort of the season.
Head coach Lane Lambert didn’t sugarcoat it.
“Terrible hockey game for our team,” he said bluntly. “That was the worst 40 minutes we played all year.”
And he wasn’t exaggerating.
Lambert, channeling a bit of sci-fi stoicism, added: “I don’t have a logical explanation for an illogical event.” The Kraken couldn’t connect passes, couldn’t generate momentum, and couldn’t stop the bleeding early. It was a night where everything that could go wrong, did-and then some.
The Breakdown: Five Alarming Moments
Let’s run through the laundry list of what went sideways for Seattle.
1. Another Early Gut Punch
For the sixth time this season-and the second game in a row-the Kraken gave up a goal on the opponent’s first shot. Anaheim’s Cutter Gauthier needed just 62 seconds to put Seattle in a hole. That’s not just a trend anymore-it’s a problem.
2. Shorthanded Sloppiness
The Kraken have now allowed a shorthanded goal in four of their last five games. This time, it was Ryan Poehling taking advantage of a misread by defenseman Vince Dunn, who took a poor angle and failed to cut Poehling off.
If not for Philipp Grubauer’s highlight-reel save on Casey Cizikas earlier in the week, it would’ve been five straight games with a shorty allowed. That’s a stat no team wants to own.
3. An Offense That Vanished
Matty Beniers got the Kraken’s first shot on goal just 27 seconds in. Encouraging, right?
Not quite. They didn’t register another shot until the 12-minute mark of the first period.
In a building that’s usually rocking, the energy dipped fast. You couldn’t blame fans if their minds wandered to the Seahawks-Rams NFC Championship game coming up on Sunday.
4. Ducks Dominate the Power Play
Anaheim’s power play has been near the bottom of the league all season-ranked 27th coming into the night-but you wouldn’t have known it watching them carve up Seattle. On their third goal, the Ducks peppered Grubauer with three high-danger chances in a 10-second span. Chris Kreider cashed in, and it felt like a carnival game-only this time, the Ducks were doing the shooting, and the Kraken were the sitting targets.
5. Defensive Breakdowns and Desperation
Midway through the second period, Anaheim’s Jansen Harkins broke in alone on goal. Seattle defenseman Ryan Lindgren had no choice but to haul him down, leading to a penalty shot.
Thankfully for the Kraken, Grubauer was one of the few bright spots on the night. He poke-checked Harkins clean before he could even get a shot off-one of several key stops that kept the game from getting completely out of hand.
A Late Push… But Too Little, Too Late
Trailing 3-1 entering the third, the Kraken finally showed signs of life. Jaden Schwartz buried a beautiful feed from Shane Wright early in the period, adding to Jared McCann’s second-period goal and giving Seattle a bit of momentum.
They pressed hard for the equalizer, and nearly had it. Adam Larsson rang a shot off the crossbar that had fans out of their seats.
A couple inches lower, and it’s a 3-3 game. But the puck didn’t bounce their way, and the Ducks sealed it with an empty-netter to make it 4-2.
Searching for Answers
After one of their best performances of the season-a 4-1 win over the Islanders on Wednesday-Seattle came out flat, unorganized, and unmotivated. The sudden drop-off was as puzzling as it was frustrating.
“How do you go about finding out the ‘why’?” Lambert was asked postgame.
“It’s a great question,” he replied. “We have a short-term memory here.
In the third period, we showed how we can play. We get back to work (Saturday), focus on the things that we do to have success.”
That third period effort? That’s the version of the Kraken they’ll need to bottle up and bring to the rink on Sunday. Because time is ticking-and the standings aren’t waiting.
Seattle is still on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff picture. And with the New Jersey Devils coming to town for a noon puck drop on Sunday, there’s no time to dwell. The Kraken need answers, and they need them fast.