The Seattle Kraken were three goals up and cruising Tuesday night at Climate Pledge Arena. Then the third period showed up, Detroit punched back, and Seattle suddenly needed extra time just to protect the two points.
In the end, the Kraken survived anyway, edging the Red Wings 4-3 in a shootout thanks to goals from Freddy Gaudreau and Bobby McMann. It was a wild finish to a game Seattle had controlled for most of the night before watching a 3-0 cushion disappear in the final 14 minutes.
Brandon Montour was back in the lineup after being a game-time decision because of a lower-body injury, and he made his presence felt immediately. The defenseman scored as Seattle built that early lead, becoming the 12th different Kraken player to score this season and tying Vegas for the most goal-scorers on a team this year.
The rest of Seattle’s regulation scoring came from Mackie Samoskevich in the first period and Ryker Evans on a second-period power play.
For most of the night, Philipp Grubauer looked headed for a shutout. Detroit’s Viktor Arvidsson broke that bid in the third period, denying Grubauer what would have been his 22nd career shutout, fifth with Seattle, and first since April 9, 2024 against the Arizona Coyotes.
That goal opened the door. Lucas Raymond scored on the power play 59 seconds later, and Seattle’s hold on the game started to loosen.
The Kraken killed off a Ryan Winterton slash with 8:17 left, but the late chaos kept coming. With 1:25 remaining, Chandler Stephenson was called for roughing and Detroit pulled its goalie, creating a 6-on-4.
Alex DeBrincat then scored with 17 seconds left - his 300th career goal - to force overtime.
Seattle got the better of the shootout and escaped with the win.
The night began with a little extra energy outside the ice, as fans entering the arena were greeted by members of the U. of Washington Huskies marching band. Seattle also wore its alternate “Abyss” uniforms for the first time this season.
The Kraken got on the board first when Stephenson helped set up Samoskevich for the opening goal. Stephenson earned one assist, but he could have claimed a second for his drop pass and for driving straight at Wings defenseman Mo Seider, which opened the lane. Samoskevich buried it from there, finishing off a newly formed line with McMann.
Detroit then handed Seattle a pair of power-play chances in the second period with a too-many-men call and a puck-over-glass minor just 62 seconds apart. The Kraken couldn’t cash in on the 5-on-3, but they did take advantage of another mistake. Michael Rasmussen backhanded the puck from the boards into the slot, and Evans had all kinds of room to step in and rip a shot off Daniil Tarasov’s blocker and in.
Montour’s goal came next, and it was a clean finish off the faceoff. Berkly Catton won the draw, Montour closed quickly, and the defenseman wristed home his first goal of the season.
By the time Detroit started its comeback, Grubauer had not been tested nearly the way he was in the teams’ meeting in the Motor City on Oct. 9.
In Seattle’s 6-3 win that night, Grubauer had already made 21 saves by two minutes into the second period. In this rematch, he did not make his 21st stop until 31 seconds remained in regulation.
There was also one of the strangest moments of the month when Vince Dunn got caught up in Albert Johansson’s shot attempt. Dunn put his stick in the way of the windup, the shot knocked it out of his hands, and the stick went soaring roughly 30 feet in the air before landing off a flight that began just inside the Kraken blue line and ended by hitting the end glass.
Ten games into the season, Seattle and Detroit are done facing each other.
Detroit went 2-for-4 on the power play, while Seattle finished 1-for-3.
The Kraken’s four-game homestand continues Thursday against the Utah Mammoth.
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