The Kraken’s clearest path in Edmonton is the simplest one: don’t give the Oilers extra chances.
That’s the whole starting point, and it makes plenty of sense. Seattle has no reason to drag this game into a special-teams shootout with Edmonton, especially with the Oilers power play lurking. As Glenn Dreyfuss said on Thursday night’s postgame “Kraken Reaction,” “the best penalty kill is staying out of the box in the first place.”
The numbers in Edmonton back that up. The Kraken are 1-7-and-1 all-time at Rogers Place, and power play opportunities have been a major reason. Seattle’s only win there came in early January of 2023.
Still, this is not the same Oilers team that usually feels so dangerous at home. Edmonton has been messy early while adjusting to new head coach Mike Babcock, who took responsibility for the club’s early-season defensive issues.
The results have reflected that instability. The Oilers lost to the Vancouver Canucks at home on Tuesday night in overtime, 6-5, then turned around and beat the Canucks in Vancouver two nights later, 9-7.
That’s a wild swing, and it says plenty about where Edmonton is right now.
Seattle arrives with some momentum of its own. Against the Flames on Thursday night, the Kraken looked sharp, aggressive and locked into their structure in a 6-1 win in Calgary. That kind of performance is exactly what they’ll need again if they want a real shot at only their second all-time victory in Edmonton.
Discipline matters here in two different ways. The Kraken need to avoid needless penalties, but they also need to stay true to their systems and assignments. If they do both, they give themselves a legitimate chance against an Oilers team still searching for its footing.
In Other News...
Kraken Let Another Winnable Night In Edmonton Slip Away
The Kraken had a chance to leave Edmonton with a result after Bobby McMann dragged them level in the second period and Philipp Grubauer kept them in it with 22 saves, including several important stops while killing penalties. For stretches, Seattle did enough to make Rogers Place feel winnable, even against a high-end Oilers team that can punish small openings.
But the night tilted late in the third, and the margin for error vanished in a hurry. Seattle could not find the response after Edmonton seized control again, turning what had been a competitive road game into another reminder that the Kraken are still trying to piece together the kind of finish that turns close nights into points. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Already Face A Pressure Test With Young Forwards Up Front
The Flames have spent the opening stretch of the 2026-27 season trying to find traction while leaning on a younger group up front, a spot made even trickier by the absence of veteran winger Jonathan Huberdeau. Calgary has already dropped its first two games and has had issues closing out shifts defensively, the kind of early-season slippage that can put pressure on a lineup still sorting out its top-six mix under coach Ryan Huska.
Seattle is part of a tough early run for Calgary, which also has Colorado and Anaheim looming on the schedule. The Kraken already have a feel for where the Flames are vulnerable, especially if Calgary cannot clean up its neutral-zone defense and get more reliable execution when games tighten late, and the next few outings will say plenty about how ready the younger forwards are to carry a larger load. [Read more 🡒]
Vince Dunn Landed On A Rare List In Kraken's Opener
Opening night against Calgary gave Vince Dunn another early-season spotlight, even if it came with a small twist. The Kraken defenseman scored Seattles second goal and added two assists in a 6-1 win, reinforcing how central he remains to the blue line whenever the games start to matter.
He also came close to a piece of NHL history that would have stood out even more than the box score, since he nearly became the only defenseman to open three straight seasons by scoring first for his team. Instead, Seattle got its first goal from another skater just before Dunn struck, and the moment now sits as one more reminder that the Krakens opener already had a little bit of everything going. [Read more 🡒]