The Seattle Kraken had the opening they wanted, then watched the game slip away in a hurry.
After getting even in the first period, Seattle was buried by a three-goal Minnesota outburst in the second and ended up on the wrong side of a 5-1 loss to the Wild on Saturday night. What started as a competitive game turned into a rough one fast.
Minnesota struck first, with Kirill Kaprizov scoring just 26 seconds into the night. Seattle answered at 10:13 when Berkly Catton scored to tie it 1-1, and the Kraken finished the first period with 14 shots on goal. That was about as good as it got.
The second period belonged entirely to the Wild. Minnesota scored three times while Seattle managed only one shot on goal, a stretch defined by sloppy puck management and defensive breakdowns that kept the Kraken on their heels. Instead of building on the early push, Seattle spent the period chasing the play.
Defenseman Vince Dunn said Seattle struggled to hold possession and stay in the offensive zone. That left the Kraken defending far too much and gave Minnesota room to take over.
Seattle also had three power-play chances to chip back into the game and couldn’t cash in on any of them. With the Wild comfortably ahead, the Kraken needed a clean, dangerous power play. They never found one, and too often passed up shots.
Joonas Daccord was pulled with more than seven minutes left, giving Seattle an extended six-on-five look, but the comeback never felt realistic. The result was a frustrating finish to a game that had briefly looked promising.
The Kraken will try to clean things up against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.
In Other News...
Kraken Blue Line Just Powered A Wild Win Over Toronto
The Kraken and Maple Leafs traded blows in a 5-4 game that never settled down, with Seattle getting an unusual boost from its defensemen all night. Josh Mahura and Ryker Evans both scored from the blue line, part of a game that featured multiple lead changes, a tested penalty kill and notable work from rookie Gavin McKenna as well as goalies Philipp Grubauer and Sergei Bobrovsky.
Seattle finally found the edge late, and the timing only added to the drama of a win that felt like it could swing either way until the final minute. For a team that needed production from every part of the lineup to survive Torontos pressure, the blueline came through in a big way and turned an up-and-down night into a memorable result. [Read more 🡒]
Predators Blue Line Plans May Be Bigger Than Fans Expected
Roster shuffling around the league has started to pull Seattle into the conversation again, with Shane Wrights name surfacing as clubs weigh their own needs and the Kraken continue sorting out where their next upgrade could come from. The broader market has already been stirred by Minnesotas reported willingness to include Danila Yurov in trade packages while chasing a top center after landing Quinn Hughes, a reminder that one move can quickly reshape the asks and the available pieces.
For Seattle, the interest in Wright sits alongside other trade chatter, including Nashville defenseman Nicolas Hague being mentioned as part of the league-wide adjustments teams are exploring. Nothing has been finalized, but the fact that Wright is being discussed at all signals how active these conversations have become, with the Kraken still tied to a market that could eventually force a decision on one of their young centers. [Read more 🡒]
Kraken Could Make A Young Center The Key To A Big Move
Jason Botterills offseason search appears to be aimed at one of the leagues most valuable commodities, a top-line scoring winger, and Seattle seems prepared to use some of its young center depth to get there. For a team still trying to sharpen its offensive ceiling, that is the kind of trade conversation that can reshape the roster quickly, especially when it involves a player the Kraken view as part of their future rather than a stopgap.
The wrinkle is that Seattle does not appear to be shopping from a position of weakness so much as from a place of leverage, with Torontos salary-cap squeeze adding another layer to the discussion. The Maple Leafs are limited in how they can add players with term this season, and that pressure can affect the kinds of moves they can make around the roster and even their AHL call-ups, which only adds intrigue to any potential deal between the two sides. [Read more 🡒]