Lane Lambert wanted Seattle to come out flying, and on opening night in Calgary, the Kraken did exactly that.
They struck three times in the first period, kept the Flames buried, and rolled to a 6-1 win Thursday night. Jordan Eberle, Vince Dunn and Freddy Gaudreau all scored before the opening frame was over, then Chandler Stephenson, Matty Beniers and Kaapo Kakko finished the job with third-period goals as Seattle opened its sixth season in style.
The tone was set almost immediately. On the power play, Jared McCann’s wrist shot hit Eberle just above the crease, and the captain located the puck before anybody else. It took only six seconds of man-advantage time for Seattle to grab a 1-0 lead.
Less than a minute later, Dunn added to it. The defenseman, who had scored the first goal in each of Seattle’s previous two seasons, settled for the second one this time, rifling home a 65-footer 32 seconds after Eberle’s tally. Shane Wright’s screen in front helped it through, and Dunn would finish with two assists for a three-point night.
Then came the backbreaker. With 30 seconds left in the period, Kakko threaded a cross-ice pass through three Calgary sticks, and Gaudreau buried it to make it 3-0. By then, Flames goalie Dustin Wolf had stopped only three of six Seattle shots.
Seattle never needed to force the issue after that. Calgary went shorthanded four times in the second period, but the Kraken couldn’t tack on another goal. Even so, the damage was already done, and it was hard to imagine the Flames climbing out of a three-goal hole while spending so much time on the penalty kill.
The third period turned the game into a runaway. Stephenson made it 4-0 with a slick finish after Calgary defensemen Zach Whitecloud and Yan Kuznetsov touched skates and both went down at the blue line. Stephenson burst through center, hopped over Whitecloud, and tucked a backhand through the five-hole for the highlight goal of the night.
Beniers followed with a 30-foot blast past Wolf, then Ryan Strome spoiled Joey Daccord’s shutout. Seattle answered 26 seconds later when Kakko cashed in again, with McCann earning his third assist of the night on the play.
Daccord finished with 24 saves and an assist on Stephenson’s goal, but he also had plenty of help. Early on, he robbed Mikael Backlund when Backlund slipped past Ryker Evans, and later he stayed patient while Connor Zary tried to work him over with move after move. He also came through when needed, which was the luxury of the night: he rarely had to.
The Kraken got their share of heavy, physical moments too. Beniers and Ryan Lindgren each blocked shots while helping kill a Calgary power play.
Jacob Melanson stepped in and leveled Matt Coronato as Coronato tried to dig the puck out from a fallen Josh Mahura. And a combined 449 pounds of Melanson and Curtis Douglas, making his Kraken debut, flattened Simon Nemec behind the Calgary net.
The numbers told the same story as the eye test. Calgary finished with a 0-0-1 scoring line by period, while Seattle went 3-0-3.
The Flames outshot the Kraken 25-31 overall, but Seattle’s efficiency and early pressure made the difference. On special teams, Calgary went 0-for-1 and Seattle went 1-for-5.
Next up for the Kraken is a Saturday trip to Edmonton, where they’ll face the Oilers with puck drop set for 4 pm Pacific.
In Other News...
Seattle Torrent Finally Get Their First Real Place In The PWHL
The Seattle Torrent finally have something that feels like a real home base in the PWHL, with the league releasing the clubs 2026-27 schedule and putting Seattle on a full-season path in its own building. For the first time, the league has enough teams to split into Western and Eastern Conferences, and Seattle lands in the Western side as the new structure starts to take shape.
Climate Pledge Arena will host 15 home dates on a 30-game slate, giving the Torrent a steadier presence in front of local fans after arriving as the league continued to expand. The schedule also includes four Takeover Tour stops at neutral sites, a reminder that even with a clearer home identity now in place, the league is still trying to broaden its footprint while Seattle settles into its first real place on the map. [Read more 🡒]