Kraken see points streak end in 3-2 road loss to Hurricanes

The Kraken fought hard, but were second-best on the night as the top team in the NHL came back in the third period to secure the two points.

It was always going to be a tough challenge on Saturday evening for the Seattle Kraken, to beat a Caroline Hurricanes team leading the NHL in points. And on a night when the visitors were outshot 34-12 this proved to be the case, resulting in ending their points streak at 10 games as they ultimately lost 3-2.

However, for a moment there it appeared as if the Kraken were going to achieve the seemingly impossible thanks to their indomitable mental fortitude, with them leading 2-1 at the midway point of the third period. Then the Hurricanes displayed some resilience of their own led by veteran Jordan Staal, to score twice in the span of 3:13 to take a 3-2 lead which they would not relinquish.

The Kraken have been criticized repeatedly for their lack of scoring in 2025-26 and certainly this is not going to be helped when you register a season low of 12 shots on goal. And yet there the team stood just 10 minutes away from an unlikely win, thanks to spectacular goals from Matty Beniers and rookie Berkly Catton.

Matty Beniers continues to perform well

Head coach Lane Lambert’s players were under the cosh early, as the Hurricanes took a 1-0 lead through Logan Stankoven just 3:23 into the contest and were outshooting the visitors 8-0. However, Beniers got the Kraken back into the game at the 14:13 mark of the opening period with one of the goals of the season, to tie things up at 1-1.

The 2021 second overall draft pick has had his critics, but has stepped up his game of late including producing 10 points in his past 10 games. Speaking to the media about him postgame, Lambert said:

“I thought he was really good. Obviously he scored a nice goal, but I thought he was responsible all night long. I thought he battled hard down low in our zone and I thought he transported the puck well.”

After a scoreless middle period, it was then the turn of Catton to score a highlight goal himself to give the Kraken their 2-1 lead 5:56 into the final frame. After failing to score in his first 27 NHL games, the 2024 eighth overall draft pick now has three goals in three contests, with his spectacular effort alluding to more confidence in his play since breaking his duck.

Despite the 19-year-old scoring the goal, he made sure to give plenty of credit to line mate and fellow rookie Ryan Winterton, who stole the puck from the Hurricanes and set him up. When speaking to the media postgame, Catton said:

“Yeah that was all him pretty much. He gave me a really good look. I thought he was awesome all night and honestly was the driver of our line.”

Joey Daccord does well for Kraken in trying circumstances

We’ve written recently about how we believe Philipp Grubauer should arguably be seeing more playing time between the pipes. but give Joey Daccord credit where it’s due. He performed extremely well under the circumstances in stopping 31 of the 34 shots he faced on Saturday evening, including six high-danger scoring opportunities in the second period.

In the end though it just wasn’t meant to be for Daccord and the Kraken, despite being in a position to at least get to overtime and extend their points streak to 11 games. Lambert said:

“When you carry a 2-1 into the last 10 minutes of the third period, you have to find a way to get points. We have been lately and we weren’t before that (with just one win in 11 games). So we just have to pick ourselves up here and get ready for the next one.”

The Kraken do at least remain in a playoff spot, although they do now drop out of the top three in the Pacific Division into a wild card place, level on points with the Los Angeles Kings. They have Sunday off, before returning to action on Monday evening versus the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

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Jaden Schwartz impresses in return from injury

The game was also notable for the return of Jaden Schwartz following a 19-game absence through a lower body injury. And in fairness he didn’t look like it was his first action since late November, with him creating several high quality chances for teammates and almost scoring on a breakaway.

The Kraken will be relying on Schwartz’s experience moving forward, as they continue their quest for the second playoff qualification in franchise history. Speaking about the 33-year-old to the media, Lambert said:

“Yes it was good to see him back. I think he gives our team a boost with that veteran leadership. I thought he played pretty good for his first game in a while.”

As for Schwartz himself, he did not feel any adverse effects despite this being a type of injury he had never suffered before. Speaking to the media, he said:

“It was a little bit different so far as rehab and seeing how it feels. Then with so many games, there wasn’t much practice time either. So it was tough to really test it out, but overall I was pretty pleased with how it felt.”

It was undoubtedly a rough start to this road trip, but how do you see the Kraken doing over the remaining four games before they return to Seattle? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.