Overshadowing the Seattle Kraken’s three-game winning streak is their move to send Shane Wright down to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Wright was the fourth pick in the 2022 NHL draft, and after being a healthy scratch for five games, he was eligible for a two-week “conditioning stint” in the AHL, where the Kraken are hoping he can develop enough to become a valuable piece of the roster.
With that aside, it’s tough to ignore the Kraken’s winning ways as of late. They recently won five in a row before dropping two close games last week. Their current streak was the absolute best way to bounce back and surge through the standings.
The New York Rangers were the first victim, falling to Seattle 2-3 in overtime. It was the Kraken’s first overtime win of the season and came on a walk-off goal by Justin Schultz; it was his second of the night. Jordan Eberle rushed and had a shot deflected by New York goalie Igor Shesterkin, but Schultz responded before the goalie could readjust, and the Kraken left the stadium as victors.
Both of New York’s goals came off power plays, taking advantage of having an extra man out there and potentially lighting a weakness with the penalty kill on Seattle’s side.
Just two days later, the Seattle Kraken played their third consecutive overtime game and won yet again. In their first of a five-game stretch against divisional opponents, the Kraken pulled out a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings. After being stuffed by Shesterkin in their last game, Eberle came away with the goal in a 2-on-1 rush down the ice. Furthermore, the Kraken seemingly got over their penalty kill woes by… not committing penalties. The Kings had just one power play all game, with two shots and no goals to show for it.
While the previous two wins had been overtime thrillers, the Kraken took a different approach and dropped a franchise record eight goals against the San Jose Sharks. With a final score of 8-5, it’s hard to imagine that the game was tied 4-4 in the final period. Oliver Bjorkstrand took a 5-4 lead to start the high-octane period, followed by Jaden Schwartz just a minute later. After Timo Meier scored the Sharks’ fifth goal of the night, Matty Beniers and Schwartz again capped off a four-goal period and eight-goal night.
At 11-5-3, the Kraken have accumulated 25 points this season, just one point ahead of the Kings (who they beat in this streak). They are now two points behind the second-place Dallas Stars and a whopping eight points behind the Las Vegas Golden Knights, who are running away with the conference.
The Kraken will cap off the month with matches against those Golden Knights and Kings again, split down the middle by a match against the dead-last Anaheim Ducks.
