Look, I’m not saying the Seattle Kraken will go 82-0 this season, but… it remains on the table after they defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 in overtime at Climate Pledge Arena on Saturday.

Matty Beniers had an outstanding performance, earning both a crucial goal and an even more crucial assist, while Jared McCann banged home the game-winner to cap an incredible weekend for Seattle sports.

Speaking of which, who was in the building on Saturday, cheering on the Kraken? The legendary HUMPY! After Humpy’s performance shocked the world at the Mariners game on Friday, he appeared at CPA on Saturday—where the Kraken promptly came away with an impressive win over an excellent opponent. Coincidence? I think not.

Global superstar and local hero, HUMPY is in the building!!! 🐟 ELECTRIC!⚡️ pic.twitter.com/Owtly1Pl08

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 12, 2025

Here are Three Takeaways from a big 2-1 Kraken overtime win against the Golden Knights.

Takeaway #1: Matty looks different

Beniers had a notably slow start to last season but seemed to find himself once Kaapo Kakko arrived and started creating some space for him. So when Kakko broke his hand in training camp, I wondered how big of an impact that would have on the start of Matty’s season.

Through the first two games—especially Saturday against Vegas—Beniers has looked fast, confident, and downright crafty. Even before he scored, I was commenting to others in the local media about how he looked.

When I asked him if he’s feeling good about his game Saturday, he said, “Yeah, I feel good.” (It was a funny exchange that’s worth watching below.)

Hear from Matty Beniers on what the win means for the #SeaKraken and his confidence early on. pic.twitter.com/YqOMqy42bc

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 12, 2025

There’s a determination in his game right now that we haven’t always seen from him over the past couple of seasons. The way he’s dangling through the neutral zone, the way he’s defending, and even the way he’s carrying himself with the media—it all suddenly looks and sounds like a veteran NHLer.

Against the Golden Knights, he was the beneficiary of an unbelievable between-the-legs pass from Jordan Eberle from below the goal line to set up a power-play goal seven minutes into the second period. But he also made an elite play on his own, pulling the puck to his backhand and sliding it around Adin Hill’s outstretched left pad.

MATTY MAGIC! 🚨

Sick setup, sick finish, sick celly.

Power-play goal, and it’s 1-0 #SeaKraken. pic.twitter.com/AfVFcsAmxz

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 12, 2025

“It was an awesome pass [by Eberle],” Beniers said. “He’s an extremely gifted passer, we all know that, and he put that on display right there by going between his legs. I’m right in front all alone, so he set that whole thing up.”

He’s still just 22 years old, but it feels like it’s time for Matty to become Seattle’s best player. If that happens this season, the Kraken could go a long way.

(By the way, I missed Matty’s goal in real time, because I was busy looking up how many career shutouts Adin Hill has. So, you’re welcome for that.)

Takeaway #2: Overtime dominance

After Pavel Dorofeyev sent the game to an extra frame with his fifth (!!!) goal in three games, Seattle showed it knows how to play at 3-on-3—despite not practicing it much.

The Kraken won seemingly every battle and held the puck for nearly the entire five minutes of overtime. When the Golden Knights did manage to get possession, they’d rush up ice, take a shot from distance that Joey Daccord confidently kicked away, and then Seattle would go right back to work. It was an impressive display.

“Very good,” coach Lane Lambert said of the overtime performance. “Watching [Kraken teams] in the past, there’s a pretty good understanding there, and I thought we won some battles, and I thought we did some really good things in 3-on-3. We reorganized with the puck, we didn’t— we took shots that we felt were good opportunities, which you have to do. So we managed it very well.”

Of course, it’s all for naught if you don’t ultimately score. But with the clock ticking down and Beniers dancing around at the top of the slot, he finally pushed his way down Lenny Wilkens Way and snapped a shot into Hill’s chest. The rebound popped out and landed right on McCann’s stick, and he won the most important battle of the night, sending the crowd home happy.

MCCANN CAN! 🚨

WITH 3 SECONDS LEFT IN OT, JARED MCCANN WINS IT! #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/y38BJQvz5A

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) October 12, 2025

“I knew there wasn’t much time on the clock,” McCann said. “Matty made a great play, obviously, turned back and created space from the guy, and I just tried to do the same at the net.”

Takeaway #3: All aboard the Lane Train

After practice on Friday, Lambert reflected on the third period of Seattle’s season-opening win against Anaheim. “We feel like if we play like that, we’re going to give ourselves a chance to win. Are we going to win all the time? No, but if we play like that, we give ourselves a chance to win. And I thought that period was good.”

The Kraken played three of those periods (four, if you count OT) on Saturday. Sure, the game against Vegas could have gone either way, but Seattle had victory well within its tentacles all night.

Of course, Daccord has been very solid in both of these first two games, and the puck management in the opening frame against the Ducks was atrocious. But there have been very few defensive breakdowns so far, and against Vegas, odd-man rushes almost never happened. Even Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy commented on that after the game.

“They had a game plan, and they weren’t going to lose D up the ice,” Cassidy said. “Even though I think they did a pretty good job of getting involved in the offense, it didn’t allow us a lot of odd-man rushes to get through the neutral zone clean. So I think it took us a while to figure that part out.”

Lambert doubled down on his earlier sentiments after the game.

“It’s important for our team to understand that what we’re doing is a formula to have success,” Lambert said. “You’re not always going to win, and that’s the way it goes. The outcome was great, but had it been slightly different, I wouldn’t have been unhappy with our hockey team’s effort.”

For all the talk about tighter defensive structure from the Kraken, I’m not sure I believed we’d see it this early in the season. But Seattle just totally shut down a Vegas Golden Knights team that has dominated them throughout their four years of existence.

All aboard?