Fall behind, tie it up, fall behind, tie it up, fall behind, tie it up… Go ahead, seal the deal. That was the cadence of scoring in a 5-3 Seattle Kraken win over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday, as they overcame a couple of costly mistakes and glided back into third place in the Pacific Division.

“We were playing well, other than those [mistake] situations,” coach Lane Lambert said. “I felt like we were playing well, I thought we had our energy, I thought our compete level was high against a very good hockey team.”

Vince Dunn had a big night with a goal and two assists, Jordan Eberle scored twice, and Kaapo Kakko finally broke through for his first point and goal of the season… only to go back on the shelf with a new lower-body injury on the next shift.

An 8-4-5 record and 21 points looks a lot better than what could have easily been a 7-5-5 record and 19 points. Here are Three Takeaways from an impressive 5-3 Kraken win over the Jets.

Takeaway #1: Poor Kaapo

It had been becoming an unfortunate storyline that Kaapo Kakko returned to the lineup after missing 11 games with a broken hand, only to be held pointless for six. The Kraken really needed him to start producing. He got the monkey off his back Thursday after a beautiful play in which Dunn ran over Mark Scheifele to dish it to Jaden Schwartz. Schwartz then shot it at Kakko’s stick, and the puck caromed neatly over Connor Hellebuyck’s shoulder, tying the game 1-1 at 15:15 of the first period.

KAAPO! 🚨

Great play by Vince Dunn, who takes… er… THROWS a hit to make the play to Jaden Schwartz. Schwartz shoots for Kakko’s stick, and Kakko gets off the schneid.

Go to the net, kids!

1-1 #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/l9kpigY7Pm

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 14, 2025

The Kakko storyline became more unfortunate, though, when he played one more 18-second shift after scoring, took an awkward fall, hunched over on the bench for a while, and finally went down the tunnel and exited the game.

“I feel bad for him,” Seattle coach Lane Lambert said. “It was a beautiful goal he scored, and we need him, so it certainly is not a great thing.”

Lambert said he did not have an update on Kakko.

Here’s where the injury happens. It’s not anything obvious, but Kakko falls awkwardly, and you can tell he’s immediately in some discomfort.

Pretty good period by the #SeaKraken, who conceded a goal, but got it back for a 1-1 tie.

Kakko scored the goal, his first of the season, but then he disappeared from the bench one 18-second shift later.

Here’s Kakko’s last shift of the period. Looked like the fall stung him. pic.twitter.com/pKUXhYqSOV

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 14, 2025

The timing of the injury stinks for a lot of reasons. For Kakko, the reasons are obvious, but for the Kraken, they’re just starting to inch toward good health; Ryker Evans is back, and a Freddy Gaudreau return appears imminent. Kakko’s return to the lineup two weeks ago felt like a long time coming and the first big step in that process.

Here’s hoping this is just a blip, and Seattle will continue marching toward a full lineup.

Takeaway #2: Overcoming bad mistakes

The Kraken made some uncharacteristic defensive lapses in this game. On the first goal against, they had three players back, as they almost always seem to do. Dunn and Adam Larsson were there, as was Ben Meyers, with Tye Kartye backtracking effectively. Dunn and Meyers got crossed up for a brief moment, though, and before they could recombobulate, Alex Iafallo had fought through Larsson’s check, and Adam Lowry had found him with a perfect pass for a tap-in.

1-0 #gojetsgo, who made that one look very easy. #SeaKraken had players back, but they seemed to get crossed up.

Alex Iafallo gets the easy tap-in. pic.twitter.com/6tBsctbuE0

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 14, 2025

The Kraken also screwed the pooch three minutes into the second period when Ryker Evans failed to get the puck deep, and three other skaters headed to the bench for a line change. Neal Pionk rejected the shoot-in and instead sent a quick-up pass to Scheifele at the far blue line for a rare breakaway against Seattle.

…And that’s why we get pucks in deep.

A rare breakaway against the #SeaKraken, who were caught in a line change, and Mark Scheifele scores.

2-1 #gojetsgo. pic.twitter.com/B1Fl6zYy6c

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 14, 2025

But the Kraken didn’t let those mistakes—or a questionable Kyle Connor power-play goal against Philipp Grubauer that made it 3-2—take the wind out of their sails. Instead, they dusted themselves off for the third and came out on a mission to take over this game.

Takeaway #3: The Kraken can score goals

Another uncomfortable storyline that had been becoming more prevalent was the Kraken’s inability to score. In three of the previous four games, they had notched just one goal each, with the exception being their 4-3 overtime win Saturday in St. Louis.

Seattle temporarily quieted that criticism on Thursday with a five-goal night, including the one from Kakko, two from Eberle, one from Dunn, and a power-play bomb from Eeli Tolvanen that tied the game at 4:11 of the third period.

“I think, for us, defense is going to be the backbone of this club. That’s how we’re going to win hockey games,” Eberle said. “But you’ve got to try and create offense out of that. I don’t think it’s been for a lack of chances [that we haven’t been scoring much lately].”

By the way, full marks in this “defense into offense” category to Ryan Lindgren, who had a great game and broke up a 2-on-1 that immediately led to Eberle’s game-winning goal in the third period.

O, CAPTAIN! 🫡 🚨 #SeaKraken take their first lead of the game, 4-3.

The play starts with a great defensive play by Ryan Lindgren and ends with Matty Beniers finding Jordan Eberle open on the doorstep. pic.twitter.com/pMMj30xLXR

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 14, 2025

This win should reinstall any recently lost confidence in both fans and players. Hellebuyck didn’t have his Vezina-winning stuff on this night, but he’s still Connor Hellebuyck, and the Kraken beat him and his strong team for the second time in as many tries this season.