The Kraken are officially off to the best start in franchise history, and this week, they won games in style, knocking off last season’s Presidents’ Trophy winner, the Winnipeg Jets, and the two-time Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers. I try not to get too excited about early-season success, but honestly, they’re making it really hard to contain emotions.

Stingy hockey

One of the areas we flagged as a potential opportunity for improvement heading into the season was team defense. Head coach Lane Lambert came in with a reputation for being defensively sound, and so far, he’s delivered on that front.

The Kraken are allowing just 2.67 goals per game, the 10th fewest in the league, down more than half a goal from last season’s average. That’s a meaningful step forward and a big part of why they’ve been so competitive night after night.

The one area starting to show some cracks, though, is the penalty kill. Seattle’s penalty kill currently sits at 70 percent, which ranks 26th in the NHL. It didn’t start out this way; through the first four games, they were killing off 75 percent of their penalties, but things took a dip after Freddy Gaudreau was injured late in the second period of Game 4 against Ottawa.

Since that injury, the Kraken have killed just 67 percent of their penalties. That tracks, given that Gaudreau was on the ice for nearly 45 percent of Seattle’s total penalty-kill time before he went down. There’s no reason to hit the panic button yet, but it’s clear the Kraken miss Gaudreau’s steadiness and structure when they’re down a man.

If there are few areas of improvement the Kraken will be looking to tighten up heading into November, the penalty kill is probably one of them. Having said all that, Lambert did comment recently that he likes the way the penalty kill is performing, even though the stats aren’t reflecting particularly strong execution.

Tight hockey

Lambert has also talked about patience and getting comfortable in tight games. So far, the Kraken are walking the walk in this regard. In the seven games where they’ve picked up at least a point, 93.4 percent of the game time has been played either tied or within a one-goal margin.

I’m not saying a one-goal lead suddenly feels safe, but it definitely feels safer than it used to. In each of the last two games, Seattle entered the third period up by one. Across those two games, the opponents nearly doubled the Kraken’s shot attempts in the third, but Seattle held firm, keeping their defensive structure intact and limiting dangerous chances to close things out. Here’s a look at the third-period shot attempts against from those two games:

The Kraken are also blocking more shots than ever. Through nine games, they’re averaging 18.4 blocked shots per game, up from 16.2 last season. It’s not just players throwing their bodies in front of pucks for fun—it’s a byproduct of how the team is defending. They’re protecting the middle of the ice, forcing opponents into lower-danger areas, and as a result, they’re getting in front of more shots.

And, of course, teams tend to block more when they’re ahead—especially late in games when they’re collapsing to protect the lead. Vince Dunn gave us a perfect example Saturday night, blocking two shots in the final 15 seconds to seal the win. That’s commitment.

Rolling through October

Heading into the season, there was plenty of concern (mostly from the Sound Of Hockey crew) that October could be rough for the Kraken. They faced a six-game road trip, eight of 11 matchups against 2025 playoff teams, and an entirely new coaching staff installing fresh systems. That’s a lot to handle right out of the gate.

Then you add a boatload of injuries on top of all that? Yeah, it had the makings of a rocky start.

Instead, the Kraken have turned it into one of the most impressive opening months in franchise history. No matter what happens Tuesday, October has already been a massive statement, and it’s been a lot of fun to watch.

Other Musings

The dying minutes of the Kraken–Oilers game featured some hysterically long shifts. For the Kraken: Jordan Eberle (1:44), Chandler Stephenson (1:40), Jaden Schwartz (1:45), Dunn (1:43), and Brandon Montour (2:22). For Edmonton: Evan Bouchard (2:21), Leon Draisaitl (2:28), Jake Walman (2:15), and Connor McDavid (2:30). That’s a lot of tired legs.

It was confounding to see neither team use a timeout in those closing moments. Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch probably didn’t want to give the Kraken a breather, while Lane Lambert likely didn’t want to give Edmonton a chance to draw up a play.

Saturday night was the first time this season that McDavid was held without a single shot attempt. The last time that happened was Dec. 28, 2024.

Saturday also marked the seventh time this season the Kraken scored the first goal of a game, the most in the NHL so far.

The Kraken are now 4-1-2 against last year’s playoff teams… Not too shabby.

In case you missed it, Kaapo Kakko is back skating and is currently day-to-day. It looks like he’s getting closer to returning, but with a three-day break between Tuesday’s game against Montreal and Saturday’s matchup with the Rangers, my money is on that Rangers game being his season debut.

Schwartz continues to be one of the more underrated players on the roster. He factored into all three goals against Winnipeg on Thursday, but his real value goes beyond the scoresheet. He is excellent along the walls, helping the Kraken gain and keep possession in key moments.

It’s way too early to be scoreboard watching, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t quietly rooting for every other Pacific Division team to lose every night.

Last week I said we’d get a better sense of how Lambert plans to handle the three-goalie rotation with Joey Daccord as the starter and Philipp Grubauer and Matt Murray as the backups. I was wrong. We still have no idea how this is going to shake out. Both backups have played fine—just fine—but neither has really grabbed the spotlight yet.

The Coachella Valley Firebirds picked up their first win of the season last Wednesday and now sit at 2-3-1. It could be a bit of a transition year for the Kraken’s AHL affiliate, but this roster is loaded with real prospects. My eyes lit up when I saw their top power-play unit: Logan Morrison, Carson Rehkopf, Jagger Firkus, Tyson Jugnauth, and Oscar Fisker Mølgaard. Other than Morrison, every one of those players is 21 or younger.

MOLGAARD WITH THE POWERPLAY GOAL!! 4-3 pic.twitter.com/ZqwhOMlqlf

— Coachella Valley Firebirds (@Firebirds) October 26, 2025

And finally, a reminder that the PWHL season kicks off in November! PWHL Seattle opens on the road against PWHL Vancouver on Friday, Nov. 21, with their first home game a week later on Nov. 28. Tickets are limited, so if you want to witness history, now’s the time to grab them.

Goal of the week

This was such a huge goal for the Kraken, and I just love the setup from Ryan Winterton who is probably one of the unsung contributors to the early Kraken success.

2-0 #seaKraken

The fourth line has been a big part of the last two games – they get rewarded. Two big blocks by Kartye, a battle won by Meyers and then an odd man rush Winterton->Kartye-> 🥅 pic.twitter.com/YUZjswxKb2

— Alison (@AlisonL) October 26, 2025

Player performances

Jordan Eberle (SEA) – Three goals in the last two games, including a clutch third-period tally that stood as the game-winner against Edmonton on Saturday night.

Nathan Villeneuve (SBY/SEA) – The Kraken prospect put up seven points over two games this past weekend. After missing the first six games of Sudbury’s season due to an injury sustained in Kraken training camp, he’s racked up 13 points in just seven games so far.

Semyon Vyazovoi (SYA/SEA) – The first goalie ever drafted by the Kraken (back in 2021) had three wins and a .936 save percentage over the last week in the KHL. He’s expected to come to North America next season.

The week ahead

After a busy start to the season, the Kraken have a lighter schedule this week with just two home games: Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens and Saturday against the New York Rangers.

Seattle will look to avenge that overtime loss to Montreal from a few weeks back when the Kraken had the win in their grasp before the Canadiens tied it with under three minutes left in regulation. Montreal currently sits atop the Atlantic Division with a 7-3-0 record and has quickly earned the title of “most fun team to watch” in the early going.

On Saturday, the Kraken host the last-place Rangers—yes, Mike Sullivan’s new team is last place in the Metropolitan Division. New York has struggled to score and is still searching for its first win at Madison Square Garden, though oddly enough, they’re 3-1-1 on the road.

It’ll also be Will Borgen’s first game back at Climate Pledge Arena since the trade that brought Kaapo Kakko to Seattle last season. I always liked Borgen, who really hit his stride during the 2022–23 campaign. My favorite on-ice memory of his will always be that Winter Classic goal… but his “baking skills” might have left the bigger impression.

And finally…

To be clear, I still don’t know exactly what kind of team this is, and that’s okay. What I do know is that they’ve built a solid defensive identity, they’re winning close games, and they’re doing it while short-handed and still learning a new system. If that’s the foundation, the ceiling could be pretty high.