The fifth NHL season for the Seattle Kraken have already seen its fair share of ups and downs.

Sunday: Grubauer, Tolvanen lead Kraken to fourth straight win

Initially, the Kraken got off to their best start yet, having a brief dalliance with first place in the Pacific Division in late October and sitting at 11-5-5 on Nov. 22.

But then injuries and their lack of scoring punch caught up with them in a big way, as the Kraken would drop 10 of their next 11 games, with only one of those losses going to overtime and earning them a point in the standings.

Franchise stalwart Jaden Schwartz emerged early in the season as their best offensive threat, but he has been out of action since Nov. 26 with a lower-body injury. Schwartz went down in the same game Seattle saw the return of its usual best offensive player, fellow forward Jared McCann, but McCann’s time back on the ice didn’t last long as he returned to injured reserve on Dec. 10. And then the Kraken lost defenseman Brandon Montour for roughly four weeks following hand surgery due to an injury suffered in a Dec. 16 fight.

Amid all of that, though, the Kraken have gotten themselves off of the mat over the last nine days. Seattle has shaken off its nearly month-long slide by winning four in a row, all against quality opponents and almost entirely on the road. First, the Kraken took down the San Jose Sharks 4-2 on Dec. 20. Then they beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 and Los Angeles Kings 3-2 to complete a sweep on a three-game swing through California.

Following a four-day break, the Kraken returned home to Climate Pledge Arena and continued their winning streak Sunday night with a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Each of those four wins came against a team over .500, with the wins over the Ducks and Kings standing out the most. Anaheim enters Tuesday with a 21-15-2 record for 44 points, tied with Edmonton for second in the Pacific Division that’s led by Vegas (45 points). Los Angeles, meanwhile, is fourth in the division with a 16-12-9 record for 41 points.

Seattle enters play Monday with a 16-14-6 record for 38 points, which puts them sixth in the eight-team Pacific Division and just one point back of San Jose for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference.

The Kraken’s recent turnaround received a bit of notice on Monday, with forward Eeli Tolvanen winning the second of the NHL’s weekly Three Stars. Tolvanen, who is running a six-game scoring streak, had two goals and four assists in three games last week, including his sixth career multi-goal game on Sunday. The 26 year old leads the Kraken with 25 points and 18 assists this season, and is fourth on the team with seven goals.

Veteran center Chandler Stephenson has been another key player of late for Seattle. He has a point in 10 of his last 11 games, amassing six goals and six assists over that stretch.

dance stevie 🕺
dance stevie 🕺
dance stevie 🕺 pic.twitter.com/8SSNKQ3Zzb

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) December 29, 2025

It’s interesting to note that the Kraken’s win streak has come on the heels of their surprising trade of forward Mason Marchment, their biggest offseason acquisition, to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 19.

While Seattle has subtracted Marchment, they added back McCann on Sunday, though the Kraken were carfuel with him as he had a season-low of 13:27 ice time following his activation from IR.

Seattle Kraken get star McCann back amid winning streak

With McCann back in action and joining a team that is now receiving solid contributions from Tolvanen and Stephenson, perhaps the Kraken can get moving in the right direction on offense. They currently rank third-to-last in the NHL with just 2.58 goals per game and last with 924 shots on the season.

The Kraken have seen their defensive numbers fall due to their recent slide, as they now are tied for 12th in the league with 2.92 goals allowed per game. That’s a significant fall from ranking second at 2.55 goals allowed per game on Nov. 26. Seattle may have righted the ship, however, having allowed just six goals for an average of 1.5 on their current four-game streak.

Goaltender Philipp Grubauer deserves praise for his performance this season. He’s tied for fifth in the league with a .917 save percentage and is 13th with a 2.44 goals against average, and he’s essentially moved into an even split of time in the net with usual starter Joey Daccord, whose numbers are down for a second straight season after his breakout 2023-24 campaign.

The Kraken have a busy schedule over the next month with the NHL’s break for the Winter Olympics coming in early February. Seattle will host the Vancouver Canucks at 7 p.m. Monday for the second part of a wave of four straight instances of games on back-to-back days that started last Monday and Tuesday against the Ducks and Kings.

Hockey at Winter Olympics will be played on shorter ice than in NHL