In what felt like a must-win game, the Seattle Kraken delivered in the second leg of a back-to-back, defeating the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena.

The Kings struck first on a power-play goal from Andre Kuzmenko, and after Tuesday night’s loss to the Anaheim Ducks, everyone held their breath wondering if the Kraken were in for another rough night.

Seattle put the doubters to bed quickly, though. The team scored three goals in the next 7:39 to take the lead for good.

The Kraken head into the Olympic break going 11-6-2 in 2026 and have reclaimed third place in the Pacific Division. The win also created separation in the Western Conference playoff race. A three-point buffer now exists between the last wild-card team (Anaheim, 63 points) and the first team out (LA Kings, 60 points). The Kings and Predators play Thursday, so the gap could shrink. But one thing is certain: the Kraken will maintain third place for the duration of the Olympic break.

The Kraken improved to 3-0 against the Kings this season.

Here are the Three Takeaways.

Takeaway 1: Shane Wright heating up

Shane Wright scored two goals for the second time in four games. After netting only seven goals in the first 52 games, he has increased his total to 11. Wright’s first goal came on a nifty steal and pass from Ryan Winterton. Wright pulled the puck to his backhand and beat Darcy Kuemper to tie the game at 1-1.

Wright answered a question from Piper Shaw about his increased scoring:

“Guys are finding me. That’s a big thing. Putting myself in areas to score, trying to get open and shoot the puck as well. Guys are making good plays on the goals, so I’m not having to do too much on them. But it’s always nice to chip in there.”

The key is Wright is getting to the right spots and making himself available. His second goal came on the power play from a Freddy Gaudreau feed. It extended the lead to two goals and provided breathing room.

Takeaway 2: Penalty kill on the struggle bus

The Kings converted twice on the power play, both by Andre Kuzmenko. The Kraken have allowed power-play goals in eight of the last nine games. The one game they technically didn’t surrender a power-play goal was last game. But they gave up a goal five seconds after a penalty expired, as Matty Beniers was still trying to rejoin the play. This will be an area of focus when the Kraken return from the break.

The good news: the Kraken didn’t allow any other goals and emerged with the 4-2 victory. The Kings pushed hard, though. They had two goals waived off immediately as the whistle had blown before the puck crossed the line both times.

Trevor Moore gave the Kraken a scare and nearly tied the game in the opening seconds of the third period. The post did its job, though, and after a couple of odd-man rushes for each team, the Kraken settled down and eventually converted on Wright’s power-play goal.

Takeaway 3: Scoring is up

After getting shut out for 55 minutes Tuesday against the Ducks, the Kraken found their scoring touch. They scored four goals and have averaged 3.47 goals per game in 2026. That would rank them third in the NHL for the season.

Chandler Stephenson, Gaudreau, and Wright all enjoyed two-point nights. The offense was clicking.

Jaden Schwartz was out with a lower-body injury. Oscar Fisker-Molgaard was called up to fill in. As a side note, the Kraken are now 3-0 in games Molgaard has played. He wasn’t a big factor in this game, though, as the fourth line played only about six minutes and 30 seconds of ice time. Molgaard and Tye Kartye started the third period, but that was their only shift. Jacob Melanson’s last shift came around the 18-minute mark of the second period.

Although the fourth line didn’t play much in the third, Molgaard’s presence allowed Gaudreau to fill in for Schwartz alongside Stephenson and Eeli Tolvanen. Gaudreau looked great in this game and earned the primary assist on Wright’s second goal on his way to two point night.

Wrapping up

With 19 games played in 2026 and momentum rolling, I’m a little nervous the break is here. The team basically played a playoff hockey schedule, playing almost every other night for the past month-plus and thrived. But the break is well deserved. They definitely have areas to improve—cough, penalty kill—so hopefully they come back Feb. 25 ready to play. After the break, they don’t ease back into it. They head right into a back-to-back, first against the Dallas Stars, then the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 26.

The Kraken have three players—well, now four with Molgaard on the roster—heading to the Olympics. We wish them the best of luck. Dallas has seven players and St. Louis has five in the Olympics, so hopefully the Kraken will be the more rested team and start on time.

Blaiz Grubic

Blaiz Grubic is a contributor at Sound Of Hockey. A passionate hockey fan and player for over 30 years, Blaiz grew up in the Pacific Northwest and is an alumni of Washington State University (Go Cougs!). When he’s not playing, watching, or writing about hockey, he enjoys quality time with his wife and daughter or getting out on a golf course for a quick round. Follow @blaizg on BlueSky or X.