Joey Daccord played a game-and-a-half over the course of a back-to-back and made 24 saves in Tuesday’s 5-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild.
Matt Murray backed up Daccord, as Philipp Grubauer left Monday night’s loss in Winnipeg and was unavailable Tuesday. There is no timeline for his return. The Kraken only have five games left, so if it comes to that, Grubauer is about to have a full summer to rehab the injury.
The Wild had a pair of reviews go their way at the newly renamed Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, Minn. Matt Boldy, who scored for Team USA in the gold-medal game at the 2026 Olympics, bodied a puck into the net. It was initially waved off. A review showed it was above board, not above the crossbar, so Boldy tied the game at 1.
During the second period, the Kraken tried to take their third one-goal lead of the game, off a top-shelf Jaden Schwartz stunner. Former Minnesota player Freddy Gaudreau was in the crease and the Wild coaches decided their old friend had bumped Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt (25 saves) enough to challenge the goal. It worked, and Schwartz’s strike was called back.
The score was 2-2, and from there, the Wild pulled away. Vladimir Tarasenko and Marcus Johansson scored for Minnesota, which has already clinched a playoff spot but is angling for home-ice advantage. It would need to overtake the Dallas Stars in the stacked Central Division.
The Kraken couldn’t take advantage of a weaker Pacific Division and plummeted out of playoff contention after the Olympic break. Seattle has dropped six straight games and 10 of 11.
Joel Eriksson Ek scored into Seattle’s empty net.
The Kraken’s top defensive pairing breakup was short-lived. Vince Dunn and Adam Larsson, who had played together for more than four seasons when both players were healthy, went out on separate pairings on Monday night, but reunited roughly 24 hours later.
Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak made an impact during his return to the lineup. He was a healthy scratch Monday night against the Jets.
Oleksiak fought Marcus Foligno in response to Foligno’s hit on Ryker Evans. It was the second time in a week-and-a-half Oleksiak dropped the gloves in defense of a teammate. Before this flurry, his most recent bout was Nov. 13, 2023.
Brandon Montour scored Seattle’s first goal, a point shot that nicked a Wild defender on the way into the net. Montour’s fellow defenseman, Larsson, made it 2-1. Just before the first intermission, Bobby McMann got loose on a breakaway but didn’t extend the lead.
All in all, it was one of the better 20-minute efforts the Kraken have managed recently. While Seattle tried to get off to another promising start, Berkly Catton turned the puck over in the Minnesota end. Thirty-eight seconds into the second period, Foligno scored on a 3-on-2.
The Kraken will head home and play their final three home games of the 2025-26 season over the next week, starting Thursday against the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas is also jockeying for playoff position under new head coach John Tortorella.
Seattle isn’t playing for much, other than pride, which coach Lane Lambert referenced multiple times Monday night. An incentive in the other direction — if the Kraken extend this losing streak, their odds of winning the draft lottery could slightly improve.