{"id":399506,"date":"2026-01-10T13:45:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T13:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/399506\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T13:45:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T13:45:17","slug":"three-takeaways-kraken-rally-back-to-keep-point-streak-alive-in-3-2-ot-loss-to-wild","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/399506\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Takeaways – Kraken rally back to keep point streak alive in 3-2 OT loss to Wild"},"content":{"rendered":"

The point streak lives! While Win Streak David\u2014the second named win streak of the season\u2014officially came to a close at four games, the Seattle Kraken rallied back from a 2-0 deficit in the third period and stole a point in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday. It was the 10th straight game in which the Kraken earned a point (8-0-2), and it kept them in third place in the Pacific Division on a night when every team around them in the standings also earned points.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was contested, there\u2019s no question,\u201d coach Lane Lambert said. \u201cWe knew it would be. I thought both goaltenders played well. We certainly had our opportunities, they had their opportunities. So it was a pretty good hockey game overall, if you\u2019re up in the stands watching it. I don\u2019t know if I loved it overall, standing behind the bench watching.\u201d<\/p>\n

After giving up two goals through traffic in the first period, Philipp Grubauer was once again electric the rest of the way and gave Seattle every chance to complete the comeback. But in the extra frame, the Kraken looked as bad as we\u2019ve seen them look in an overtime period, and Mats Zuccarello ultimately finished a 2-on-1 rush with Kirill Kaprizov to give the Wild the win.<\/p>\n

Here are Three Takeaways from a 3-2 Kraken loss to the Wild in overtime.<\/p>\n

Takeaway 1: Poor start<\/p>\n

Minnesota is an elite team in the NHL, no question about it. But man, the vibes of this game\u2014aside from Pride Night happening, which always brings fun energy\u2014were not good. While the Kraken didn\u2019t give up many Grade A chances, they also couldn\u2019t get much going at the offensive end of the ice, and there were shades of earlier games this season where they\u2019d get the puck on their sticks and just hand it over to the Wild\u2019s pesky and skilled forwards.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first period was awful, and our execution was probably the main\u2014 biggest part of that,\u201d Vince Dunn said. \u201cIt\u2019s just tough when you\u2019re chasing the game a little bit to start the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

And chase they did, something that hasn\u2019t happened much for this team of late, as they dropped into a 2-0 hole by the end of the first.<\/p>\n

Both goals came off quick-up passes from Minnesota defensemen to start rushes, and both were scored on floating wrist shots from distance that found their way through bodies in front of Grubauer.<\/p>\n

Ryan Hartman scored the first after Jamie Oleksiak made a solid defensive play to break up the initial attack. But Hartman got to the loose puck and used Oleksiak as a screen to beat Grubauer and make it 1-0 at 5:00.<\/p>\n

This hasn’t been a great start for the #SeaKraken<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Ryan Hartman uses Jamie Oleksiak as a screen and floats one past Grubauer. <\/p>\n

1-0 Wild. pic.twitter.com\/PtLmFVyPuB<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) January 9, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n

Brock Faber then scored at 15:54 to make it 2-0 on a controversial goal in which Matt Boldy held Dunn\u2019s stick for a\u00a0longtime, then laid it to Quinn Hughes, who made a fancy-Dan pass back to Faber.<\/p>\n

Matt Boldy holds Vince Dunn’s stick for about three seconds, doesn’t get called, and Brock Faber scores immediately after. <\/p>\n

Dunn and McCann were both giving it to the official after that one.<\/p>\n

(Also, kind of a sick pass by Quinn Hughes.)<\/p>\n

2-0 #mnwild<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/NzDDC3DSwV<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) January 9, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n

Dunn cleverly declined to comment on the non-call against Boldy after the game. <\/p>\n

While the defensive structure appeared mostly sound, it did not feel like Seattle was going to have the juice to get back in this one against a top opponent.<\/p>\n

Takeaway 2: Nice rally<\/p>\n

BUT! The Kraken adjusted and dug deep in the second period, slowly tilting things back in their favor for stretches.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought we started to really play with about seven or eight minutes left in the second period, where we started to create some zone time,\u201d Lambert said. \u201cWe did a really good job there, and I thought it carried over to the third.\u201d<\/p>\n

With momentum shifted in the third, Adam Larsson broke through \u201cThe Wall of St. Paul\u201d (Jesper Wallstedt) after Dunn\u2019s shot hit the post and ricocheted all the way out to Larsson at the other point.<\/p>\n

THE BIG CAT! \ud83e\udd81\ud83d\udea8 <\/p>\n

Vince Dunn hits the post, but it skips all the way out to Adam Larsson, who rips it past his countryman. <\/p>\n

2-1 Wild. #SeaKraken<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/PEnJBEJqfK<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) January 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Then, with momentum fully shifted, the Kraken earned two consecutive power plays. They came up empty on the first but quickly converted on the second, with Matty Beniers finding a Jared McCann rebound and putting it away.<\/p>\n

\u201cGive our guys credit. They did a great job to come back,\u201d Lambert said. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge point for us, but again, the disappointment for me is that the game started slow for us, and we can\u2019t do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Wild regained momentum after Beniers tied it, but Grubauer was stellar down the stretch and got his teammates to the extra frame\u2014where they laid a big, rotten egg.<\/p>\n

Just when you think they\u2019re out on this point streak, the Kraken pull you\u2026 BACK IN!<\/p>\n

Takeaway 3: What was up with that OT?<\/p>\n

One thing Seattle typically does a good job with is earning and maintaining puck possession in 3-on-3 overtime. That\u2026 uh\u2026 did not happen Thursday.<\/p>\n

Here is a list of mistakes that occurred in just 2:09 of gameplay during the extra frame:<\/p>\n

Chandler Stephenson lost the opening draw.<\/p>\n

Stephenson won a puck in the neutral zone but then immediately gave it back to Quinn Hughes.<\/p>\n

Vince Dunn gained control in Seattle\u2019s zone but passed it backward to nobody, handing possession back to Minnesota.<\/p>\n

Matty Beniers gained full possession and rushed up the ice while his teammates changed. Instead of circling back or dumping the puck all the way back to restart, he tried to force a 1-on-2 and lost the puck.<\/p>\n

Beniers almost turned it over again at the defensive blue line, but that created a 3-on-1 opportunity when the Wild got overzealous.<\/p>\n

On said 3-on-1, Ryker Evans failed to get a pass through Brock Faber, which created the fatal 2-on-1 the other way, leaving forward Freddy Gaudreau\u2014who astutely pulled up on the 3-on-1, recognizing the Kraken were overcommitted\u2014as the lone player back against Kaprizov and Zuccarello.<\/p>\n

Lambert summed up the OT mishaps nicely.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started off with a lost face-off, couldn\u2019t get the puck back. They\u2019ve got some dynamic players over there, there\u2019s no question about it. So they had a couple of really good opportunities, but I thought our goaltender was excellent. And then what we\u2019ve been really good at this year in overtime, is possessing the puck and making plays when we get it, and we weren\u2019t good at that tonight. We gave it back to them, we had an opportunity to catch them tired, and we were changing so that we could have had that puck on our stick a long time. And we tried a 1-on-1 move, lost the puck, and then we didn\u2019t execute on a 2-on-1. So that overtime was not one of our better ones, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

One additional note: Kraken captain Jordan Eberle did not play in this game due to an upper-body injury. Lambert had called him a game-time decision at morning skate. After the game, Lambert said, \u201cI\u2019m hoping it\u2019s more of a day-to-day thing. Certainly, that\u2019s a hole and a blow for us to have our captain out. We\u2019ll see where we go from here. We miss him out there.\u201d <\/p>\n

Lambert did confirm that Eberle is going on the team\u2019s five-game road trip, which begins Saturday in Carolina.<\/p>\n

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