![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Monday-Musings-20260323.png\" "\\"Monday")
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It was a devastating week for the Kraken, yet remarkably, they remain in the playoff hunt, albeit hanging on the outside right now. This is uncharted territory for the franchise, which has never truly been in a nip\u2011and\u2011tuck race to get into the playoffs. In three of their four seasons, the Kraken were obvious sellers at the deadline and well out of the picture by March. The only exception was Season 2, when they maintained an eight\u2011point cushion and never really flirted with falling out.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what makes this stretch so frustrating. The opportunity has been sitting right there, practically begging to be taken, because every other wild\u2011card hopeful has been stumbling too. Seattle, San Jose, and Los Angeles went a combined 1\u20117\u20112 last week. And the Pacific ineptitude doesn\u2019t stop there: the teams holding the conference playoff spots went 4\u20115\u20111. It\u2019s been a mess across the board, which only makes the Kraken\u2019s skid feel that much worse. If Seattle had simply split their four games against Nashville and St. Louis, they\u2019d be in a wild-card spot, two points behind Edmonton for third place in the division, and three points behind Vegas for second place with two games in hand on both those teams. <\/p>\n
The Kraken aren\u2019t playing poorly, but they\u2019re also not elevating their game at a time when most of the league finds a way to do exactly that. Yes, two of their last three losses came against high\u2011caliber teams in Tampa Bay and the red\u2011hot Columbus Blue Jackets, but with a 4\u20119\u20110 record in 13 games since the Olympic break, that explanation doesn\u2019t hold much weight anymore.<\/p>\n
Ice\u2011cold scoring<\/p>\n
The Kraken have averaged just 2.6 goals per game since the break, and even that number feels a bit inflated thanks to three games where they scored five or more goals. That\u2019s good enough for 25th in the league since the break. They\u2019ve scored more than two goals in only four of 13 games since returning. Their shooting percentage sits in the lower half of the league, and their shots on goal per game rank 26th. Shot quality hasn\u2019t been terrible, their high\u2011danger and medium\u2011danger chances are only slightly below average, but the finishing simply isn\u2019t there.<\/p>\n
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The OG: Adam Larsson<\/p>\n
The Big Cat is set to play in his 1,000th NHL game on Tuesday as the Kraken take on the Florida Panthers. I\u2019ll always have a soft spot for the players who chose to be here in that inaugural season. Larsson was technically an expansion pick from Edmonton, but he signed with Seattle during the exclusive expansion\u2011draft signing window, a subtle but meaningful distinction.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s been a perfect fit from Day 1: steady, reliable, and quietly one of the emotional anchors of the room. He\u2019s not the guy in front of the camera, but he\u2019s often the one facing the media after some of the toughest losses in franchise history. He also chose to sign an extension after the disappointing 2023\u201324 season, when it would\u2019ve been easy to look elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Larsson holds the franchise records for time on ice and games played, and he\u2019s missed only one game in Kraken history \u2014 to be there for the birth of his first child. .<\/p>\n
Other musings<\/p>\n
The fourth line had a rough night in Columbus. One of the primary jobs of a fourth line is simply not to get scored on, and they were on the ice for all three of Columbus\u2019s first\u2011period goals<\/a>. Plus\/minus isn\u2019t everything, but Jani Nyman is a minus\u2011five in just over 14 minutes of NHL ice time since being called up.<\/p>\n One bright spot since the Olympic break: the penalty kill. The Kraken have killed 86 percent of their penalties, third\u2011best in the league over that span.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not saying much, but the Kraken are the best team in the Pacific when playing other Pacific teams. They have five divisional games left.<\/p>\n I know it won\u2019t be feasible for everyone, but seeing the Kraken play in Finland<\/a> sounds like an incredible experience. Based on all the texts I\u2019ve received since the announcement, I am not the only one who thinks so. <\/p>\n Injuries are part of the game, but it really stings not having some of Seattle\u2019s top forwards available. With so many close games, it\u2019s not hard to imagine guys like Jaden Schwartz and (more recently) Jared McCann could have made a difference.<\/p>\n Congratulations to the Wisconsin Badgers <\/a>on winning the Women\u2019s National Championship. I\u2019m not going to pretend to be an expert on women\u2019s hockey, but I\u2019ve casually watched for over a decade, and the skill level this weekend was unlike anything I\u2019ve seen from the college game. The talent pool is deep and trending upward.<\/p>\n On the NCAA men\u2019s side, the Kraken will have three prospects in the 16\u2011team NCAA tournament<\/a>: Clarke Caswell (Denver), Zaccharya Wisdom (Western Michigan), and Ollie Josephson (North Dakota). The tournament kicks off Thursday.<\/p>\n I mentioned this on the most recent Sound Of Hockey Podcast, but the Seattle Torrent now average the highest attendance across the league. If you haven\u2019t been to a game yet, check them out. Those games are a ton of fun.<\/p>\n Player performances<\/p>\n Oscar Fisker M\u00f8lgaard (CVF\/SEA) \u2013 OFM posted two goals and three assists over two games for Coachella Valley, including the overtime winner.<\/p>\n Jake O\u2019Brien (BFD\/SEA) \u2013 O\u2019Brien had eight points over the Brantford Bulldogs\u2019 final two regular\u2011season games. He finished the year leading the OHL in assists and placed third in points. The Bulldogs open their playoffs Friday against the Sudbury Wolves.<\/p>\n Semyon Vyazovoi (SLA\/SEA) \u2013 The Russian goaltending prospect closed out his KHL season with a 39\u2011save shutout. He finished fifth in the league in save percentage. The KHL playoffs begin this week.<\/p>\n The week ahead<\/p>\n I don\u2019t say this lightly: this could be the nail\u2011in\u2011the\u2011coffin week for the Seattle Kraken. They have one of the toughest stretches on their schedule at the worst possible time. After having already lost at Nashville and Columbus, they\u2019ll face Florida on Tuesday, Tampa Bay on Thursday, and then a Saturday matinee against world-beating Buffalo Sabres. Even Florida, who will be looking for payback after their embarrassing loss in Seattle<\/a> last week, will be a tough out. There\u2019s a chance Tampa Bay and Buffalo ease off the gas as they prepare for the playoffs, but I wouldn\u2019t count on it.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-41.png\")
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