Kraken Let Devils Slip Away; Drop Third Straight

1/6/2025

(Seattle, WA)

Jacob Markstrom was spectacular making 21 saves, and Dawson Mercer tallied a goal and an assist, paving the way for the New Jersey Devils to down the Seattle Kraken 3-2. The loss keeps Seattle eight points behind the Vancouver Canucks for the final playoff spot.

Seattle was coming off a 4-2 loss on Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers, a game where Philipp Grubauer made 28 saves in a losing effort. The Devils were coming off a defeat of their own courtesy of the San Jose Sharks 3-2. Jacob Markstrom was between the pipes for the Devils. Philipp Grubauer started for the fifth straight game for the Kraken, with Joey Daccord placed on injured reserve earlier in the day. If the Kraken were going to earn the win, they would have to do it with their busy goaltender.

Philipp Grubauer was active in the early moments, making multiple grade A saves, keeping the game scoreless. But at 7:56 of the 1st, Dawson Mercer stashed a loose rebound past a helpless Philipp Grubauer to put the Devils up 1-0. The Devils outshot the Kraken 7-1 when the goal was scored. Seattle answered when Adam Larsson scored his first goal since October 15 with a wrist shot to the top right corner of the net. The goal came at 15:47 of the period on a shot that whistled over the shoulder of an unsuspecting Jacob Markstrom. The two sides went into the first intermission deadlocked at one. Seattle outshot New Jersey in the period 13-11, outshooting New Jersey 12-4 after the Mercer goal.

The second period was goalless until 19:35 of the period when Paul Cotter slid one past Philipp Grubauer to give the Devils a late lead in the 2nd. Jonas Siegenthaler 17 seconds later, was issued a minor penalty for crosschecking. The Kraken went into the third period with 1:52 carry over penalty time. The Devils outshot Seattle 11-4 in the 2nd.

The Kraken were able to cash in on the power play with the 8th goal of the year from Shane Wright. The goal came at 1:24 of the third. The Devils answered nearly immediately, when at 2:01 Ondrej Palat answered with a goal of his own. The goals came 37 seconds after the goal from Wright.

Jacob Markstrom made multiple miraculous saves down the stretch to help the Devils hang on with a narrow 3-2 win. The Devils netminder recorded 21 saves off 23 Seattle shots in the victory. Philipp Grubauer was shelved the loss making 26 saves on 29 New Jersey shots.

Dan Bylsma said of his team’s performance, “it’s a good team over there [Devils]…and it’s a hard fought game the way we want to play.” Seattle finishes the home stand (1-2-1) on a three game losing skid.

Up Next: The Kraken look to turn things around on the road in a five game road trip. Next Thursday the Kraken will face Columbus on Thursday with puck drop scheduled at 4pm. The Kraken road trip additionally includes stops in Buffalo, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Winnipeg. The next home game for Seattle will be on Saturday January 18 against the Los Angeles Kings.