Kraken Comeback Attempt Lost in the Wild

3/4/2025

(Seattle, WA)

Mats Zuccarello tallied a goal and an assist while influencing a third goal, to give the Minnesota Wild a 4-3 road win over the Seattle Kraken. The loss for Seattle casts a cloud of uncertainty for their roster with the trade deadline approaching Friday.

The Kraken were coming off a 6-4 win last Saturday against the geographical rival Vancouver Canucks. With the trade deadline at noon on Friday, the game may be the last time several Kraken sport a Seattle uniform at home. The Kraken started Joey Daccord with a record of 21-15-3 with a .914 save percentage. Minnesota started Filip Gustavsson coming off a shutout victory over the Boston Bruins. This game marked the return of Yanni Gourde into the lineup after missing action since January 2nd with a sports hernia. Minnesota came into the night with the best road record in the NHL of (21-9-3).

Past the midway mark of the first period, Brandon Tanev took a high sticking penalty to put the Kraken shorthanded. Vinnie Hinostroza tallied a goal on the man advantage to put the Wild up 1-0 at 12:27. The Kraken responded four minutes later. An Adam Larsson cranked shot from the right point breezed by Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson to tie the game at 16:40 of the period. The Wild countered with 1:37 left in the period on a goal from the right circle from Jared Spurgeon. The Wild led into the dressing room 2-1. Shots on goal were even at 9-9, but Minnesota led where it mattered the most.

Minnesota carried their momentum built at the end of the first period, Frederick Gaudreau slung a centering feed towards Mats Zuccarello that deflected into the net off of Seattle’s Jamie Oleksiak at 1:41 of period. Gaudreau earned credit for the goal for Minnesota. At 4:21 of the period, Seattle was awarded a penalty shot. Eeli Tolvanen swung to the left side and had his shot sticked aside by Filip Gustavsson. The Wild were not done, Mats Zuccarello roofed a top shelf corner blitzer past Joey Daccord at 8:22 to put the Wild up by a field goal, 4-1.

Oliver Bjorkstrand set up Shane Wright with a roof shot past Gustavsson for the Kraken response at 14:10 of the 2nd. The goal was the 14th of the season for the former fourth overall pick. The Kraken did not go away. With 11 seconds left in the period, Brandon Montour blasted a shot from the high slot, to put the Kraken within a goal. Seattle outshot Minnesota 15-9 in the 2nd period to lead in the shot count 26-18 into the 2nd intermission. In a period that saw Seattle trail 4-1 at one point, the final ten minutes built optimism for the Kraken into the final stanza.

The third stanza saw Seattle carry the momentum after successfully overturning a Minnesota goal. For Seattle, their attack was evident, yet subdued by Minnesota’s suffocating defense. Seattle outshot Minnesota 10-2 in the final period. Even after pulling Joey Daccord for an extra attacker, the Kraken could not find the goal they needed. Minnesota with Filip Gustavsson hung on for a 4-3 win. The aforementioned Minnesota goaltender made 33 saves in the win. The loss went to Joey Daccord who accounted for 16 saves.

Up Next: The Kraken embark on a three game road trip beginning on Thursday in Nashville against the Predators. Nashville doubled up the Boston Bruins 6-3 Tuesday night. Concerning the wild card picture for Seattle, Calgary defeated the Flyers 6-3, padding their lead of the final playoff spot in the west. Seattle stands 11 points away from the Flames. With the trade deadline on Thursday, the road game in “Smashville” may be the final game for many Kraken members.