On Tuesday, March 31, the Seattle Kraken took on the Edmonton Oilers for their fourth and final matchup of the season. Heading into this game, the Oilers had a 2-1 lead in the season series.
The Oilers scored twice early in the first period to take a commanding two-goal lead. There was no change in score in the second period, despite the Kraken putting up 13 shots and the Oilers taking nine. It wasn’t until the end of the third period, when Connor McDavid hit the empty net, that there was a change in the score. The Kraken fall 3-0 to the Oilers, and Edmonton takes the season series.
Kraken Played Sloppy
The Kraken have been in the hunt for a playoff spot, but you wouldn’t know it based on this performance. A poor turnover from Adam Larsson led to the Oilers’ second goal of the night. Kasperi Kapanen stole the puck off a bad bounce and began skating it towards the Oilers’ zone. As a two-on-one broke out, he kept the puck and sent it past Philipp Grubauer to add to Edmonton’s lead.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Kraken’s 3-2 Shootout Loss to Sabres
For a team that has the chance to slide into a wild card spot, the Kraken need to play as though every game is a playoff game, every game counts. The Kraken only have nine games left. The race is tight, but if the Kraken keep playing as they did in this game, they’ll never stand a chance of making the playoffs for the second time.
Kraken Couldn’t Keep Special Teams Strong
As mentioned above, the Kraken had a sloppy performance. However, they only drew one penalty in this game. Eeli Tolvanen was forced to take a seat towards the end of the first period for holding Connor McDavid. Seattle killed off the penalty in the first period, and then the Oilers had two additional seconds of the power play at the start of the second. It wasn’t enough to make a goal happen, which was great for Seattle.
However, the Oilers took three penalties throughout the second and third periods, and the Kraken didn’t score a single goal on the extra-man advantage. The Kraken’s power play is currently performing in the middle of the pack, in 20th place, with a 20.4% success rate.
It was a good thing Seattle didn’t take more penalties, because the Oilers have the best power play in the league with a 30.0% success rate. Sure, they kept the penalty kill strong, but if the Kraken managed to score on the power play, it could have been the difference maker in this game.
Grubauer Did His Best in a Significant Game
Although Grubauer allowed two goals, he still made 21 saves on 23 shots, earning him a save percentage (SV%) of .913. He posted an above .900 SV%, which is pretty good for a game where the Kraken were shut out. Grubauer can only do so much if his team doesn’t score.
This game marked Grubauer’s 400th NHL game and his 186th with the Kraken. This is a significant milestone, especially for a goaltender who has been around the league for 14 seasons, since 2012-13. Grubauer began his tenure as the Kraken’s starting goaltender until he was injured ahead of the 2024 Winter Classic. When the Kraken saw Joey Daccord record the first-ever shutout in Winter Classic history, he quickly became Seattle’s new starter.
Although Grubauer had a poor performance in the 2024-25 season, he stepped up his game this season and has been playing as a tandem with Daccord. This game also marked Grubauer’s 30th of the season, and his overall SV% is currently .911.
Congratulations to Grubauer on reaching 400 NHL games.
Kraken Return Home
The Kraken will head back to Seattle and host the Utah Mammoth on Thursday, April 2.
