By Jayd Serdy, edited by Charles Hamaker

Seattle, WA - The Kraken’s 4-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes was not the way that the team wanted to end their five-game homestand, and as a result of that poor final score there weren’t many players that stood out to me during the game because it kind of felt like the team just wasn’t fully present. However, Joey Daccord gets most of the credit for this game in my opinion.

Seattle Kraken starting goaltender Joey Daccord stopped 35 of 38 shots in the teams loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, October 26th, 2024 at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Kevin Ng)

Joey Daccord

Seattle’s starting goaltender, Joey Daccord, stopped 35 out of 38 shots and did the best he could given the lack of defense from the team in front of the net during this game. Daccord couldn’t do much about two of the goals, but he did have quite a few tough saves throughout the game. The first period was pretty tame and where I’d say the Kraken defended their home ice the most consistently. The second period was where the Hurricanes really started hammering the net and forcing Daccord into more intense saves. Seattle second year defenseman Ryker Evans was one of the biggest defensive assets during the second period, when he sprawled across the crease to try and deny a goal. Jamie Oleksiak blocked a shot during the second that bounced off his knee, but he stayed on the ice, sort of hobbling around for an extra 1:22 following his shift, and continued to play as defensively as he could despite the injury. “The Big Rig” would have to head down the tunnel for a bit due to the injury, but was able to return to the ice shortly after. Daccord hasn’t been perfect this season, as neither Kraken goaltender has, but it’s encouraging to see Joey be able to make some ten-bell saves throughout the game against a top opponent in this league that help keep his team around. You’d just like to see Daccord play well and consistently well for the full 60 minutes, as he’s had some gaffs in essentially every start except maybe the win over Calgary.

Seattle Kraken forward Jared McCann scored the lone goal of the night for his team, coming off a breakaway thanks to a pass up the ice from Matty Beniers, in their loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, October 26th, 2024 at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Kevin Ng)

Jared McCann

The other top performer in my eyes would be Jared McCann, who got the sole Kraken goal on a breakaway during the third period of this contest. This goal for McCann, which cut the Hurricanes lead down to 2-1 at the time, put him at 12 points over the Kraken’s nine games this season. McCann’s goal was one of a few different good scoring chances the Kraken had, but was the only successful opportunity in a game that was frustrating to see for Seattle fans considering that the big area to improve upon from last season was offensive output. The Kraken finished the game with only 19 shots on goal, compared to the Hurricanes 39 shots on goal, with McCann registering two of those shots on goal, had the second best xGoals on the team, the best goals above expected, and four unblocked shot attempts. While McCann is easily the best scoring player that the Kraken have had throughout their brief history as a franchise, Seattle needs more from around him and shouldn’t expect Jared to be a massive contributor every single night.

What’s next?

Following tonight’s home loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at Climate Pledge Arena, closing out the five-game homestand with a record of 2-2-1, our Seattle Kraken will head out on their second road trip of the 2024-25 season. It’s a five-game road trip which spans from October 27th through November 6th, with three of the first five taking place up in Canada with games against the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Ottawa Senators. That first game of the trip is on Tuesday, October 29th against the Montreal Canadiens with a puck drop time of 4PM PDT that will be broadcast live on the Kraken Hockey network and KONG while going live over the airwaves locally on Seattle KJR 93.3 FM (Flagship station), and you can find other radio options by clicking here. The Canadiens will be looking to improve upon a recent tough stretch in the middle of October, as they’ve won their past two contests after dropping four straight.

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