Kraken wrap up tough road trip with loss to Mammoth

The Kraken’s streaky winter continues.

They erased a two-goal deficit and headed into the third period tied, but couldn’t finish the job in Utah, falling 6-3 to the Mammoth on Saturday. That capped a 1-3-1 road trip.

The Kraken (21-17-9) are sitting on one victory in their past six games. Thanks to an overtime loss in their most recent home game Jan. 8, that skid intersects with a 10-game point streak — the second-longest in franchise history — which immediately followed a run of 10 losses in 11 games.

“We’ve gone through tough stretches so far this year, and we came back in a better way by just focusing on the next game and staying tight together,” forward Freddy Gaudreau said. “So that’s the only focus.”

Coach Lane Lambert warned against calling it a slow start, but it certainly wasn’t an ideal start to their last outing Thursday in Boston. The Bruins took a 2-0 lead less than four minutes into the game.

Saturday’s start was better. Seattle went up 1-0 for the first time in six games. Just 1:09 in, Kraken captain Jordan Eberle backhanded in his own rebound from close range.

The Bruins won Thursday’s game on a short-handed goal, and the Kraken made it back-to-back games with a shorty allowed. As old friend Brandon Tanev — now with Utah — watched from the penalty box, Mammoth forward Kevin Stenlund made it 1-1 in the first period.

Utah took another penalty immediately and gave the Kraken about a minute and a half of 5-on-3 time, which they did not capitalize on.

Say what you want about the 2025-26 Seattle Kraken, but they rarely let a game get away from them. Nate Schmidt and Nick Schmaltz combined to open up a 3-1 lead and that stood for about 10 minutes. Then Kraken center Matty Beniers scored a greasy goal, muscling the puck in while being tipped over in front of the net.

“It’s been our team the whole year. Even if we’re down, we find a way to come back,” Gaudreau said. “But, you know, it would be nice if we don’t have to come back every single game.”

Games between the two newest NHL teams are always high-scoring affairs. Each of their first four contests featured at least six combined goals.

That streak hit five games when Chandler Stephenson tied this one with a slick goal and made it 3-3. Gaudreau stickhandled his way across the Utah logo at center ice, a Mammoth draped over him, and chipped the puck to Stephenson. Utah defenseman Mikhail Sergachev spun around, looking for his man, but Stephenson was already gone. He beat Utah goaltender Karel Vejmelka and it was a new hockey game.

The team that led the league in multi-goal comeback wins last season (9) was on its way to its fourth of the current campaign. For the 18th time this season, the Kraken were tied after two periods, which is another NHL high.

But Utah, 7-1-2 in its past 10 games and nearing the end of a long homestand, had something to say about the outcome as well. The Kraken took their foot off the gas in the third period, and cruising toward overtime wasn’t enough.

Schmidt’s second goal of the night with 5:30 left in regulation broke the tie the Kraken scrapped for, and less than a minute later, Lawson Crouse put the win out of reach at 5-3.

“We fell short…late in the game. Again,” a terse Lambert said.

“We have an opportunity to break the puck out, turn it over, it’s in the back of our net. Have a (defensive) zone faceoff, we were man-on-man. We have a player who doesn’t stay man-on-man, it’s in the back of our net. It’s the little details.”

A stretch of extra-attacker hockey was more about the Mammoth securing Schmidt a hat trick than the Kraken tying the game again. Neither happened, as Barrett Hayton scored the empty-net goal.

While it was all for naught, the Kraken comeback wouldn’t have happened without stellar first-period play from goaltender Philipp Grubauer. He made 11 first-period stops and 24 through 60 minutes.

The Kraken are 7-4-7 when tied during the second intermission.

“We can’t continue to be either tied or ahead in the third period and lose a hockey game and not get any points out of it,” Lambert said.