On Thursday, Nov. 12, the Seattle Kraken played against the Carolina Hurricanes for the first of two games in the 2026-27 National Hockey League (NHL) Global Series in Finland. This was an exciting game for the Kraken, as this was their first time participating in the Global Series. With a handful of players from Finland, this game was also a great homecoming moment for them.
Unfortunately for the Kraken, the game did not start out in their favor. The Hurricanes scored first, and by the end of 20 minutes, Carolina was up by two goals. After two periods, the Kraken were down by three goals. Another goal for the Hurricanes put them up by four goals, but Seattle finally got on the board with seven minutes left. This was not enough, and the Kraken lost 4-1. At least it wasn't a shutout.
Coach's challenge got the best of Seattle
11:44 into the game, Nikolaj Ehlers scored the first goal. Head coach Lane Lambert challenged for goaltender interference, but the officials deemed the goal a good goal. The Kraken were forced to take a penalty due to delaying the game.
While Carolina was on the extra-man advantage, Finland native Sebastian Aho gave the Hurricanes a two-goal lead. The Kraken tried to get the score back to an even 0-0, but it backfired, and they were trailing by two goals.
Gaudreau ensured it wasn't a shutout
The Kraken had a tough time gaining control of the puck throughout this game. Towards the end of the third period, though, the Kraken finally got on the board thanks to Frederick Gaudreau. He received the feed from Mackie Samoskevich, and Gaudreau put the puck into the net on the short side of Brandon Bussi.
This goal is Gaudreau's eighth of the season, and he currently leads the Kraken in goals. Last season, Gaudreau played in 68 games and scored seven goals. In just 17 games this season, he has already surpassed his highest goal total with the Kraken.
Gaudreau's offensive growth has been a huge surprise for the Kraken this season, but a welcome one. Let's see if he can score his ninth of the season against Carolina on Saturday.
Kraken were simply outplayed
As mentioned above, Seattle couldn't gain control of the puck. The Hurricanes held the Kraken to just 13 shots, while Carolina took 30. The Hurricanes even held the Kraken to just one shot in the third period. Luckily for Seattle, Gaudreau at least scored.
When Lambert was asked about the Kraken's performance, he stated, "Well, clearly not good enough, and we had opportunities to shoot the puck. There's a level of speed in which you have to play at against them, and it doesn't always have to be a perfect shot.”
The Kraken has a chance to even the series against the Hurricanes on Saturday. Hopefully they can regroup and get back to winning shape.
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