The Seattle Kraken broke character on Monday night, starting strong against the Edmonton Oilers only to fade in the later periods and ultimately lose 4-2 at Rogers Place. Eeli Tolvanen opened the scoring just 3:37 into the contest, cleaning up a rebound after Shane Wright and John Hayden had their 2-on-1 chance blocked. Vince Dunn then gave the Kraken a 2-1 lead late in the first by blasting a shot from the blue line that deflected off an Oilers defender and in. It seemed Seattle had flipped the script from its usual early struggles—but that momentum disappeared as the game wore on.
Connor McDavid, returning from a three-game suspension, knotted things up 1:57 into the second period with a well-placed shot. Corey Perry provided the decisive blow later in the frame on a breakaway, leaving goaltender Joey Daccord with little chance. Daccord, making his 10th straight appearance, finished with 27 saves on 30 shots (.900 save percentage). The Kraken pulled him for an extra skater late in the third, but a Mattias Ekholm empty-netter dashed any hopes of a comeback and sealed another loss to an Edmonton squad Seattle has rarely solved.
One notable absence from the scoresheet was Jared McCann, who’d tallied five points in his previous four games. His current slump has reached 15 consecutive games without scoring on a goaltender, with his last non-empty-net goal coming on December 22. Despite the bright start—and the unusual bit of puck luck that helped Dunn’s shot find twine—the Kraken couldn’t crack that four-goal threshold they need to win. Now 0-15 when scoring fewer than four since December 3, Seattle continues to rely heavily on its offense to secure victories. The inability to finish against the Oilers highlights how even stellar goaltending and a fast start aren’t always enough against a high-powered foe like Edmonton.