On Wednesday, April 2, the Vancouver Canucks hosted the Seattle Kraken for their final matchup of the season. The Kraken won here with a shutout, with a final score of 5-0.
McCann With a 3-Point Night
Jared McCann has been on a scoring drought this season. However, he has been picking up a bunch of points through assists. Last night was no different; he earned three assists in this game.
In the second period, McCann passed the puck to Andre Burakovsky at the blue line. Burakovsky, in turn, passed to Chandler Stephenson. Stephenson took the shot to score the Kraken’s second goal of the night.
With four minutes left in the second period, Vince Dunn sent the puck around the boards, where it found McCann. He passed it to Shane Wright at the faceoff dot. Wright took the shot and scored the goal in the upper corner of the net.
Related: Kraken Blank Canucks 5-0
Nine minutes into the third, Burakovsky grabbed hold of the puck off a save by Joey Daccord. He skated up with McCann on a 3-on-2. They passed the puck back and forth, with McCann making the final pass to Burakovsky. Burakovsky took the shot with a snap of his wrist to score the fourth goal of the night.
There is no denying that McCann has been a star for Seattle since he joined the team. One of the original members of the expansion draft, he was selected as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs for Seattle’s expansion team. McCann was the first player on the team to score 40 goals in a single season with Seattle. That feat was accomplished in the 2022-23 season, where he earned 70 points. On top of the 40 goals, he recorded 30 assists. Last season, he didn’t quite get there, earning 62 points via 29 goals and 33 assists.
So far this season, McCann has recorded 18 goals and 37 assists for 55 points. It appears every time he gets up to the net, he freezes instead of shooting the puck himself. He has made a habit of passing instead of shooting. However, McCann’s point total shows that he is still performing well with Seattle; he is still making plays even if he doesn’t shoot the puck.
Burakovsky Has Been Stellar
Burakovsky has had a phenomenal performance this season as well. Including the two points he earned in this game from the goal and assist mentioned above, he has recorded six points in his last five games. While the Kraken’s leading goal scorer, Jaden Schwartz, was out in this game, Burakovsky stepped up in his absence.
This is Burakovsky’s third season with the Kraken after Seattle signed him in July 2022 when he became a free agent. He missed a large portion of games in both the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons due to injuries he sustained. In the 2024-25 season, Burakovsky has been healthy for the majority of the games. His current point total sits at 33, via nine goals and 24 assists. His best point total with Seattle was recorded in the 2022-23 season, where he had 39 points in just 49 games. At the rate he is performing and with six games left to go, there is a chance he could at least tie his career-high.
Daccord Earned Second Shutout of the Season
For the second time this season, Daccord has recorded a shutout victory. His first of the season came on Nov. 20 against the Nashville Predators. In both shutouts this season, he stopped 24 shots on net taken by the opposing team.
This game marked game 52 for Daccord this season and his 25th win. He has been putting in the work, and it showed in this game. His goals-against average (GAA) currently sits at 2.66. His save percentage (SV%) is at .909. His overall career SV% is .908.
There is no denying that Daccord has been great for Seattle this season. While the Kraken have struggled to pinpoint their backup, Daccord is clearly the starting goaltender. He has often kept his team in games, and this one against the Canucks was no exception.
Kraken Continue Their Road Trip
The Kraken will head south, where they will take on the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, April 5.
