Kraken Gameday Preview: Searching for a Win vs. Senators in Canada’s Capital

The Seattle Kraken are back on the ice on Thursday, Oct. 16, to play against the Ottawa Senators. The Kraken’s undefeated streak ended against the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 14. On the plus side, their record is now 2-0-1, so they earned one point in the standings. While they are only three games into the season, every point still counts.

Related: 3 Takeaways From the Kraken’s 5-4 OT Loss to the Canadiens

The Senators’ record currently sits at 1-3-0. Ottawa just lost 8-4 to the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 15. Playing on the second half of a back-to-back, Ottawa will be tired. After a day of rest, the Kraken could use their exhaustion to their advantage.

Kraken Storylines

Before the game against the Canadiens, Vince Dunn held the record for the most points on the team. After that, it quickly shifted to Jared McCann. He was previously in third, but after a goal and an assist, he jumped the ranks to hold the honor of the number one spot.

McCann is the closest you could say to being a franchise player in Seattle’s four short seasons. He was acquired in the expansion draft from the Toronto Maple Leafs, so he has been with the team since their inception. In his first season, he recorded a total of 50 points. In the 2022-23 season, he climbed the ranks to an even higher total. He became the first player to record 40 goals in a single season, and on top of this, he recorded 70 points for the regular season. During the offseason, McCann underwent surgery for an undisclosed injury sustained in the 2024-25 season. He also had to sit out of training camp and preseason to recover from a lower-body injury. Based on his performance in these first few games, you would have never known he had to take some time off the ice.

While McCann has been scoring goals for the team since the very beginning, one newcomer scored his first of the season in Seattle’s last game. Jani Nyman made the opening night roster with the Kraken this season after a stellar performance in training camp. Nyman showed promise in the first two games, but had a slow start. He scored his first goal of the season against the Canadiens. Nyman has been an excellent addition to Seattle’s fourth line this season. He continues to prove he has a spot here for him, not in the American Hockey League with the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Can Nyman record another point in this game coming up?

Team Stats

Seattle Kraken
Season Record: 2-0-1

Top Scorers:

1. Jared McCann – 3 goals (G), 1 assist (A), 4 points (P)
2. Vince Dunn – 1 G, 3 A, 4 P
3. Matty Beniers – 1 G, 2 A, 3 P
4. Jaden Schwartz – 1 G, 1 A, 2 P
5. Jordan Eberle – 0 G, 2 A, 2 P

Goalie Stats:

1. Joey Daccord – 2-0-1, 2.23 goals-against average (GAA), .918 save percentage (SV%)

Ottawa Senators
Season Record: 1-3-0

Top Scorers:

1. Shane Pinto – 5 G, 1 A, 6 P
2. Jake Sanderson – 1 G, 4 A, 5 P
3. Dylan Cozens – 1 G, 2 A, 3 P
4. Ridly Greig – 1 G, 2 A, 3 P
5. Artem Zub – 1 G, 2 A, 3 P

Goalie Stats:

1. Linus Ullmark – 1-2-0, 4.07 GAA, .842 SV%
2. Leevi Merilainen – 0-1-0, 7.23 GAA, .731 SV%

Projected Lineups

(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers projected lineup article.

Seattle Kraken

Jared McCann — Matty Beniers — Jordan Eberle
Mason Marchment — Shane Wright — Eeli Tolvanen
Jaden Schwartz — Chandler Stephenson — Ryan Winterton
Tye Kartye — Frederick Gaudreau — Jani Nyman

Vince Dunn — Adam Larsson
Ryan Lindgren — Brandon Montour
Josh Mahura — Jamie Oleksiak

Joey Daccord
Philipp Grubauer

Scratched: Berkly Catton, Cale Fleury, Matt Murray

Injured: Kaapo Kakko, Ryker Evans, Max McCormick, Lleyton Roed

Ottawa Senators

Michael Amadio — Tim Stutzle — Fabian Zetterlund
Ridly Greig — Shane Pinto — Claude Giroux
David Perron — Dylan Cozens — Drake Batherson
Nick Cousins — Lars Eller — Olle Lycksell

Jake Sanderson — Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot — Nick Jensen
Tyler Kleven — Jordan Spence

Linus Ullmark
Leevi Merilainen

Scratched: Kurtis MacDermid, Nikolas Matinpalo

Injured: Brady Tkachuk

Next Up for Seattle

After their matchup in Canada’s capital, they will have one more game in Canada on this road trip. They will pop over to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs on Saturday, Oct. 18. This will be the halfway point of their six-game road trip.