On Monday, Dec. 29, the Seattle Kraken hosted the Vancouver Canucks for their first matchup of the 2025-26 season. The last time they met was in the preseason on Sept. 26 when the Canucks walked away with a 4-2 victory. This was a matchup of two teams going in opposite directions, as the Kraken came in on a four-game winning streak, while the Canucks had dropped their last two. In the end, it was the Canucks that came out on top, winning 3-2 in the shootout.
Linus Karlsson and Elias Pettersson scored for the Canucks in regulation, and Liam Ohgren was the only player to score in the shootout. Kevin Lankinen made 37 saves, including 19 in the third period and overtime, and all three in the shootout. He is now a perfect 17-for-17 on the season.
Jared McCann and Ryan Winterton scored for the Kraken. Joey Daccord made 22 saves.
Game Recap
The Kraken came out with a lot more energy than the Canucks in the first period and opened the scoring with McCann’s sixth of the season in his first game back in the lineup. It came on the power play as the former Canuck blasted his sixth by Lankinen after a give-and-go off the faceoff. Then, after a spirited fight between McCann and Conor Garland, Karlsson tied the game – also off a faceoff – taking a shovel pass from Ohgren and wristing it by Daccord for his ninth.
It looked like the period was going to end tied at one, but after a bad line change that saw Elias Pettersson and Tyler Myers collide just inside the blue line, Winterton and Eberle broke in 2-on-0, and Eberle fed Winterton for his third of the season. Daccord and Joey Melanson got the assists, with the latter recording his first NHL point.
The second period was more tight-checking, but the Canucks managed to tie the game again on Elias Pettersson’s ninth of the season. After some crisp passing through the neutral zone between Tom Willander and Evander Kane, Pettersson took Kane’s feed and sniped it past Daccord. The period didn’t see any more scoring, despite power plays for both teams, and the Canucks and Kraken entered the second intermission tied at two.
There was no scoring in the third or overtime, despite the Kraken outshooting the Canucks 19-3 and having a power play in OT. Frederick Gaudreau, Conor Garland, Eeli Tolvanen, Elias Pettersson, and Jordan Eberle were all stopped in the shootout before Ohgren beat Daccord with a shot through the five-hole to win the game and halt the Kraken’s win streak at four.
What’s Next
The Canucks are right back at it on Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers as they head back to Vancouver for the second half of a back-to-back. The Kraken, meanwhile, are off until New Year’s Day when they face the Nashville Predators.
