Kraken Fall to Sabres; Jacob Melanson Plays 2nd NHL Game

12/14/2025

SEATTLE, WASH

Alex Lyon made 23 saves as the Buffalo Sabres silence the Seattle Kraken 3-1.

Noah Ostlund, Tage Thompson, and Zach Benson into an empty net amounted for the goals for Buffalo. Chandler Stephenson had the lone goal for Seattle coming on the power play.

Seattle returned from a one game road trip to Utah where they fell to the Mammoth 5-3. Seattle looked to return to their winning ways after a 1-5-1 skid.

Mason Marchment after scoring two goals against Utah did not play due to an illness. Jacob Melanson took his place playing in his second career NHL game. Joey Daccord started for Seattle while Alex Lyon started for Buffalo.

Buffalo outshot Seattle 9-3 in the first period, with Noah Ostlund scoring on a two on one at 17:09 of the opening period. Kraken Head Coach Lane Lambert said on the goal, “Our d stands in our protocol is our forward has to back him up, and he doesn’t…can’t happen…it’s happening too often and there’s no excuse for it.”

Seattle generated more chances with several power plays in the second period. However, the Sabres increased their lead when Tage Thompson buried a 2 on 0 break to give the Sabres a 2-0 lead at 10:08 of the second period. It was only a matter of chances before the dam would break. At 12:24, Chandler Stephenson whistled a shot through traffic and past Alex Lyon to put the Kraken on the board. Vince Dunn and Jordan Eberle earned credit for the assists. The Kraken led in the shots on goal category in the second period 11-7.

In the third period, Seattle outshot Buffalo 10-7, but could not find a way to solve Sabres goaltender Alex Lyon. Lambert said, “I thought we had good chances, in the third period I thought we played well.”

Zach Benson scored an empty net goal to secure the Buffalo win at 19:15 of the third period.

Alex Lyon made 23 saves in the win. Joey Daccord was dealt the loss making 20 saves. Seattle has lost seven of their last eight games.

Chandler Stephenson on the losing trend said, “effort’s there, but not winning hockey games right now…so that’s tough”.

Jacob Melanson in his second NHL game had seven hits. Melanson about his effort said, “The way I play physically, bring energy and the easiest way for me to get into it is get that first big hit, and I felt much better after that”.

With illness affecting the Kraken, Lane Lambert about the team’s performance said, “I thought we played hard…we can’t use anything for excuses.” Lambert goes on to say, “right now, we have to play the perfect game to give ourselves a chance to win.”

Seattle hosts the best record in the league in the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night 7pm from Climate Pledge Arena.

Stay tuned to ESN for continued updates on the Seattle Kraken.