3/2/2026
SEATTLE, WASH
Joey Daccord made 35 saves while Kappo Kakko and Ben Meyers lit the lamp for Seattle as the Kraken defeated the Eastern Conference leading Carolina Hurricanes 2-1. Nikolaj Ehlers tallied the lone goal for the Hurricanes while Frederik Andersen made 13 saves in the loss.
The win places Seattle alone in the 3rd playoff spot in the Pacific Division with a record of (29-22-9), good for 67 points in the Pacific Division Standings.
Carolina came into the evening on a 12 game point streak of (10-0-2), while having the best record in the Eastern Conference. Seattle after slipping a pair of games out of the Olympic Break got back to their winning ways with a 5-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks.
The Hurricanes started Frederik Andersen (8-10-5) while Seattle for the second straight game turned to Joey Daccord (11-7-3).
Carolina held the lead in shots on goal 13-7 after a scoreless first period.
Kappo Kakko opened the scoring 3:22 into the second frame on a two on one break after Adam Larsson got his skate in the way of a Carolina pass while the Canes were on the attack, leading directly to Kakko and Berkly Catton heading on the rush.
The Kraken had a goal from Jaden Schwartz nullified due to an offside at 8:00 of the second period. 48 seconds later, Seattle would not be denied. Ben Meyers jammed a loose puck to the side the Hurricanes net and jammed the puck by Frederik Andersen to give the Kraken a 2-0 lead at 8:48. Frederick Gaudreau’s pass from the right blue line allowed Meyers to jam the puck by Andersen. Adam Larsson earned credit for a secondary assist for his second point of the night. Although he did not record an assist, Jacob Melanson initiated a defensive blue line check along the wall to allow the Kraken to gain possession of the puck leading to the goal.
Carolina continued to pour scoring chances on Joey Daccord. Late in the period, Nikolaj Ehlers whistled a shot off a Seattle turnover past Daccord to put the Hurricanes on the scoreboard. Jordan Walker and Sean Walker assisted on the Carolina goal at 18:30. Seattle led 2-1 at the second intermission, with Carolina outshooting Seattle 14-6 in the second period.
The Kraken lead held late into the third period. Carolina pressed for an equalizer, with a late power play. Yet, Joey Daccord proved to be the backstop Seattle needed with Carolina’s heavy shot volume. The Hurricanes went on to outshoot Seattle 9-2 in the final period. In the end, Seattle’s 2-1 win snapped Carolina’s 12 game point streak, while in the same vein keeping the Kraken in the mix of a playoff spot.
Coach Lambert reflected on the style the Kraken played, “I thought that our guys did a great job in blocking shots. I thought we were committed and we had good sticks and our goaltender was good when he had to be.”
One of the standouts that did not display on the stat sheet was defenseman Jamie Oleksiak. Lambert on Oleksiak said, “His presence around the net and the defensive zone was huge.” Oleksiak dished 11 hits in the contest.
Coach Lambert on the way Seattle approached the Carolina matchup said, “We knew our opponent, we knew how we had to beat them and we did what we had to do.”
Seattle continues their six game homestand on Wednesday against the St. Louis Blues at 7 p.m., with the attention of the NHL Trade Deadline on Friday.
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