SEATTLE, WASH
The Seattle Kraken dropped their home finale in a 5-3 loss to the Los Angeles Kings at Climate Pledge Arena. The Kings clinched a spot in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs by virtue of the win. Los Angeles’ goals came from a pair from Quinton Byfield, Trevor Moore, Adrian Kempe, and Alex Laferriere. Kings netminder Anton Forsberg stopped 28 of 31 shots. Adam Larsson, Federick Gaudreau, and Bobby McMann scored for Seattle with Nikke Kokko making 25 saves on 29 shots.
Los Angeles drew first blood when Quinton Byfield scored an unassisted goal at 2:43. Byfield returned to his scoring ways at 13:19 when he sneaked his second goal of the game by Daccord. The Kings led 2-0 after the opening period. The lone Seattle highlight came on a fight at 12:18 between Kraken Jacob Melanson and King Sam Helenius.
The only goal of the second period came when Trevor Moore was the beneficiary of a lively bounce off an Alex Laferriere dump-in. The goal at 7:13 gave the Kings a 3-0 lead.
Seattle broke Anton Forsberg’s clean sheet when Adam Larsson scored at 1:53 to make the deficit 3-1. The Kraken were not done. Kappo Kakko found Frederick Gaudreau open for a tap-in to put the Kraken within one at 8:08.
Los Angeles’s hopes of clinching a playoff spot found insurance when Anze Kopitar playing in his final game in Seattle, fed Adrian Kempe on a 2 on 1, Kempe’s shot sneaked by Kokko at 12:29 to restore a two goal lead. The Kings were seven and a half minutes away from a playoff berth. The Kraken continued to battle as Bobby McMann found the back of the net at 17:33 to put the Kraken within striking range. Seattle pushed for an equalizer, but Alex Laferriere scored an empty net goal with two seconds left to seal a playoff berth for the Los Angeles Kings.
After the game, the Kraken formed a handshake line for the Kings’ Anze Kopitar, who announced he is retiring at the end of the season.
Jacob Melanson reflected on the fanbase saying, “the fans have supported me and my journey up here the whole time. So I can’t thank them enough, and they show it every night, whether we’re winning or losing, they deserve better and deserve to see us play in the playoffs.”
The Kraken conclude the regular season with a two game back to back road trip. The first game coming Wednesday against Vegas, before ending the season in Colorado.
