This Loss Just Made Things Worse: Kraken Drop to Nashville and Fall Further Out
The Kraken's road trip is off to a brutal start. Nashville beat Seattle 3-1 on Thursday night, and now the Predators are tied with the Kraken just outside the playoff picture in the West. Yeah, you read that right. A team fighting to stay alive in the postseason race just watched a direct competitor jump level with them. The Los Angeles Kings hold that final playoff spot after losing 4-3 in a shootout to Philadelphia, but Seattle has a potential tiebreaker over both Nashville and LA thanks to regulation victories. Still, dropping your second straight game when the playoff race is this tight? That stings.
The Kraken Are Falling Apart at the Worst Time
This is the reality: Seattle has won just four of their last 12 games since the Olympic break. That's a pace that gets you left out of the playoffs, and everyone in the locker room knows it. "Can't feel sorry for ourselves, or it's going to be done before we know it," center Chandler Stephenson said after the loss. He's right. This team has been hanging around the playoff race all season, but they haven't found the spark to actually close the deal when it matters most.
The Predators scored three goals and Seattle couldn't answer. Ryan Ufko opened the scoring just 6:14 into the first period with a slap shot past Joey Daccord, who made 24 saves. Ufko has now scored both of his career goals against the Kraken, including a goal back on March 10 in Seattle. Late in the first, Freddy Gaudreau extended Nashville's lead when Stephenson found him at the blue line. Then Ryan O'Reilly made it 2-1 just 14 seconds into a Jamie Olaksiak interference penalty, burying a Filip Forsberg rebound. Forsberg put the game away with an empty netter.
Missing Key Guys and Discipline Meltdowns
Seattle was already dealing with injuries to forwards Eeli Tolvanen (upper-body), Ryan Winterton (illness), and Jaden Schwartz (upper-body), but Coach Lane Lambert pointed to something else that cost them: penalties. The Kraken took consecutive penalties in both the second and third periods, which wore out an already thin penalty-killing unit. "You've gotta be smart," Lambert said. "(A) too many men on the ice (penalty) is inexcusable."
The Kraken recalled 21-year-old winger Jani Nyman from Coachella Valley on an emergency basis. Nyman played his first NHL game since December 22 and started the season with Seattle in 24 games before being sent down. He's been productive with the Firebirds, tied for fourth in points and third in goals, but Lambert barely used him in the third period, giving him just one shift as Seattle pushed for a comeback.
Next Up: A Hot Columbus Team
The Kraken head to Columbus on Saturday to face a Blue Jackets team that looks nothing like a struggling franchise. Columbus has gone 7-1-4 since the Olympic break and sits in third place in the Metropolitan Division. They won their third straight game Thursday. Four of the five teams left on Seattle's road trip are fighting for playoff positioning, so every single game now is basically a playoff game. There's no room for another loss like this one.
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This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.