Seattle Kraken keep slim playoff hopes alive, top Vegas Golden Knights

Kate Shefte, The Seattle Times on Apr 10, 2026

Published in Hockey

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SEATTLE — The Seattle Kraken lived to see another day, staving off playoff elimination on Thursday night at Climate Pledge Arena. Matty Beniers and Berkly Catton scored in a shootout and Seattle downed the Vegas Golden Knights, 4-3.

The Kraken needed a win and for the Nashville Predators to lose to the Utah Mammoth in regulation. The Predators did their job, going down hard in Salt Lake City.

Vegas is fighting for a playoff spot, but Seattle had recent series history on its side. The Kraken beat the Golden Knights in both previous meetings this season, once at home in their second game of the season and once in Vegas on Jan. 31.

The longest regulation losing streak in Kraken history is six games, which happened twice during the inaugural 2021-22 season. Seattle avoided matching that record on Thursday night.

Vegas captain Mark Stone put Seattle in a 2-0 hole, scoring once in each of the first two periods. The Kraken’s beleaguered penalty kill, just 0.1% out of last place in the NHL heading into Thursday night’s action, gave up Stone’s second strike.

Seattle’s other struggling special-teams unit cut into the Vegas lead. Despite missing significant time because of injury, Jared McCann scored his 20th goal of the season on a second-period power play. Seattle’s all-time leader in goals and points has hit that threshold all five seasons with the Kraken. He had never managed it before moving to Seattle.

McCann became the seventh player in NHL history to score 20 goals in each of a franchise’s first five seasons, after Michel Goulet (Quebec), Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton) Billy Harris (New York Islanders), Morris Lukowich (Winnipeg), Blaine Stoughton (Hartford) and Wilf Paiement (Kansas City Scouts, Colorado Rockies).

Just 1:11 into the third period, Brett Howden scored to put Vegas ahead 3-1. The Kraken players in front of goaltender Joey Daccord twisted themselves into knots trying to stop a Golden Knights 4-on-2.

Daccord (31 saves) was backed up by top goaltending prospect Nikke Kokko, who was recalled from the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the American Hockey League before the game. Philipp Grubauer was injured during Monday’s game in Winnipeg. Third goalie and would-be backup Matt Murray, who hasn’t played since November, was away from the team dealing with a family matter.

About six minutes into the third period, somewhere on press row, Kokko’s eyes lit up. The Kraken have only two healthy goalies and momentarily needed an emergency backup goalie. Daccord fell onto his back while attempting to make a stop and rolled around in pain, but stayed in the game and made four of five stops in the shootout.

The seventh goal of Catton’s career will be one of his easiest. Vegas goalie Adin Hill went behind his net to catch a routine Adam Larsson dump-in as it rolled around the boards. The puck hit a seam, took a strange, brutal hop toward the crease and Catton casually deposited it into the empty cage.

Bobby McMann tied the game at 3-3 midway through the third period. He has nine goals in 14 games since joining the Kraken at the trade deadline.

Shootouts have long been an issue for the Kraken, but they improved to 2-6 in that situation this season.

A playoff berth is still highly unlikely. The Kraken have four games left and five teams to leapfrog.