Kraken continue bad trend, lose to Utah in 2nd of back-to-back games

Kate Shefte, The Seattle Times on Apr 9, 2025

Published in Hockey

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Utah Hockey Club dropped seven goals on tired-looking goaltender Joey Daccord, who was pulled from his second start in as many nights as the Kraken fell 7-1 in Salt Lake City on Tuesday night.

The Kraken lost the latter game in all 12 back-to-backs this season, and they saved the worst for last. After falling 4-0 to the Minnesota Wild in the penultimate chance to reverse that trend, they turned in a six-goal loss in Utah.

This time they had a good reason. Goaltender Philipp Grubauer would have normally taken Tuesday’s start, but he was the latest to fall ill.

Coach Dan Bylsma said a flu bug is moving through the Kraken locker room. Defenseman Ryker Evans also missed Monday’s game due to illness.

The Kraken recalled Victor Ostman from the Coachella Valley Firebirds to back up Daccord. It’s perhaps the most exhausting stretch of an already exhausting stretch run for the Kraken’s established starter. From Jan. 8 to March 8, Daccord has appeared in an NHL-high 32 games.

Several of the goals credited to Daccord’s account on Tuesday were uncharacteristic. It was 3-0 after the first period and Utah kept pouring them in. Logan Cooley won a shoving match with Shane Wright and scored to make it 5-0, then Nick Schmaltz poked in a rebound from former Seattle Thunderbird Dylan Guenther (three assists).

It wasn’t a good night for Seattle’s 17th-ranked penalty kill (78.1%) among others. Schmaltz scored Utah’s third power-play goal on six chances. Michael Carcone made it 7-0 a little over two minutes later.

Ostman took over for the third period and made his NHL debut. He stopped all 13 shots he faced. He was the third Kraken goaltender to debut this season, following Ales Stezka and Nikke Kokko, who also saw one appearance apiece.

Jared McCann scored 23 seconds into the third period on a power play.

Jamie Oleksiak, who himself took a puck to the jaw on Monday night against the L.A. Kings, picked up a double minor for high sticking a familiar face. Oleksiak, one of the tallest players in the league at 6-foot-7, caught the lip of Kailer Yamamoto, one of the shortest at 5-8.

Yamamoto became the first Washington state native to play for the Kraken last season. The Spokane native left in free agency and later signed with Utah, though he’s spent most of the season in the minors.

As soon as Utah’s 4-on-3 turned into a 5-on-3, captain Clayton Keller faked a shot and beat Daccord with a wicked shot behind the goalie’s back.

Seattle was trailing 2-0 but still had almost all of Oleksiak’s penalty left to kill. His chin still covered in blood, Yamamoto scored his second goal in nine NHL games this season. There were six seconds left in the double minor.

Utah avoided a season sweep. The Kraken beat Utah handily in both games at Climate Pledge Arena.

Utah hasn’t been formally eliminated from the playoff race.

Calgary, Vancouver and Utah are behind the wild-card cutoff and technically still in contention. St. Louis and Minnesota hold the last two spots in the West.

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