Seattle Kraken take down New York Islanders to snap four-game skid

Kate Shefte, The Seattle Times on Jan 22, 2026

Published in Hockey

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The Kraken got back into the win column with Wednesday’s choppy 4-1 home victory over the New York Islanders.

Seattle goaltender Philipp Grubauer turned in another staunch effort. He made 24 saves and recorded his first assist of the season on Jared McCann’s empty netter.

The Kraken had one win in their previous seven games, another dramatic swing in a season full of them. They were just wrapping up a 10-game point streak that put them back in a playoff spot. But after Monday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, they were behind the wild-card cutoff again after a fourth straight loss.

The nationally broadcasted game started little earlier than usual, but slowed down due to penalty call after penalty call, particularly early on. The Kraken had taken three penalties just over six minutes into the game, and the Islanders scored on the first one. Nineteen seconds into New York’s first power play, Anthony Duclair saw the blue jerseys were bunched together and took advantage, firing up the middle.

Mathew Barzal recorded his 358th career assist on the play and is about to climb into fifth on the Islanders’ all-time list. Barzal, 28, was taken by the Seattle Thunderbirds with the No. 1 pick in the 2012 Western Hockey League Prospects Draft and captained them to a league championship in 2017.

After scoring, the Islanders took back-to-back penalties and gave Seattle 1:13 of 5-on-3 time. The Kraken had allowed a short-handed goal in three straight games. That streak ended against New York.

A McCann shot nailed the goalpost and the Kraken continued to circle, waiting for the next chance to open up. Matty Beniers tipped a hard Vince Dunn shot past Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (21 saves) to tie the game at 1.

Dunn was the trailer as the Kraken fourth line took off for the net. Ryan Winterton had a wide-open shot, but sensed there was a better option behind him. If it works, it’s an unselfish play — if it doesn’t, he overpassed and overthought it. Thankfully for Winterton and Dunn, the dish survived a poke check and Dunn had an easy goal.

Kaapo Kakko made it 3-1 Kraken with his first strike since a two-goal effort against the Boston Bruins on Jan. 6. Jaden Schwartz dived behind the net, came up with the puck and quickly fed Kakko, who had Shane Wright waiting for the rebound.

If the Kraken fade heading into the Olympic break — and soon after that, the trade deadline — while carrying several expiring veteran contracts, speculation on which players are expendable and which are untouchable will grow louder. A Daily Faceoff podcast got that conversation churning Wednesday.

Asked whether there was a future for 22-year-old Wright in Seattle, Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported Wright’s name has “started to circulate” and the Kraken were open to the idea of packaging and moving him for “a legitimate top six offensive threat,” ideally a top liner.

Pagnotta shared a suspicion that Wright isn’t “overly thrilled with his usage lately.” After a false start in Seattle and a confidence-building season in the American Hockey League, Wright seemed to be trending upward when he finished fourth in team points last season, right above top-line center Beniers. Wright finished just shy of 20 goals.

Wright is off last year’s scoring pace (seven goals, 10 assists, 48 games) from his spot on the third line. Whether he’s earned it or not, upward mobility is limited with Beniers and Chandler Stephenson centering the top two lines.

The Kraken put him with another would-be young hotshot, Berkly Catton, hoping the two talented forwards would spark each other. It worked in spurts, but they were on different lines Wednesday.

Wright is averaging 13:45 this season, down near the bottom of the team with the fourth-liners and rookies. He played less than 10 minutes for the second time this season on Monday against the Penguins.

Pagnotta added the Kraken don’t want to get rid of the 2022 fourth overall selection, once fully expected to be a franchise star. But if they want to reel in a big fish — a proven one, not a projected one — they need to bait the hook. Whether anything comes of these reported talks, that last part certainly remains true.