After falling by a score of 4-3 to the Dallas Stars at home on Wednesday, the Edmonton Oilers will be right back at it on Thursday when they take on the Kraken in Seattle.
1. The Oilers have completely owned the Kraken since they entered the league for the 2021-22 season, with Edmonton winning 12 of 14 meetings between the two teams while outscoring Seattle 49-to-29 in the process.
The Kraken haven’t beaten the Oilers since January of 2023, a stretch of nine consecutive losses over more than two years. This looks like a prime opportunity for Seattle to end their losing streak against Edmonton considering the Oilers are banged up and they’ll be playing in the second leg of a back-to-back.
That said, the Oilers managed a 5-4 win over the Kraken in Edmonton last week despite not having Leon Draisaitl or Connor McDavid in the lineup. Can they get it done again, this time on the road?
2. The longest regular-season winning streak the Oilers have ever had against a single opponent is 14 consecutive wins over the Winnipeg Jets between April of 1983 and January of 1985. That’s a lot of beatings in a relatively short period of time between the World Hockey Association cousins and Smythe Division rivals.
Edmonton’s current nine-game winning streak against the Kraken is tied for the third-longest in team history. The Oilers beat the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, and Vancouver Canucks nine times in a row in the 80s and the Oilers won all nine games against the Ottawa Senators in the North Division in 2021.
The Dynasty Oilers also had a 13-game winning streak against the Detroit Red Wings between 1983 and 1987 well before the Wings went on their 25-season playoff streak.
The longest winning streak by one team over another in NHL history came between 1974 and 1978 when the Montreal Canadiens beat the Washington Capitals 23 times in a row. We’re still a ways away from the Oilers and Kraken reaching that sort of territory.
3. Seattle is coming into this game following a four-game road trip that saw them win only once. They beat the Chicago Blackhawks and then lost to the Minnesota Wild, the Oilers, and the Calgary Flames.
With the team well out of playoff contention, the Kraken unloaded ahead of the March 7 trade deadline, moving Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand to the Tampa Bay Lightning and Brandon Tanev to the Winnipeg Jets. Since the deadline, Seattle has just two wins in regulation over nine games.
4. It’s safe to say the Kraken were a flash in the pan in 2022-23 when they went 46-28-8 and beat the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the playoffs. Since then, they’ve had back-to-back years of decline.
The Kraken are 30-36-6 on the season, 17 points back of the St. Louis Blues for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference. They’re on pace to finish with 75 points in the standings, which would be their second-worst total in four seasons in the NHL.
5. There were a few players on the Kraken who had what appear to be career-best seasons in 2022-23 that have declined in the two seasons since.
Jared McCann led the team with 40 goals and 70 points in 79 games that season and he’s all the way down to 17 goals and 49 points in 72 games in 2024-25. Vince Dunn led Seattle defencemen with 14 goals and 64 points and received Norris Trophy votes. He was limited to 46 points in 59 games last season because of injury and has fallen to 34 points in 52 games this year.
It’s probably too early to suggest this will wind up his career-best season, but Matty Beneirs is another player who hasn’t been the same for the Kraken since 2022-23. Since winning the Calder Trophy with 24 goals and 57 points in 80 games as a rookie, the second-overall pick from the 2021 draft has 32 goals and 77 points across 149 games in the NHL.
McCann, Dunn, and Beniers finished first, second, and fourth on the Kraken in scoring in 2022-23 and Jordan Eberle was third on the team with 63 points in 82 games. This year has been a challenge for the former Oiler, as Eberle has nine goals and 22 points over 32 games.
6. Leading the way offensively for Seattle this season is again McCann’s 49 points, who recently passed the injured Chandler Stephenson for the team lead in scoring. Jaden Schwartz and Eeli Tolvanen lead the Kraken with 21 goals while McCann, Beniers, and Shane Wright each have 17 goals.
7. The biggest issue for Seattle this season has been keeping the puck out of their own net. The Kraken rank 26th in the NHL with 233 goals against thanks largely to their .887 team save percentage. Joey Daccord has been solid for the Kraken with a 23-19-5 record and a .907 save percentage in 47 starts while Philipp Grubauer has been a disaster with a 7-16-1 record and a .873 save percentage in 24 games.
8. Stuart Skinner left the game in the third period of Edmonton’s 4-3 loss to the Dallas Stars on Wednesday, so Olivier Rodrigue will be the backup goalie behind Calvin Pickard when the Oilers play the Kraken on Thursday. The team’s second-round pick from the 2018 draft has an 18-15-8 record for the Bakersfield Condors this season with a .899 save percentage.
9. The Oilers need a win in Seattle on Thursday to help them keep ground in the Pacific Division playoff race. Edmonton is seven points back of the Vegas Golden Knights for top spot in the division and they’re two points back of the Los Angeles Kings for second place. The Kings have a game in hand on the Oilers and will also be in action on Thursday against the Colorado Avalanche.
