Kraken See Menacingly Low Shot Count Haunt Them in Overtime Loss to Rangers
By Jayd Serdy, edited by Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - The Seattle Kraken showed flashes of their identity Saturday night at Climate Pledge Arena, but in the end, their effort wasn’t enough to overcome the New York Rangers — who struck with opportunistic finishes and got the overtime winner. Seattle pushed the game into overtime behind timely goals from Chandler Stephenson and Brandon Montour, only to see the Rangers’ Will Cuylle slip one by late and spoil the home crowd’s hopes. The teams alternate jersey curse seems to live on, though they already have the same amount of points as they did in the reverse retros that were worn in the 2022-23 season, so maybe it isn’t so bad yet.
Frames from warmups as our Seattle Kraken debuted their all-black third jerseys in the overtime loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday, November 2nd, 2025 at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Bryant Garduque for Circling Seattle Sports)
Seattle’s start came with a hiccup pretty early, just five minutes in, as defenseman Josh Mahura sat for tripping to give the Rangers an early power play opportunity. The Kraken penalty kill did well this time, working the zone push-back and clearing effectively through two line changes from New York.
But the momentum swing for the Rangers came through, albeit delayed, as the 9:44 mark into the opening frame saw New York break through with a shot through traffic from Vladislav Gavrikov. The goal was quite ugly, with the puck appearing like it was going to go over the net, and ultimately bouncing off Daccord’s glove and stick before ricocheting in. The Seattle netminder had trouble seeing the puck, as traffic in front from forward Ben Meyers trying to clear Sam Carrick out of the way ultimately screened Daccord.
“I don’t know what happened, I think it was going over the net. I haven’t seen it, I just know it hit my stick like way over the net. So just a fluky one, sometimes those weird ones find a way in and you just toss it in the garbage and move on.”
Chandler Stephenson’s first period power play goal tied things up at one in the Saturday, November 2nd, 2025 game against the New York Rangers at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Bryant Garduque for Circling Seattle Sports)
Seattle responded with 8:01 remaining in the period, as rookie forward Berkly Catton drew a hooking penalty on Urho Vaakanainen, putting the Kraken on the power play. The first unit did its job, as Chandler Stephenson laced home a wrist shot over the glove of Igor Shesterkin to tie it. Shesterkin doesn’t get beaten like that often, and Seattle did all the right things to create that goal as Jordan Eberle provided net front presence (Shortly after keeping the puck alive in the zone along the boards) with Stephenson skating down hill. The equalizer didn’t get much time to breath as just a minute later, New York regained the lead when Noah Laba pounced on a rebound and lifted it past Joey Daccord. A Matty Beniers turnover on the redline emphasized Seattle’s sloppy play throughout the first 20 minutes, as Will Cuylle’s shot off the rush resulted in a juicy rebound for a waiting Laba to give the Rangers their lead back.
The middle frame lacked much flare, but it was far from stagnant. With 12:23 left in the period, Brandon Montour lit the lamp to put this game at a tie once again. The Kraken cycled the puck, and from the top of the right circle Montour’s shot beat Shesterkin glove-side, tying the game at 2-2. Seattle was rewarded for actually sustaining some offensive zone time, with Jaden Schwartz feeding Montour directly off the bench to continue his hot form, his third goal in the past two games. Considering the chances given up by the Kraken and what little they were able to generate on the offensive side of things, it was remarkable for Seattle to be level with the Rangers.
Seattle Kraken forward Jaden Schwartz got the primary assist on Brandon Montour’s second period goal in the overtime loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday, November 2nd, 2025 at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Bryant Garduque for Circling Seattle Sports)
Late in the period, the Kraken found themselves on the penalty kill after former Ranger Ryan Lindgren took a hooking penalty, ultimately setting up New York to open the third with the man advantage.
The third frame is where things got messy for Seattle, as their offensive shortcomings in this game hit a glaring low in the final 20 minutes of regulation. By 11:13 left in the period they had just eight shots on goal for the game, and finished the game with a franchise-worst 13 in that department. New York did their best to push for goals, but Daccord held firm, ending the game with 24 saves on 27 shots while the Kraken seemed to get some luck with the opportunities that the away side whiffed on.
Frames of goaltender Joey Daccord during the Seattle Kraken overtime loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday, November 2nd, 2025 at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Bryant Garduque for Circling Seattle Sports)
In overtime, the Rangers broke through for the deciding score. Captain J.T. Miller skated the puck up, found Cuylle to his right circle, and the snap-shot found the net at 2:42 of OT. New York pushed their win streak to three games with a 3-2 result, and Seattle escapes this ugly contest with one point.
For the Kraken, there’s plenty to clean up: more shot volume, better offensive zone time, stronger starts, and more than 39% success in the faceoff circle. But even in their defeat, there are positives to takeaway: they hung around, forced overtime, and didn’t roll over. The hope will be that this becomes a building block.
Former Seattle Kraken blueliner Will Borgen made his return for the first time, as a member of the New York Rangers on Saturday, November 2nd, 2025 at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Bryant Garduque for Circling Seattle Sports)
Quick Kraken notes, from Kraken PR
With a point earned tonight, the Kraken have earned points in nine of their first 11 games this season (5-2-4, 14 points).
The Kraken have yet to lose in regulation at home yet this season (3-0-2).
The Kraken and the Rangers will face off again at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 12, 2026.
The Kraken set a franchise record for fewest shots on goal in a game with 13 tonight, per Emerald City Hockey.
The previous low was 17.
Brandon Montour tied the game 2-2 with a shot speed of 96.40 mph - the hardest shot recorded for a goal this season according to NHL EDGE.
Montour has notched three goals and four points (3g/1a) in the past two games.
Chandler Stephenson tallied two points tonight, adding both a goal and an assist.
Vince Dunn, Jaden Schwartz and Eeli Tolvanen all have an assist in back-to-back games.
Joey Daccord made his first career appearance against the Rangers, recording 24 saves.
In their Kraken version of a “fish race” during a break in the action, the fish named “Seven Fishy Seven”
2025-26 standings after one game
Seven Fishy Seven: 1 win
Rainbow: 0 wins
Hattrick: 0 wins
What’s next?
Following the overtime defeat tonight at the hands of the New York Rangers, our Seattle Kraken will have a day of practice tomorrow morning at the Kraken Community Iceplex before the fourth contest of the teams five-game homestand at Climate Pledge Arena. That next contest on Monday, November 3rd comes against a Chicago Blackhawks team with a couple familiar faces as Ryan Donato and Andre Burakovsky return to Seattle. Chicago has lost three of their last four, including an overtime defeat to the Edmonton Oilers tonight, and the Kraken will be looking to take advantage of that dip in form as they’ve fallen in four of their past six while recording points in the last two thanks to overtime losses. Seattle will be back in their standard home navy jerseys for this game, with their next game in the all-black third jerseys coming on Wednesday, November 5th against San Jose to close out the homestand. With a more condensed schedule upcoming, it’ll be interesting to see how the Kraken handle their trio of goaltenders after playing Joey Daccord in nine of their first eleven games of the 2025-26 season.
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