In Search of Continued Home Success: Previewing the Kraken Hosting the Canadiens, October 28th, 2025
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - A few days after their tight win over the Edmonton Oilers, placing themselves second in the Pacific division, our Seattle Kraken are set to continue their five-game homestand when the Montréal Canadiens come to town tonight. Funny enough, this game against Montréal represents the first time in 25 games since Seattle’s last home game against an Eastern conference opponent since… the overtime win against the Canadiens last March. The Kraken are looking to continue building on their best start in franchise history at 5-2-2, while the Habs come into this game red hot at 7-3-0 to begin their year. In a contest against a defensively sound Seattle team and a Montréal team with plenty of young firepower, here’s what to know before the Canadiens visit our Kraken on Tuesday, October 28th, 2025.
Kraken off to best start in franchise history
Despite many in the media, including us, thinking that the Kraken were going to be a very middle of the pack team that sit perfectly in the middle of things, Seattle has recorded their best start to a season in franchise history. They’ve been in just about every game so far this year, and have played in a strong number of overtime games somewhat similar to the Canadiens. Four straight games for the Kraken went into overtime, winning two of them, losing one, and losing one of them in a shootout. They’ve been in every contest besides two, dropping both games of a back-to-back in Philadelphia and Washington (The other Washington) by a deficit of three goals each time. Some of their best games of the year have seen them beat Vegas, Toronto, Winnipeg, and most recently Edmonton on Saturday. The defensive structure and intensity that the Kraken have been playing with look sustainable, and they’ve been winning without some key names in Kakko, McCann, Evans, and Gaudreau. The biggest thing to watch throughout the year for Seattle will be how the offensive production stacks up and who ultimately sets themselves apart from the pack in the goal scoring department.
Canadiens recent form
Montréal has started the season out strong, looking to build off their 2024-25 campaign when they squeaked into the postseason by securing the second wild card in the Eastern conference. Besides a three-goal loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on opening night and a four-goal win over the Detroit Red Wings in the second game, the contests that the Canadiens have been playing have all been very close. Seven of the last eight games the Habs have played have been decided by one goal, and the only other contest in that stretch was decided by just two goals. Montréal has played three overtime games to date and won all three of those contests that have gone into the extra period. The Canadiens have the offensive firepower to hang with some of the best in the league, with their 3.6 goals for per game ranking eighth best in the NHL.
Lineup and morning skate notes
The Kraken held an optional skate at Climate Pledge Arena this morning, meaning that we didn’t exactly get a clear look at the potential of any lineup changes for Seattle and we’ll have to base our thoughts on yesterdays practice session at the Kraken Community Iceplex. There were no changes from the lines last game when Seattle practiced yesterday, besides Kaapo Kakko rotating in a few times on the line rushes towards the end and getting some work in five-on-five. There were no clear words of an update on Kakko this morning, so it doesn’t quite seem like he’s fully ready for this game but we’ve been projecting that he’ll return on Saturday against the Rangers.
Ryker Evans (Upper body) and Jared McCann (Lower body), both on injured reserve at the moment, were on the ice this morning ahead of the optional morning skate. Evans was wearing a red non-contact jersey, currently listed as out for six-to-eight weeks from the first of October. That sort of timeline would set him for a range of November 12th through 26th for that six to eight week period, and him at least being on the ice is a good sign when it comes to his health. McCann was in a normal white practice jersey, which is a strong sign considering the vague but ominous wording of Lane Lambert’s update on him yesterday. Lambert said that McCann was in a “holding pattern” and that they’d know more about his status “going forward.” Seeing Jared on the ice is nice, and hopefully a sign that he is on a positive progression as opposed to the unclear nature of his timeline following yesterdays comments.
Starting goaltender matchup
The Kraken will have their top goaltender between the pipes in this game against one of the East’s best teams, as Joey Daccord will make his eighth start of the season. Daccord has started the season out strong, highlighted by great games against Winnipeg (Shutout), Vegas, and Edmonton, but there are a few tough results in there including the first game against Montréal and the road defeat to the Philadelphia Flyers. Daccord’s second worst statistical night of the year came against the Canadiens, conceding five goals and posting a save percentage of just .773 in this game. While Montréal is an up and coming roster, that’s a difficult statline and you know that Daccord will be looking to turn things around in a potential bounce back effort. Joey Daccord enters tonight’s game 2-1-1 against Montréal with a 2.96 GAA and a .883 SV% in five career games.
Jakub Dobes will be in net for Montréal, seeking a continued strong start to his 2025-26 campaign as he currently holds a 1.77 goals against average and a .940 save percentage with a 5-0-0 record through his five starts. Last time these teams faced off, Seattle was able to get four goals past Sam Montembeault, whose struggles this year so far have seen him hold the sixth worth goals against average and second worst save percentage in the league amongst netminders who have played at least three games this year. It’s been two different ends of things for Canadiens netminders, as Dobes holds the leagues best save percentage and second best goals against average. The Kraken will need to create traffic in front of Dobes and likely get a greasy goal or two past him if they want to come out with a win tonight. Dobes has only made one career start against Seattle in his career, which was the overtime win in March when the Kraken tallied five goals on 35 shots against Jakub.
Head-to-head history between the teams
In Seattle’s brief NHL history, they hold a 5-3-1 record over the Habs, including the last time they met at Climate Pledge Arena when Brandon Montour won the game in record breaking speed in overtime. The Kraken have split the season series once (2022-23) and swept it outright on two occasions (2021-22 and 2024-25), losing it just once when they were swept in year three (2023-24). A big strength for Seattle in these games has been their power play goals, scoring nine of them in the all-time head-to-head history compared to just two for Montréal. The Kraken have one shutout win in their history against the Canadiens, and their offensive production against the Habs has dominated the story when looking at these two teams.
One of the four hat tricks in Seattle franchise history came against the Canadiens, on the road back on October 29th when Brandon Montour potted three goals in the Kraken’s 8-2 victory. “Monty” leads Seattle in points against the Habs with 18 (Six goals and 12 assists) across his 20 career games played against the franchise. Last season was the Montour show against the Canadiens whenever the Kraken met Montréal, as he recorded that aforementioned natural hat trick and an assist in Montréal while adding the fastest overtime goal in NHL history (0:04) versus the Canadiens in that aforementioned March 12th home win. The second place spot in terms of points scored for Seattle against Montréal is shared by Jordan Eberle (Three goals and 13 assists) and Jaden Schwartz (Six goals and ten assists) at 16. while Eberle’s 13 assists against the Habs lead the Kraken. Seattle will be without their leading goal scorer, generally but also against the Canadiens as Jared McCann holds that title with eight and ranking third overall in points.
Players to watch
Our two Kraken players to watch in tonight’s contest against the Canadiens are two forwards playing on the same line in alternate captain Matty Beniers and captain Jordan Eberle. With Matty, the fourth year forward hasn’t quite hit the next level in his goal scoring ability that many have hoped coming into this season, but he’s still been able to rack up the points. Beniers enters tonight’s game having added two assists in the Saturday night victory over Edmonton, helping him lead Seattle skaters in assists (Five) and ranking third in total points (Six). Additionally, Matty has five points in seven career games against Montréal, netting two goals and collecting three assists in those contests. His winger and team captain Jordan Eberle has started the season off well, a welcome sight after how much team he missed early last season due to injury, tallying six points in the last five games he’s played in. With his two goals against the Oilers this past weekend, “Ebs” reached the 70 goal mark in a Kraken uniform, making him the only active NHL player to score 70+ goals with three different clubs (Edmonton, New York Islanders, and Seattle). It would make sense to see our two players to watch connect for a goal or two in tonight’s game.
For the Canadiens, I’ve got my eye on Ivan Demidov and Cole Caufield for my key Montréal players to watch in tonight’s contest. Demidov, an up and coming star for the Habs, has six points in his last five games as well as nine overall on the season. Those numbers leave him tied with another budding star in Lane Hutston for third on the team and leading all NHL rookies. Demidov’s three-point game in Vancouver made him the first rookie in 36 years to record three points in a single game before turning 20 in Montréal franchise history. The young winger will certainly put the Kraken’s defensive structure to the test tonight, just like Caufield did last time these two teams met. Caufield scored two goals in the Canadiens’ overtime win over the Kraken two weeks ago, including the game winning goal. We’re looking for Seattle to ensure that sort of performance doesn’t happen again.
Key storylines to watch
Can Seattle flip the script from the last matchup?
The road contest against the Canadiens for the Kraken was a back and forth affair, with the two teams trading scores before Seattle used two goals in the third period (just over three minutes apart from each other) to take their first lead of the night before Ivan Demidov’s first goal of the season tied things up with just under three minutes remaining in regulation. The Kraken couldn’t respond and get the win on the road to start the trip off with two points, as Cole Caufield net his second goal of the night with a snap shot 3:25 into the overtime period.
Will the Kraken identity of playing strong defensively continue in this game?
The story of Seattle so far this season has been their compete level being so consistent that they’ve been able to somewhat grind teams into submission over the course of a game. The defensive structure that many thought would come with the hiring of Lane Lambert has indeed followed him, looking evident in every game really besides the road losses to Philadelphia and Washington and those two games came back-to-back. Even though they didn’t quite fall apart in the road loss to the Canadiens, the Kraken certainly could’ve played better at Montréal and not allowed the contest to go to overtime in the first place. Will we Seattle be able to hold their defensive structure and suffocate the high flying offense of the Canadiens, or will Montréal’s firepower be too much?
Can Berkly Catton continue his strong showing early into his NHL career?
2024 first round pick Berkly Catton has been able to show confidence and play making ability just four games into his NHL career, and while there will surely be some instance of an adjustment period for the 19-year-old, he doesn’t seem like he’ll be overwhelmed at this level. You’ll have to wonder, in this game against a team full of young talent, if Catton can showcase his own skill that helped him rocket into star prospect status and helped Seattle come out victorious against Montréal.
How to watch tonight’s game
For those who won’t be joining us within the friendly confines of Climate Pledge Arena, this game is viewable on the Kraken Hockey Network and KONG in the local market and ESPN+ for those who aren’t in the local market. For those in the state of the Washington, here’s the list of Seattle Kraken audio network affiliates: Seattle KJR 93.3 FM (Flagship station), Spokane KIX 99.3 FM, Tri-Cities KJOX 1340 AM, Mount Vernon KAPS 660 AM and 102.1 FM, Port Angeles KONP 1450 AM and 101.7 FM, Forks KBDB 96.7 FM, Olympia KAYO 96.9 FM/KGY 95.3 FM, Bellingham KPUG 1170AM or KGMI 790 AM, Yakima KBBO 1390 AM, Shelton KMAS 1030 AM/103.3 FM, Colfax KRAO 102.5 FM, Ellensburg KXLE 95.3 FM, and Aberdeen KSWW 102.1 FM. For those in the state of Oregon: Portland KPOJ 620 AM, Astoria KCRX 102.3 FM, Hood River/The Dalles KIHR 1340 AM and 98.3 FM, Corvallis KEJO 1240 AM. For those in Alaska: Anchorage KTZN 550 AM, Juneau KTKU 105.1 FM, Ketchikan KTKN 930 AM and 95.7 FM, Kenai KSRM 920 AM, Sitka KIFW 1230 AM, Kodiak Is. KVOK 560 AM/98.7 FM, and Fairbanks KKED 104.7 FM. For those in Idaho, you can find it on St Maries KOFE 1240 AM and those in Montana can find it on Missoula KKVU 102.9 FM. If you want to watch the game alongside other Kraken fans or just be out of the house, you can click here for a list of Anchor Alliance bars including the home of Circling Seattle Sports, Rough & Tumble Pub!
What’s next after tonight?
Following tonight’s game against the Canadiens, our Seattle Kraken will have two days of practice with a day off fit in the middle of them before their Saturday, November 1st contest against the New York Rangers. It’s a big game for a few reasons, including Will Borgen (And Carson Soucy) returning to Seattle while the Kraken debut their all-black third jerseys and a special in-game presentation alongside them. Additionally, Kaapo Kakko may be returning for Seattle to battle his former team on Saturday, as he’s practiced the last three times that the Kraken have hit the ice for work and seems primed to make that return not tonight but that game instead.
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