The Seattle Kraken overwhelmed the Calgary Flames from the opening minutes, cruising to a dominant 6-1 victory in the final season opener at the Saddledome.
Captain Jordan Eberle couldn’t have asked for a more fitting way to begin another season in Seattle.
Eberle opened the scoring Thursday night in Calgary, helping spark a dominant 6-1 victory over the Flames in the final season opener ever played at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
But the significance of the night went well beyond the team leader.
Seattle received contributions throughout the lineup, with its veteran leaders providing the early offense and its younger players helping finish the job. The result was one of the more complete performances the Kraken could have hoped for to begin the 2026-27 campaign.
Early in the opening period, Matty Beniers threw himself in front of a Yan Kuznetsov shot, blocking the attempt before it could reach Joey Daccord, who made 24 saves. The play appeared to set an early standard for Seattle's willingness to sacrifice its body defensively.
Eberle broke the deadlock on the power play, getting himself into position in front of Calgary goaltender Dustin Wolf before a Jared McCann shot found its way through traffic. The puck landed on Eberle's stick, and he made no mistake.
Just 32 seconds later, Seattle doubled its lead.
Winterton created the play by finding Vince Dunn, who stepped into a point shot and beat Wolf through a screen provided by Shane Wright. Suddenly, a scoreless game had turned into a 2-0 Kraken lead in the span of less than a minute.
Seattle continued to hammer away.
The Flames had opportunities to respond, including a dangerous chance for Mikael Backlund on a breakaway, but Daccord stood tall. He made the early stops Seattle needed and gave his team the opportunity to continue building its lead.
That lead reached three before the end of the opening frame.
Kakko created the chance by holding the puck on the left side long enough to open up the ice before sending it across to veteran forward Freddy Gaudreau. Gaudreau finished the play, sending Seattle into the first intermission with a commanding 3-0 lead.
The second period became more about managing the game.
Seattle remained aggressive without becoming reckless, while Calgary struggled to generate sustained pressure. The Kraken finished the opening 40 minutes having limited the Flames to just 14 shots.
Winterton nearly added another highlight in the middle frame when he broke up a Calgary play near Seattle's blue line, carried the puck all the way down the ice and came close to extending the lead himself.
Calgary finally found a breakthrough in the third period when Ryan Strome ended Daccord's shutout bid during garbage time.
Chandler Stephenson restored Seattle’s four-goal advantage after a collision between two Calgary teammates created a golden opportunity. Stephenson pounced on the mistake, stole the puck, raced in alone on Wolf and slipped a shot through the goaltender for the goal.
Daccord was also credited with an assist on the play.
Seattle continued to turn up the pressure.
Beniers added another late in the third, followed by Kakko, who capped the scoring and finished the night with a goal and an assist. Both Beniers and Kakko ended with two points, while Dunn and McCann led the Kraken with three apiece.
The final score told only part of the story.
Seattle's offense was efficient, but its defensive commitment was just as important. The Kraken blocked shots, competed along the boards and limited Calgary's chances while avoiding the parade to the penalty box that often allows a trailing team to climb back into a game.
Seattle took just one penalty all night. Calgary took five and looked just as helpless as they did last season.
One game doesn't establish a season.
But six goals, one against and contributions from virtually every part of the lineup made for a difficult opening night to improve upon for a potential playoff contender.
