Kraken suffer 2nd consecutive loss, fall to Senators in shootout

Kate Shefte, The Seattle Times on Oct 16, 2025

Published in Hockey

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Chandler Stephenson struck twice Thursday during a third consecutive overtime game for the Kraken, who have secured a standings point in all four games to start the 2025-26 season.

While they’re undefeated in regulation, they dropped their second straight in extra time, falling 4-3 in a shootout against the Ottawa Senators.

For whatever reason, Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre has been the site of Kraken clunkers the past two seasons. The team turned in sluggish 3-0 and 2-0 losses there in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

This time they stayed in the game, as they have during all four outings so far under new head coach Lane Lambert. Seattle led 3-2 on Stephenson’s latter goal early in the third period, but the Senators’ desperate push paid off. Ottawa center Dylan Cozens sent the game to overtime with 1:46 left in regulation.

It was reminiscent of Tuesday, when the Kraken were leading by a goal in the late stages. Montreal’s Ivan Demidov tied the score at 4 with 2:41 left.

Netminder Philipp Grubauer made his first start of the season and while the first two Ottawa goals were rough around the edges, he settled in and didn’t allow another goal until late in the third period. His teammates made sure he saw less action than Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark at the other end. Seattle outshot the hosts 34-23.

Ottawa is off to a wild start. It had lost three straight games and allowed at least four regulation goals in all four contests thus far. The Senators entered averaging a league-high 5.5 goals against per game.

While Seattle played catch-up for much of Tuesday’s overtime loss, on Thursday they got to experience the joys of playing with the lead. Shane Wright scored his first of the season about five minutes into the game. As Mason Marchment dangled Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle at the blue line, Wright drifted into a spot where he could poke at the eventual Brandon Montour rebound that landed in the blue paint. He backhanded it into the net for a 1-0 Kraken lead.

Seattle’s Adam Larsson and Ryan Winterton headed to the penalty box three and a half minutes apart in the first period and the Senators essentially scored on both power plays. Larsson slashed Drake Batherson’s stick in half, and just after he exited the penalty box and rejoined the play, Ottawa’s Shane Pinto scored his sixth goal in just five games. It wasn’t technically a power-play goal but a direct result of one.

While Winterton was in the box for tripping, penalty killer Freddy Gaudreau tried to break up a pass headed wide but knocked it directly to David Perron, who settled the bouncing puck and fired it past Grubauer.

Stephenson’s first goal was the only one of the second period. All the members of his line chipped in. Eeli Tolvanen was banging around behind the Ottawa net, which helped Jaden Schwartz force a turnover nearby. Schwartz fed Stephenson in the slot, and he loudly scored bar-down.

While the teams were tied at 2, both Grubauer and Ullmark turned in highlight-reel saves. Grubauer was caught out of position on the Senators’ first goal, but scrambled to deny Pinto when the Ottawa forward tried again. Ullmark then robbed Seattle’s Tolvanen of his first goal of the season.

Stephenson’s second strike was a power-play goal, and gave the center his first multi-goal night in just over a year with the Kraken franchise.

Grubauer was bailed out by his crossbar in the final seconds of overtime. Seattle defenseman Vince Dunn lost an edge in the Senators’ end and Jake Sanderson streaked toward the Kraken net with a step on Seattle winger Jared McCann. The puck glanced off the iron and shot straight into the air.

Gaudreau, whose fourth line had a standout performance in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, left the game in obvious discomfort after a hit late in the second period. The team later announced he wouldn’t return.

Neither Jordan Eberle nor McCann scored in the shootout, and Grubauer allowed goals to two of the three Senators shooters — Pinto and Stutzle.