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McMann, Kraken win shootout

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  To be honest, this was the type of game that the Seattle Kraken would lose in their first five years in the National Hockey League. The Kraken led the Detroit Red Wings, 3-0, last night at Climate Pledge Arena with 15 minutes remaining in the contest. But the visiting Wings rattled off three consecutive goals, including Alex DeBrincat’s marker with only 17 seconds showing on the clock. But after a typical five-minute overtime- both teams circling the offensive zone looking for the one perfect shot--the teams headed to a shootout. The shootout hasn’t been the Kraken’s friend through the years, but Bobby McMann tallied the go-ahead score and Philip Grubauer stopped Dylan Larkin at the other end to give the Kraken a 4-3 decision (Seattle’s Freddy Gaudreau and Detroit’s Victor Arvidsson also scored in the shootout.) ``Overall we played pretty well,’’ said Kraken coach Lane Lambert. ``Our first game back after a long road trip. We were focused.’’ The Kraken, who played seven o...
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Kraken go down swinging vs. Knights

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 Just like Dorothy in `The Wizard Of Oz,’ discovered she wasn’t in Kansas anymore, the Seattle Kraken discovered they weren’t playing the hapless Calgary Flames anymore. After besting the not very hot Flames, 6-1, in two of their first three regular season games, Seattle dropped a 6-2 decision to the Vegas Knights, last night at Climate Pledge Arena. The Kraken drop to 2-2 on the season, while the Knights, who advanced to the Stanley Cup finals last season, improve to 3-1. It may be the nature of hockey that Kraken fans were mostly in good spirits as they left the arena at games end. Many of the fans enjoyed a hectic, fight-filled, penalty-filled third period which was uncharacteristic of Seattle-Vegas games since the Kraken joined the league. Vegas rookie Marc Gatcomb may have set the tone for the game when he received a boarding penalty against Seattle defenseman Ryan Lindgren 15 seconds into the contest. Lindgren tried to play a couple of shifts but was scratched for the r...
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Kraken win season opener

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  The Seattle Kraken home opener may have lacked the pre-game luster of some previous openers, but on the ice, this was surely the most impressive of any Kraken home debut. After splitting two road games, the Kraken defeated the Calgary Flames by a 6-1 margin for the second time this season. After topping the Flames- who appear headed for a run as the worst team in the NHL this season, the Kraken jumped out to a quick lead last night at Climate Pledge Arena. While not a sellout crowd, the fans in attendance were treated to three goals in the first seven minutes. First, Berkly Catton intercepted an errant pass in the Calgary zone and wristed one past Flames’ netminder Dustin Wolf at 2:22; Catton’s first goal of the season. Two minutes later, Mackie Samoskevich notched his first goal as a Kraken. A former University of Michigan teammate of the Kraken’s Matty Beniers, waited for Wolf to commit himself and then slid a backhander into the net. Samoskevich, known for his speed, ble...
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Seattle SPORTs Now 4/23

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  Seattle Kraken general manager Jason Botterill met with the local media Wednesday at the Kraken Practice Facility at Northgate and said he plans to be `very aggressive’ during the off-season. The Kraken looked headed towards a playoff berth until they weren’t. The team boasted a 10-5-2 record in the month of January where at one point they were only three points behind the top spot in the Pacific Division. On the year, Seattle was in a playoff spot for 117 days. But when the team returned from the Olympic break in February it appeared to be lacking a spark and fell all the way down to 13 th place in the16-team Western Conference. Ironically, the Pacific Division was relatively weak this season and a top three finish would have placed the Kraken in the playoffs regardless of point totals. ``Our power play dropped off in March and April,’’ said Botterill, as the team went through a 5-14 streak after the Olympics. ``I feel our future is bright, but we’re not where we want to ...
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Seattle SPORTs Now

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                                Ron Francis (above) with Jordan Eberle and his family After five years with the Seattle Kraken- four as general manager and one as president of hockey operations- Ron Francis and the Kraken have decided to part ways. In some ways, this has been the most disappointing season in the five-year history of the Kraken. At the Winter Olympic break, Seattle was in a playoff position in the Pacific Division. Since the season resumed, Seattle’s NHL entry has only won five of 19 games. -``No one is satisfied,’’ said Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke. ``We have not delivered on the promise of this team. We're going to go back to the model we started with. We're going to have a GM who makes the decisions." Francis has made the decisions since before the Kraken even had a nickname. He took over in July 2019 and selected the players in the 2021 NHL expansion draft. While the Kraken didn’t achieve...
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Seattle SPORTs Now 3/31

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  Hopes are high for the Seattle Mariners as the 2026 baseball season begins. The Mariners came within eight outs of a World Series trip a year ago and are a popular pick to make their first-ever Fall Classic appearance in 2026. Here’s how Seattle SPORTs Now looks at the season. AL West The Mariners should take the division this season anchored by arguably the best- starting rotations in baseball. Logan Gilbert and Bryan Woo are probably co-aces, but the back end of the rotation, Luis Castillo and Emerson Hancock were dominant in their first starts of the season. Emerson threw six no-hit innings on a nationally televised game against the Cleveland Guardians but in 21 st century baseball it was no surprise that Hancock was pulled after six innings. George Kirby and Bryan Miller, currently on the disabled list round out the starting rotation when Andre Munoz, the Mariners stud out of the bullpen. The Mariners big guns have yet to start hitting- outfielder Julio Rodrigues t...
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Seattle SPORTs Now 3/24/26

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  The long-awaited 2026 baseball season begins this week with Seattle Mariner fans having high expectations for the coming season. The M’s came within a game of making their first ever World Series in 2025 and are trendy pick to make-and possibly win- the Fall Classic this season. Will 50 be the magic number for the Mariners who begin their 50 th year of existence? Seattle returns most of last year’s squad and there’s cautious optimism that the team has made some improvements. Reigning home run champ Cal Raleigh returns along with the M’s highly regarded starting rotation except for number-five starter Bryce Miller who begins the season on the disabled list Emerson Hancock replaces him in the rotation for now. The rotation of Logan Gilbert- Thursday’s opening day starter against the Cleveland Guardians- Bryan Woo, a team-high 15 wins, George Kirby and Luis Castillo with Andre Munoz (38 saves) coming out of the bullpen is the jewel of baseball. Arguably, the rotation was bett...
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