There was a time back at the season’s opening when pundits suggested the two most recent NHL expansion squads squaring off Wednesday night were likely to be playoff teams this spring.
The Kraken effectively fell out of the playoff hunt by Thanksgiving, while the Vegas Golden Knights came into Climate Pledge Arena fighting for their playoff lives. The visitors, missing several key mainstays, got it done as the Kraken were dealt a 3-0 loss on a night they couldn’t solve backup goaltender Logan Thompson.
Onetime Seattle Thunderbirds junior product Shea Theodore snapped a scoreless tie just under eight minutes into the second period, stepping out of the penalty box and taking a pass for the second breakaway chance on Chris Driedger in just under a minute. Vegas added an insurance goal in the third when Michael Amadio banged home a rebound off a skate during a wild goal-mouth scramble.
