SEATTLE — This was obviously going to be a huge Friday night home test for the Seattle Kraken once it was confirmed hulking defenseman Jamie Oleksiak would miss at least a couple of games.
Oleksiak’s lower body injury marked the first time all season the team’s blue-line depth would be tested, forcing them away from the three perfect left-right shot pairings they’d utilized all season. And while the Kraken played things tight, it wasn’t enough to avoid a 1-0 loss to a Minnesota Wild squad that threw the body around liberally knowing they wouldn’t have a 6-foot-7, 255-pound Oleksiak to contend with.
Mats Zuccarello opened the scoring for the Wild with just under two minutes to go in the opening frame, getting free in the slot and unleashing a quick snapper behind Kraken goalie Martin Jones. That goal would stand up for the Wild, who halted the Kraken’s franchise record five-game win streak in front of 17,151 fans at Climate Pledge Arena and avenged a home shutout defeat against them just eight days before.
