Opportunity missed as Golden Knights fall to Kraken in shootout
Apr 9, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Kraken forward Matty Beniers (10) hops over Vegas Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill (33) after scoring during a shootout at Climate Pledge Arena. There are just some games in this league that you need to have, and the Vegas Golden Knights just could not capitalize on a chance. On Thursday, the Golden Knights could not hold on to a third period lead, eventually falling 4-3 in a shootout to the Seattle Kraken.
The Golden Knights would find a way to strike in the first period, thanks to captain Mark Stone. With the Kraken focusing on Rasmus Andersson, the Swedish defenseman caught his opponents puck watching and found Stone all by himself in the slot. After a point blank shot that beat Seattle goaltender Joey Daccord, Vegas was out to an early lead.
Stone would make it a double early on in the second period. With Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour in the penalty box to start the period, the Golden Knights were able to get set up in the offensive zone, ending with the captain finding a Jack Eichel pass on the backdoor and scoring again in close to extend the lead for Vegas. The Kraken would close the gap later in the second after a successful Jared McCann one-timer on the power play.
Early in the third period, however, the Golden Knights would capitalize on a golden opportunity. After a Kraken player blew a tire, Vegas would charge up the ice on an odd-man rush, finished by Mitch Marner passing to Brett Howden to restore the two-goal lead. Puck luck would turn on the Golden Knights, however, when Adin Hill was the victim of an unfortunate bounce of the puck off the boards, leaving a yawning cage for Berkly Catton to reduce the lead to a goal again.
A failed clear would lead to a Bobby McMann snipe three minutes later, and the Kraken found a way to tie things up. After overtime failed to make the difference, the Kraken would take the game in the fifth round of a shootout. With the Anaheim Ducks defeating the San Jose Sharks, the Golden Knights find themselves tied for second in the Pacific Division with a point separating them from the Edmonton Oilers.