Halloween is all about masquerading as something you’re not; for the Seattle Kraken Wednesday at Climate Pledge Arena, it was a trio of Kraken defensemen playing the role of elite goal scorers.
Defenseman Brandon Montour put everything he had into a right-circle slapshot with 34 seconds left. It had just enough mustard to squeak between the pads of Sergei Bobrovsky and provide a thrilling, if harder than it should have been, 5-4 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Seattle got three goals on the night from their blueline. Josh Mahura completed a 2-on-1 for just his second goal since the start of the 2023-24 season, and Ryker Evans picked a corner with a 35-foot rocket.
This Halloween season, what’s scarier than the Seattle Kraken penalty kill? (Except, perhaps, radio crew Everett Fitzhugh and Al Kinisky, channeling the Hanson Brothers in our feature photo above.) The first two times Seattle took minors, 2026 1st overall pick Gavin McKenna scored to tie the contest.
But hockey’s a funny game. Toronto brought the league’s best penalty kill (93.6%) with them. But the first time they went shorthanded, Chandler Stephenson scored to break a 2-2 2nd period deadlock. Berkly Catton had the other Kraken goal, extending his points streak to five games.
However, the only shot for Seattle until the final minute of the 3rd period wasn’t really a shot – 130 feet out from Evans that just happened to go on goal. That allowed time for Toronto to get a pulled-goalie tying goal from Auston Matthews from a severe angle with 90 seconds left in regulation.
A forgettable night for Leafs goalie Bobrovsky, who allowed four goals on the first 13 shots he faced. At the other end, winning goalie Philipp Grubauer made 18 saves and got help from his left post on a Morgan Rielly drive.
The Leafs won seven of the first eight games against the Kraken, but Seattle swept the season series last year
1st Period Goals
1-0 Seattle: This year, don’t show up late to Kraken games. Catton’s sweet backhand at 1:59 is the 11th time in 13 games the Kraken have scored within the first five minutes.
1-1 Tie: Berkly giveth, Berkly taketh away. Catton’s off for a holding-the-stick minor when McKenna ties the game with a perfectly placed snipe. What’s odd is that the prize rookie had been benched for six minutes by Leafs coach Jim Hiller.
2nd Period Goals
2-1 Seattle: Who would Seattle want on a 2-0n-1 besides Ben Meyers and Mahura? They sure looked like a goal-scoring tandem, Meyers saucering a perfect pass to the defenseman, who filled a wide-open net. Mahura’s last scored Oct. 18, 2025, and his last three goals have been scored against the Maple Leafs.
2-2 Tie: The Kraken take a penalty, and McKenna makes them pay – again – for the rookie’s first-ever multi-g0al game.
3-2 Seattle: Toronto defenseman Troy Stecher inadvertently redirects Stephenson’s shot, which was going wide, into his own net.
4-2 Seattle: Evans’ shot from the left circle across his body wasn’t screened, causing Elliotte Friedman on Sportsnet TV to label Bobrovsky’s whiff “brutal.”
3rd Period Goals
4-3 Seattle: Jack Roslovic at 4-on-4 brings the Leafs within one.
4-4 Tie: Toronto star power on display; after a pair from McKenna, Matthews comes through in the clutch.
5-4 Seattle: Speaking of clutch, a “Monty Mash” wins this pre-Halloween thriller.
Kraken Notables
More from the Kraken blueline – Cale Fleury smushes Vinni Lettieri against the boards, then takes Lettieri on in a fight.
Jani Nyman made his Kraken debut, with Jared McCann at the beginning of a 10-week absence with a lower boy injury.
After 200 games as a Leaf, Bobby McMann played for the first time against them. “It’s a lot of fun playing guys that you know,” he said. Apparently so. In his first shift, McMann rubbed out Darren Raddysh along the boards, stole the puck and wheeled in for a high-danger chance saved by Bobrovsky.
The game was played without linesperson Dylan Blujus. Referees Cody Beach and Corey Syvret aided lone linesperson Ryan Gibbons calling icings.
By The Numbers
Goals by period: Toronto 1-1-2 (4); Seattle 1-3-1 (5)
Shots by period: Toronto 14-2-6 (22); Seattle 6-8-3 (17)
Power Plays: Toronto 2-3; Seattle 1-5
Next up: The first month of the season concludes Friday in Calgary. Of the season’s first 14 games, this will be the third already against the Flames. Seattle opened the season Oct. 1 with a 6-1 win at the Saddledome, then won by the same score Oct. 4 at CPA.
