Surging Kraken score four times in third period to burn Flames 5-1

By Canadian Press on January 5, 2026.

CALGARY — Shane Wright scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and Philipp Grubauer made 41 saves to lead the streaking Seattle Kraken to a 5-1 victory over the Calgary Flames.

Jacob Melanson, Vince Dunn, Frederick Gaudreau and Matty Beniers also scored for Seattle (19-14-7), which has points in eight straight (7-0-1) overall and have reeled off five consecutive wins on the road.

The win moves the Kraken into third place in the Pacific Division, one point behind Vegas and Edmonton. Seattle is even in games with the Golden Knights and has two games in hand on the Oilers.

Adam Klapka scored the lone goal for Calgary (18-20-4), which lost its second straight game.

With the win, Grubauer improves to 8-3-1. Dustin Wolf, who made 23 stops, falls to 14-16-2.

The Flames opened the scoring 6:33 into the game when Klapka knocked in a Ryan Lomberg rebound.

Three minutes later, Jonathan Huberdeau had a chance to put Calgary ahead by two, but after being tied up from behind by Adam Larsson on a breakaway, Huberdeau was unable to convert the ensuing penalty shot.

Seattle tied the game 2:17 into the second, capitalizing on a MacKenzie Weegar turnover with Ryan Winteron setting up Melanson. The Kraken blew the game open with four goals in the third period.

TAKEAWAYS

Kraken: Seattle’s fourth line of Ben Meyers between Winterton and Melanson keeps rolling. Melanson’s first NHL goal extends his point streak to four games (one goal, three assists) while Winterton, with the set-up, is also on a four-game point streak (one goal, three assists) as well. Melanson (fifth round) and Winterton (third round) are both Seattle 2021 draft picks.

Flames: Defenceman Brayden Pachal returned to the lineup after sitting out 10 straight as a healthy scratch and led both teams with nine hits. He took the spot of rookie Hunter Brzustewicz, who had played 10 in a row since being recalled from the AHL. Also on the blue line and fresh off a 13-point performance for Canada at the world junior championship, Zayne Parekh will be joining the team for its upcoming road trip.

KEY MOMENT

With the Flames unable to turn a 31-19 edge on the shot clock after 40 minutes into a lead on the scoreboard, Seattle broke the 1-1 tie with two even-strength goals to open the third period — Wright at 1:57 and Dunn at 5:12.

KEY STAT

Grubauer has won four starts in a row, giving up just one goal in each of them. Peppered with 140 shots over those four games, it’s a save percentage of .972.

UP NEXT

Kraken: Host the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.

Flames: Visit the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 5, 2026.

Darren Haynes, The Canadian Press