The New Jersey Devils found themselves back in the “L” column after a 4-2 defeat to the Seattle Kraken on Sunday at Climate Pledge Arena.
The loss concludes the Devils’ Pacific Northwest road trip, ending with a 3-1-0 record.
New Jersey took an early lead through Dougie Hamilton but saw the game slip away with goals from Ryker Evans, Matty Beniers and Berkly Catton. Jack Hughes broke a 16-game duck with a consolation powerplay goal in the third period, but Jordan Eberle’s empty netter ended things early, restoring a two-goal lead late.
Jacob Markstorm got the start once again for the Devils after earning the win in Vancouver two nights prior. With the loss in Seattle, he moved to 14-12-1 on the season.
Joey Daccord was the starter for the Kraken, who won his first ever game against New Jersey in his third career attempt. With the win, his 2025-26 record improved to 13-12-5.
The Devils’ lineup went unchanged from Friday night, with Luke Hughes, Stefan Noesen and Zack MacEwen all out due to injury.
Center Ben Myers and goaltender Matt Murray were out for the Kraken.
First Period
After a slow start from both teams, the first good chance for New Jersey came exactly five minutes in when Timo Meier centered a pass to a cutting Hughes who tipped the puck wide off his backhand.
The Kraken started to get going at 13:34 when Jaden Schwartz fought his way to the front of Markstrom’s net with a solid power move but was denied by the Swedish netminder.
Shortly thereafter, the Devils got their first look on the powerplay, as Shane Wright was whistled for a high-stick on Cody Glass at 13:09.
New Jersey continued their run of form with the man-advantage, as Hughes set up Hamilton for a beautiful one-timer to beat Daccord at 11:49. Since becoming the subject of trade talks earlier this month and being a healthy scratch on Jan. 11 vs the Winnipeg Jets, Hamilton has been red-hot, collecting points in eight straight games.
A slow but eventful first period, we saw fisticuffs when Seattle defenseman Ryan Lindgren dropped Ondrej Palat. Dawson Mercer took exception to it and dropped his gloves with the former Ranger, the two of them each receiving five for fighting at 9:34.
Mercer earned an additional two-and-ten for instigating, causing him to miss the rest of the period. Evgenii Dadonov served the minor penalty, and the New Jersey kill had to go to work.
It was a risky decision for Mercer to engage in the fight, but the Devils were able to dispatch the penalty for their tenth straight successful kill.
After a lengthy delayed penalty, Jamie Oleksiak was sent to the box for a high-sticking penalty on Meier at 4:32. The powerplay was short-lived, though, as Hamilton would go into the box 27 seconds later for an interference against Ryan Winterton.
There would be yet another penalty before the period’s end, with Paul Cotter earning a two-minute minor for high-sticking Jacob Melanson at 1:04. New Jersey was able to keep Seattle out of the back of the net through the end of the period, but would have to face an additional 56 seconds of penalty time in the second.
Shots were even 9-9 after 20.
Second Period
The first chance of the second fell to New Jersey, as Cotter flew out of the box and gathered the puck for a breakaway a minute into the frame, but was denied by Daccord.
The best look of the game so far for Seattle came at 14:45 when Chandler Stephenson was left all alone in the left circle, but couldn’t beat Markstrom with an initial shot and a tighter follow-up.
The Kraken found the equalizer a couple of minutes later, taking advantage of a weak Meier clearance that caused him to be pinned in the zone. Evans fired a shot through traffic that deflected off of Jonathan Kovacevic’s stick and trickled past Markstrom to tie the game at 1-1 with 12:23 to play in the second.
The Devils got another chance on the powerplay at 8:30 when Jonas Siegenthaler drew a holding penalty from Melanson. New Jersey had a couple big chances in the form of a net-front scramble with Nico Hischier and a one-timer from Meier, but they couldn’t regain the lead.
Meier had another clear-cut look at 3:34 when Hughes set him up for a one-timer in the slot, but Daccord was equal to it and slammed the door shut on the rebound.
Just seconds later, Brett Pesce suffered a serious facial laceration after taking a check from Eeli Tolvanen and smashing into the ice face-first. A bloodied Pesce skated off the ice at 3:19 and did not return until midway through the third period.
The game was tied 1-1 headed into the third, as New Jersey led 7-5 in shots in the second and 16-14 through 40 minutes.
Third Period
The Devils opened up the third period taking another penalty, as Palat committed a hook on Beniers at 18:20.
The Devils penalty kill was great again, eating a few good looks from the Kraken en route to their 13th straight kill and 27th of their last 30 (90%).
Dadonov and Arseny Gritsyuk nearly found the go-ahead on a goalmouth scramble at 15:01, but couldn’t dig out the puck once bodies started to pile up in front of Daccord.
2:05 later, the Kraken took their first lead of the night at 12:56 off a beautiful Beniers backhand following a defensive zone giveaway by the Devils. The fans in Seattle finally had something to be excited about other than the Seahawks AFC Championship game kicking off later that night.
18 seconds later, Seattle would double the lead, with Catton knocking home a rebound off of Kovacevic’s skate, another unfortunate bounce for the Devils defenseman. Suddenly, it was 3-1 in a matter of moments.
New Jersey pushed right afterward, as Glass drew a penalty from Brandon Montour at 12:12.
The Devils’ special teams continued to be a source of energy as Hughes scored his twelfth of the year to bring the team back within one at 11:46. It was the Devils’ fourth powerplay goal in the last two games.
Three goals were scored between 1:10 as the ice began to tilt back and forth.
As the minutes wound down, Seattle started to stabilize the game and take greater control of the neutral zone. Markstrom vacated the net and gave the Devils an extra skater with just under three minutes to go as New Jersey made their final push.
However, when the puck snuck under Hamilton’s stick and out of the zone at 1:12, it gave Eberle an empty net layup and the Kraken went on to win 4-2.
New Jersey outshot Seattle 14-5 in the final frame, holding on to a 30–19 shots advantage through the contest.
Final Thoughts
There are certainly a lot of positives to take away from this game and the road trip at large for New Jersey, including the emergence of the newly dubbed “Diner line” of Gritsyuk, Glass and Lenni Hämeenaho, as well as a great run from the special teams.
Not to mention, Hughes was once again able to find the back of the net on Sunday, Hamilton kept up his impressive offensive play, and they collected six of a possible eight points.
Defensively, the team did its job, limiting Seattle to just 19 shots but were punished by a few bad bounces. On the other end, the Devils just couldn’t find a way to beat Daccord at five-on-five, despite having a number of dangerous chances.
The Devils end their Pacific Northwest road trip sixth in the Metropolitan Division, three points shy of the New York Islanders in third place.
They return to home ice for their next game on Tuesday night, Jan. 27 against the Winnipeg Jets.
