Seattle, WA

Jaden Schwartz hat trick leads Seattle Kraken to 4-2 win over Kings

Published

12 months ago

January 19, 2025

Jaden Schwartz hat trick leads Seattle Kraken to 4-2 win over Kings

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SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – JANUARY 18: Jaden Schwartz #17 of the Seattle Kraken celebrates with teammates after scoring a third goal during the third period of a game against the Los Angeles Kings at Climate Pledge Arena on January 18, 2025 in Seattle, Wa (Christopher Mast / NHLI / Getty Images)

SEATTLE – Jaden Schwartz scored his fifth career hat trick and the fourth hat trick in Seattle Kraken history in a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.

Joey Daccord made 17 of his 28 saves in the third period, and Schwartz scored on an empty net with 1:10 left to play to clinch the victory for the Kraken. Schwartz joins Jordan Eberle (11/14/21 vs. Buffalo), Jared McCann (1/14/23 at Chicago), and Brandon Montour (10/29/24 at Montreal) as players with hat tricks for the Kraken.

It was the fifth regular season hat trick of Schwartz’s career, along with two playoff hat tricks, all while playing with the St. Louis Blues.

The first line of Schwartz, Matty Beniers and Kaapo Kakko continue to rack up points together. The trio combined for seven points on the night as all three players had a significant hand in the victory.

“Great to see Jaden get the hat trick,” head coach Dan Bylsma said. “And it can’t be understated, the line of Matty Beniers and Jaden and Kakko, what they keep doing for us, night in and night out. They get the first two goals, but good to see Schwartzy get the hat trick there at the end.”

Just 28 seconds into the game, Schwartz got Seattle on the board. The Kings couldn’t get the puck out of their own zone as it fell onto the stick of Kakko. Schwartz slipped the puck inside the right post by the pad of a sliding Darcy Kuemper for a 1-0 lead.

A high-stick penalty to Beniers minutes later allowed the Kings to answer back on the power play. Right off the offensive zone face-off, the Kings won the puck as Adrian Kempe found space on the back post to finish a pass from Anže Kopitar for the tying goal.

But the line of Schwartz, Beniers and Kakko continued to dominate play over the opening 10 minutes.

A massive hit from Joshua Mahura against Warren Foegele at the Seattle blue line sent play into chaos. It also launched the Kraken on a rush chance as Schwartz scored his second goal of the period off a pass from Beniers on a 2-on-1 break for a 2-1 Kraken lead. The Kings got caught trying to engage Mahura for the hit on Foegele and left defenseman Brandt Clarke and Kuemper hung out to dry.

“We wouldn’t have scored if he didn’t do that,” Schwartz said of Mahura’s hit. “

Said Bylsma: “I thought the hit by Josh was, you don’t want to say it’s a turning point in the game, but it was, I think, a huge statement hit and getting the goal right after it, you know, was a sign to everybody we were in the match.”

Seattle was unable to escape the period with the lead, however. Defenseman Brandon Montour shoved Trevor Moore into Daccord, who flailed in vain to make a stop on Jordan Spence’s shot from distance. The Kraken bench appeared to consider challenging the play for goaltender interference, but elected against it as the contact was due to Montour’s actions.

Seattle re-gained the lead less than two minutes into the second period. Chandler Stephenson flashed across the front of the net to chip an Oliver Bjorkstrand shot-pass by Kuemper for a 3-2 Kraken advantage.

The lead held despite a heavy push from the Kings in the final period due to the play of Daccord.

Daccord denied Foegele on a short-handed 2-on-0 breakaway chance early in the third period to keep the one-goal advantage. The Kings had a 17-1 advantage in shots on goal in the third, with Schwartz’s empty-net tally serving as the only shot Seattle managed in the period.

“Every time we get a power play, I’m just like, ‘hey, just be ready in case they get a chance.’ Because every once in a while, you know, get a bad bounce, bad luck, someone makes a mistake, and, you know, it’s hockey, it’s going to happen, and sometimes you’re going to get a chance against and I just try to be ready for them,” Daccord said. “And you know, it’s my job to make big saves for the team when the team needs it. So when I get the opportunity, and then I’m able to follow through and execute it, it feels really good. Honestly, I was fired up after that save. And, yeah, just feels really good to get a big win at home.”

Schwartz had two chances at the empty net, with the first hitting the left post and staying out. Kakko then managed to win a loose puck and toss it ahead to Schwartz for his third of the night.

“After I hit the post we had a couple good blocks, Joey had a couple timely saves,” Schwartz said. “Kaapo made a great play (to get me the puck), so I guess my teammates did a good job of bailing me out for missing that. It was just a team effort all-around. Guys were laying it on the line tonight. It was a fun game.”

Kakko picked up an assist on all three of Schwartz’s goals for Seattle. Kakko now has 13 points in 14 games (four goals, nine assists) played with the Kraken since the trade last month with the New York Rangers.

What’s next:

The Kraken will continue their home stand with a Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinée against the Buffalo Sabres at 1 p.m on Monday.

The Source: Original FOX 13 Seattle reporting.

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Seattle, WA

Seattle Seahawks’ home, road opponents set for 2026 season

Published

5 hours ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

Seattle Seahawks’ home, road opponents set for 2026 season

Patrick Mahomes and 2025 MVP candidate Drake Maye are set to make trips to Lumen Field to face the Seattle Seahawks next season.

The Seahawks’ nine home and eight road opponents are now set for the 2026 campaign. They will face what on paper will be a tough slate after securing the NFC West title this year, which means they will take on the reigning division champions from the NFC North, NFC South and AFC East in addition to their home-and-home series with their NFC rivals and matchups against each team from the NFC East and AFC West.

The numbers behind Seattle Seahawks’ defensive masterpiece vs 49ers

The full schedule with dates for games has yet to be released. The NFL typically unveils the following season’s schedule in May.

Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs and Maye’s New England Patriots coming to town are among the highlights of the Seahawks’ 2026 slate. They could also be in line for a reunion with former coach Pete Carroll, as a trip to Las Vegas to face the Raiders is on the docket. However, the Raiders are not expected to keep Carroll for a second season.

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald is in line to square off with one of his former mentors when Seattle hosts Jim Harbaugh’s Los Angeles Chargers. Harbaugh was the head coach at the University of Michigan when Macdonald was the defensive coordinator in 2021. Harbaugh is also the dad of Seahawks special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh.

Seattle has three trips to the east coast next season where they will face the reigning NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles, reigning NFC South champion Carolina Panthers and Washington Commanders. The Seahawks also faced the Panthers and Commanders on the road this season.

Here’s a full look at Seattle’s 2026 home and away opponents.

Home

• Arizona Cardinals
• Los Angeles Rams
• San Francisco 49ers
• Chicago Bears
• New England Patriots
• Los Angeles Chargers
• Kansas City Chiefs
• Dallas Cowboys
• New York Giants

Away

• Arizona Cardinals
• Los Angles Rams
• San Francisco 49ers
• Carolina Panthers
• Las Vegas Raiders
• Denver Broncos
• Philadelphia Eagles
• Washington Commanders

Find more info on how each team’s opponents are chosen here.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• Seattle Seahawks GM shares positive updates on Bryant, Cross for playoffs
• Drake Thomas an unlikely hero in Seattle Seahawks’ landmark win
• Seahawks’ season-long commitment to run game pays off in massive win
• Stacy Rost: Seattle Seahawks show their fatal flaw may not matter
• The 5 biggest plays that delivered Seahawks’ win over 49ers

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Seattle, WA

Seattle’s Defense Wanted To Show It Was The ‘Best Defense In The NFL With Dominant Win

Published

17 hours ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

Seattle’s Defense Wanted To Show It Was The ‘Best Defense In The NFL With Dominant Win

Santa Clara—When Seattle’s defense stepped on the field for the Week 18 matchup against the 49ers, they had a few goals in mind, winning was of course one of those, but they wanted to show everyone watching they are the best defense in the league.

“We made up our mind that we were going to be the best defense in the NFL,” linebacker Uchenna Nwosu said. “We were going to show the world tonight and that’s what we did.”

As has been the case for the entire season, the Seahawks’ defense was once again a highlight in their 13-3 win. The Seahawks won, in part thanks to a dominant performance by the defense that held the San Francisco 49ers to just three points. The last time Kyle Shanahan’s offense was held to just three points was in his 49ers head coaching debut in 2017. Since then, San Francisco has scored at least 6 points in every game, until Saturday.

Coming into Saturday’s game, the 49ers were riding a three-game streak of great performances by its offense. Throughout all three of those games, San Francisco was averaging 42.3 points per game, 455.3 yards per game and 29.3 first downs per game.

Seattle’s defense held San Francisco to just 53 rushing yards, which included 21 yards from quarterback Brock Purdy, 127 yards through the air, a lone field goal, and just nine first downs. They also picked off Purdy once, sacked him three times and forced the 49ers to punt four times.

“They’re a tremendous offense,” head coach Mike Macdonald said following the game. “Probably top whatever in the league and have been doing it for a long time. They have great players, they have great coaches, and the numbers back it up. Our guys played great complimentary football today. They really did. I can’t say enough, but I can’t wait to watch the tape. There’s a lot of assists going on in there, guys rushing unselfishly to free somebody else up or to let somebody else have a two-way go so they can cover for them. How we played in the back end, it felt like we were ahead of plays. These guys did a great job. I’m looking forward to watching it.”

Christian McCaffery, one of San Francisco’s top offensive playmakers in both the run and passing game was held to his lowest rushing yards all season with 23 yards through the night and his fourth lowest receiving yards with 34.

Nick Emmanwori who had a team high seven tackles, as well as a tackle for loss and quarterback hit said, “Our front seven is the best in the world. Our D-Line is the best in the world. Got dudes like Jarran Reed, Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy. Our edges are dogs. They handle business every week. We’ve got the best run defense I the league. It makes it easy for us on the back end.”

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Seattle, WA

What does the Buccaneers beating the Panthers mean for the Seahawks?

Published

1 day ago

January 3, 2026

Press Room

What does the Buccaneers beating the Panthers mean for the Seahawks?

We’ll have to wait one more day to learn who takes the NFC South crown.

The Buccaneers, losers of seven of their last eight coming into today, were able to piece together a tough, 16-14 win in bad weather against the Panthers. It was a calming three hours for the Bucs and their fans, who had seen their team go from theorized Super Bowl contender in the early months of the season to bottomless freefall.

Had the Panthers found a way to win today, the NFC South, and the #4 seed in the NFC, would have been determined. Instead, we’ll have to wait another day, as a matchup between the two NFC South rivals who are eliminated from the postseason entirely will now determine everything. Certainly ironic, but great for drama.

The New Orleans Saints travel to the Atlanta Falcons tomorrow to wrap up their respective seasons, and while they’re not playing for much more than pride, both the Buccaneers and Panthers will be watching with great interest. If the Falcons win, today will prove to be little more than a minor setback for Carolina, and they’ll win the division regardless.

However, should the Saints get the road upset, everything gets flipped. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were seemingly skidding towards a shocking early offseason, would be awarded the division on tiebreakers. Their Week Eight 23-3 victory over New Orleans, at the time seemingly innocuous, would end up salvaging their playoff spot.

Both Atlanta and New Orleans are on hot runs right now, the Falcons winners of three straight and the Saints on a four game streak. It’s a surprisingly compelling game given that both teams are guaranteed losing records on the season.

And this is very relevant to the Seattle Seahawks, because depending on tonight’s result in San Francisco, the NFC South division winner will either possibly, or definitely, be the team they play in their first playoff game.

If Seattle prevails tonight and takes the top seed in the NFC, it is entirely possible that their Divisional Round opponent is whoever comes out on top here. As the top seed, they play the lowest remaining seed, which would be either Carolina or Tampa Bay if all three home teams win on Wild Card Weekend. I wouldn’t bet on it, but it’s entirely possible.

On the other hand, if the Seahawks drop their game tonight and end up the #5 seeded NFC squad, then they’re drawing the winner of the NFC South in the first round for sure. Seattle has already played both teams this year, dropping an early-season bout to Tampa Bay 38-35, and just last week handling Carolina 27-10.

Of course, the Buccaneers were a far better team in that Week Five matchup, and the Seahawks have changed radically over the last three months as well, so it’s a matter of debate which team Seattle matches up better with. I imagine most Seahawks fans would feel good about either opponent, but there’s probably a preference somewhere in there.

Regardless, we’ll be waiting one more day to find out who the opponent will be, by which Seattle will already know if they’re watching the first round of the playoffs on a bye, or facing off against the south’s winner on the road.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) passes against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images