SEATTLE (AP) — J.T. Miller scored in the shootout and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Seattle Kraken 4-3 on Thursday night.

Seattle Kraken 4, Vancouver Canucks 3 (OT): Box Score

Connor Garland, Tyler Myers and Max Sasson scored in regulation for the Canucks. Thatcher Demko started and stopped 11 of 12 shots before leaving with back spasms in the second period. Kevin Lankinen came on and finished with 13 saves.

Vince Dunn and Matty Beniers each had a goal and an assist, and Chandler Stephenson also scored for Seattle. Philipp Grubauer finished with 19 saves.

In the tiebreaker, Miller snuck one past Grubauer in the first round. Lankinen denied Oliver Bjorkstrand, Kaapo Kakko and Benioers to secure the win.

The victory evened the Canucks’ crushing 5-4 overtime loss to the Kraken on Saturday. In that one, Seattle tied it with three goals in the final five minutes of regulation, before winning on Dunn’s goal in OT.

Dunn tied this game with 53 seconds left in regulation.

Takeaways

Canucks: Vancouver seems to have recovered from a midseason offensive slump, as the Canucks have now scored three goals or more in four of their past five games.

Kraken: Beniers has goals in each of Seattle’s past three games after snapping a 19-game goal-less streak.

Key moment

Miller shootout goal put the Kraken on their heels, and powered the Canucks to a much-needed victory over their arch-rival.

Key stat

Vancouver had lost it’s last five games beyond regulation. The Canucks’ last win in OT or a shootout came against Detroit on Dec. 1.

Up Next

Canucks host Nashville on Friday, and the Kraken will host Edmonton on Saturday.

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The Seattle Seahawks have been eliminated from playoff contention with one game left on the schedule. Unfortunately, that means there is little to play for from a team aspect.

Players such as Geno Smith will try to earn incentives and escalators they have in their contracts, while others such as Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Leonard Williams look to surpass certain statistical landmarks, but that’s as far as the finale against the Rams goes in terms of relevance.

Frankly, all the Seahawks have to play for is either being able to say they got to 10 wins for the first time since 2020 with a winning record against NFC West foes, or concern themselves about their draft position.

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald already stated that there will be no tanking in the final week and that they are playing to win.

The question is, should they lose to improve their draft slot?

If the season ended today, the Seahawks would be picking 18th in the upcoming NFL Draft. That is two slots lower than they picked last year, when Seattle selected Byron Murphy II 16th overall.

What are the possible draft positions, depending on the results of Week 18 around the league?

If the Seahawks lose to the Rams (who are resting starters), they will finish 9-8 for a third straight year. The lowest down the board they will draft is 18th, given the NFL’s draft rules. The Seahawks are currently the best team not in a playoff spot, thus they occupy the first possible draft slot among non-playoff teams. If they beat the Rams and finish 10-7, that status will be clinched.

Is there a chance the Seahawks could pick any higher with a loss Sunday?

Currently, the Bengals, Dolphins, and Falcons all have playoff chances better than zero but are currently outside the picture. The Broncos are currently in a playoff spot, but with no guarantee they are in. All of these teams have the possibility of finishing tied with Seattle at 9-8.

If all four of those teams win and Seattle loses, Denver would be the final playoff team in the AFC and Atlanta would need Tampa Bay to lose to win the NFC South. Under the best circumstance, they would draft 16th and can’t go any higher.

In a cruel twist of fate, even if the Falcons, Broncos, and Dolphins all miss the playoffs at 9-8, the Seahawks own the head-to-head tiebreaker. That would mean Seattle would be higher up in the standings, thus have a lower draft pick. So, if the and Dolphins, Falcons, or Dolphins also finish 9-8 but miss the playoffs, like the Seahawks, Seattle would own the lowest draft slot of the four.

Even if Seattle is tied with Cincinnati, whom they didn’t play this season, at this juncture, the Seahawks own the tiebreaker over the Bengals as well, via strength of victory. Hence, if the Bengals finish 9-8 but miss the playoffs, they too will have a higher draft pick than Seattle.

Essentially, there are very few scenarios where the Seahawks pick higher than 18th. And by virtue of missing the playoffs, they will not pick lower than 18th. The last time the Seahawks picked at 18 was in 1987, when they selected Tony Woods.

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The owner of a popular waffle shop in West Seattle said she had no choice but to shut down her business after the city’s new minimum wage law went into effect on New Year’s Day — hiking hourly pay to $20.76.

Bebop Waffle Shop, which was founded by a former New York City resident more than a decade ago, closed its doors for good on Monday.

“I’ve cried every day,” Corina Luckenbach, the waffle shop owner, told Fox 13 TV.

Luckenbach, who founded Bebop more than 10 years ago after relocating from New York to the Emerald City, said that her business had already been suffering from high inflation which caused the price of food to spike.

The waffle shop has also been hamstrung by lower foot traffic in the city — a result of many people working from home.

The minimum wage increase was the last straw, she said.

“This is financially just not going to make sense anymore. Because, just for me, the increase would cost me $32,000 more a year,” Luckenbach told Fox 13 TV.

Luckenbach, who named the cafe after her late dachshund, said that while in theory she supports workers earning a higher minimum wage, in practice she has been unable to keep up with the change.

Previously, large employers in Seattle whose payroll numbered more than 500 workers were required to pay a minimum wage of $18.69 per hour.

Small employers with 500 or fewer workers had to pay $18.69 per hour if the company did not contribute at least $2.19 per hour toward medical benefits or if the employee did not earn sufficient tips to meet a combined minimum compensation of $20.28.

If the minimum compensation threshold was met through tips or if the employer contributed at least $2.19 per hour toward medical benefits, the minimum wage for small businesses was $17.25 per hour.

The new $20.76 per hour law — which is $4 higher than Washington State’s minimum wage requirement — applies to large and small businesses. It also eliminates tip or benefit credits.

Luckenbach, who is gay, said “the hardest thing” about shutting down her business is that it “takes away a safe space for people.”

“The stories of like what it meant to people to come in and feel safe and to feel welcomed — I just, I didn’t know,” she said, wiping away tears.

The Post has sought comment from Luckenbach.

New minimum wage laws have either gone into effect or will go into effect in twenty-one states and 48 cities and counties sometime during the new year.

The Economic Policy Institute, a think tank that studies the effect of minimum wage, issued a report which estimated that 9.2 million workers will see their wages increase by a total of $5.7 billion.

The federal minimum wage of $7.25 has not increased in 15 years.