Seattle, WA
Seattle Kraken voice details key to team’s surprising start
The Seattle Kraken have been one of NHL’s biggest surprises at the quarter poll of the 2025-26 season.
Seattle Kraken get top goalie back from IR, but lose another to injury
After a disappointing 2024-25 campaign led to the firing of head coach Dan Bylsma following his first season, the Kraken have turned things around early on under new bench boss Lane Lambert.
Seattle entered Saturday in fourth place in the Pacific Division with a 10-5-5 and 25 points, just two points behind first-place Anaheim in a crowded race.
Kraken play-by-play voice John Forslund shared his insight on how the team has taken a step forward this year when he joined Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy on Friday.
“Lane Lambert has done a remarkable job from day one of training camp just coming in and letting everybody know I’m the new sheriff, this is how we need to play, it’s not that complicated, I need a buy-in from the players,” Forslund said. “And as you know, that’s the most important thing in pro sports. You have to have a buy-in no matter what the game is, and they have (bought in).”
An identity that fits
One look at the stat sheet gives a pretty clear indicator as to why the Kraken have taken a step forward early on. Seattle’s 56 goals allowed are tied for the lowest mark in the Pacific Division and the fourth-lowest across the NHL. It’s held opponents to two goals or fewer nine times.
Last year the Kraken allowed the 10th-most goals (265) in the league.
“It gets back to where they were last year. So last season, for me – and I said it over and over again, wasn’t afraid to say it – but it was their lack of defensive recognition, their lack of awareness in the defensive zone, the (lack of) trust they had in each other as a five-man group in front of the goalie,” Forslund said. “That’s hockey. That’s how you play the game. And Lane had to come in and lay down a system that would get to those basics. (It’s) like building a house. You don’t start with the roof. You start with the foundation and you work up.
“So if you do that, you can awaken a team. You can provide more energy.”
While their defense has been among the league’s best, the Kraken have struggled to score this year. Their 54 goals are tied for the third-lowest mark in the league, and they’ve been held to two or fewer goals in eight games.
The lack of firepower on offense has been a troubling sign for Seattle, but it also illustrates why a shift to a more defensive identity under Lambert is a better fit for this group, according to Forslund.
“The Kraken do not have high-end offensive talent. That’s the one thing they need,” Forslund said. “… They don’t have guys who can break the game open on their own talent. Other teams do. (Other teams) can get away with playing a game that maybe isn’t as based in a work ethic but more or less based on talent, and they can win and they can outscore their chances or outscore their problems. The Kraken don’t have that.
“So you had to get back to that (defensive identity) and he did it, and he did it in short order. And because he did, they started to gain momentum, and momentum leads to energy, leads to a new way of playing.”
Forslund highlighted how Seattle’s attempt to get more scoring out of its group a year ago ultimately led to exposing its defense.
“If you stretch out your game, take risks, try to do what they attempted to do last year and score, you’re gonna get victimized,” Forslund said. “So for me, I think this is a great starting point (this year). And I think if they just continue to play this way, it’ll get better and better and better. And who knows as you get into the second half of the year? The league is asleep on them, no one expected them to be very good. So that’s where they’re at right now, but people will become more aware of their style as we move forward with the season. It’ll get tougher and we’ll see where it goes.”
Why Forslund likes Seattle Kraken’s chances in Pacific
The race in the Pacific Division is very crowded early on with just four points separating its first- and sixth-place teams.
Forslund views Vegas, which is currently tied for second with 26 points, as the team to beat in the Pacific Division. He also highlighted a rising Anaheim squad as another contender.
But Forslund likes Seattle’s chances to continue surprising thanks the identity it’s taken on so far this season.
“I like the fact that they can compete with all of these teams, including Vegas, based on their style,” Forslund said. “And that’s gonna put them in a good position, because of all the teams that we talked about in the Pacific Division, the team that, to me, has the most grit and the ability to grind and make it tough to play against are the Kraken. They don’t have the talent level of Vegas, and they don’t have the talent level certainly of Edmonton and … even (Los Angeles), but they have the ability to grind games.”
Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Listen to Bump and Stacy weekdays form 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
Thursday: Seattle Kraken score 3 in third in 3-2 comeback win over Chicago
CHICAGO (AP) — The struggling New York Mets placed former Seattle Mariners second baseman/designated hitter Jorge Polanco on the 10-day injured list on Saturday with a right wrist contusion.
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The move was made retroactive to Wednesday, a day after Polanco went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in a 2-1 loss at the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 32-year-old Polanco is batting .179 (10 for 56) with a homer and two RBIs in his first season with New York, which has lost nine straight.
“When doctors first took a look at him, it looked like he got hit by a pitch when he didn’t,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “In talking to him, it was just a couple of swings that he took that night. … He didn’t think much of it, but just got worse the following day.
“So you just got to let it calm down a little bit and then we’ll go from there. But we don’t have a timetable for how long this is going to last.”
Polanco, who signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the Mets in December, also has been dealing with an ankle issue.
“He was trending in the right direction,” Mendoza said of the ankle injury. “It’s definitely going to help, obviously now with him being shut down. But the biggest thing now is that we’ve got to take care of that wrist.”
Polanco spent the previous two seasons with the Mariners, who acquired him in a February 2024 trade with the Minnesota Twins.
Polanco struggled during his first season with Seattle in 2024, hitting just .213 with 16 homers in 118 games while playing through a knee injury that didn’t become public knowledge until after the season.
But after the Mariners somewhat surprisingly brought him back for a one-year contract in 2025, Polanco rebounded to hit .265 with 26 homers and an .821 OPS in 138 games last season. He then added three homers during Seattle’s playoff run, along with a 15th-inning walkoff single in Game 5 of the American League Division Series that sent the Mariners to their first ALCS in 24 years.
Seattle Sports staff made additions to this post.
Mariners RHP Bryce Miller to begin rehab assignment
Seattle, WA
Brandon Nimmo hits leadoff homer, Jacob deGrom works 4 scoreless as Rangers beat Seattle Mariners 5-0
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – APRIL 17: Corey Seager #5 of the Texas Rangers tags out Dominic Canzone #8 of the Seattle Mariners during the fourth inning at T-Mobile Park on April 17, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
SEATTLE – Brandon Nimmo hit a leadoff home run, Jacob deGrom threw four shutout innings and Gavin Collyer earned his first career win as the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 5-0 on Friday night.
Seattle lost its fourth straight game, and was shut out for the fourth time in 21 games, falling to 8-13. The Mariners were shut out six times during the 2025 season. Texas won its third straight game.
Nimmo led off the game with a 372-foot shot to right field off Mariners starter Logan Gilbert (1-3). It was Nimmo’s 16th career leadoff homer and second of the season. He also hit a leadoff home run on April 11 in a 6-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
DeGrom effectively maneuvered through Seattle’s lineup, and worked out of a one out, bases-loaded jam in the first inning. The two-time Cy Young Award winner recorded two of his three strikeouts after walking Josh Naylor to load the bases. Randy Arozarena fanned on a curveball, and Luke Raley swung through a fastball.
Texas added to its lead after Nimmo’s homer. Wyatt Langford’s single to left scored Corey Seager, who led off the third inning with a double. The Rangers stretched the lead to 3-0 on an RBI single from Jake Burger in the seventh.
The Mariners’ best scoring chance came in the sixth after Collyer (1-0), who worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings, left the game.
J.P. Crawford singled to left off Tyler Alexander with two out, and Mariners third base coach Carlos Cardoza sent Naylor from second base, but he was thrown out by Langford.
Texas added two more runs in the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Andrew McCutchen and an RBI double by Josh Jung.
Seattle third baseman Brendan Donovan left the game early due to a left hip issue.
Mariners right-hander Bryce Miller, who started the year on the injured list with a left oblique injury, was at T-Mobile Park for the first time this season. He will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday.
Up next
Mariners RHP George Kirby (2-2, 3.25) will face Rangers righty Nathan Eovaldi (2-2, 5.40) on Saturday afternoon.
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FIFE, Wash. – A portion of southbound I-5 will be closed overnight in Fife Friday and Saturday night, according to WSDOT.
The Washington State Department of Transportation says the purpose of the closure is to install a new electronic sign and will need two nights to do it.
Crews will close southbound I-5 from 54th Avenue to Port of Tacoma Road starting at 11 p.m. Friday night until 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Closures will resume Saturday night starting at 11 p.m. as well, and lanes will reopen Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m.
WSDOT says the closure will include the 54th Avenue ramps to southbound I-5.
Detours for weekend I-5 closure in Fife, WA
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The Source: Information in this story comes from the Washington State Department of Transportation.
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