Kraken coach Lane Lambert says Seattle must improve after losing to Hurricanes in Finland

The Story

Carolina completed a sweep of the Seattle Kraken’s two-game set in the 2026 NHL Global Series Finland after defeating the Kraken 5-1 on Saturday at Veikkaus Arena, and Seattle coach Lane Lambert said the team “got to be better” following what he described as a matchup defined by too many turnovers.

Lambert said Carolina repeatedly generated offensive pressure by “slice[ing] pucks to the net” and continuing to come at Seattle each time the Kraken turned the puck over. He also pointed to Seattle’s inability to establish its forecheck once possession was lost, adding that Carolina’s shot volume was unlike anything he had previously experienced: “I’ve never been part of a team that had (96) shot attempts against in a game.”

Kraken forwards Jordan Eberle and Kaapo Kakko tried to take some positives from the trip after both games ended in defeats, but neither downplayed the frustration of returning home without points. Eberle said the overall experience was “extremely frustrating,” while noting he thought the group bonded off the ice.

Saturday’s loss included multiple power plays for the Hurricanes. Goaltender Joey Daccord allowed four goals on 14 shots before being replaced by Philipp Grubauer at 10:05 of the second period with Carolina leading 4-1. Lambert said the decision was meant to find “a spark,” adding that, in his view, “we were bad to a man.”

Both players said the team came to Finland to play hockey, with Kakko stating simply, “We lost both games.” While he agreed with Eberle that the road trip helped the team draw closer, Kakko said the result still left him disappointed.

Off the ice, Kakko said the Global Series Finland experience still met expectations. The right winger described being able to share the moment with relatives and friends who normally would not be able to watch him in North America, and he credited team activities such as a sauna excursion and team dinners featuring local cuisine as key highlights.

Lambert said Seattle will face additional challenges over the remaining regular season and needs to respond by improving how it competes. He acknowledged that there was “some value” in handling adversity together but insisted that the organization must act on what happened in Finland: “There isn’t one person in the organization that doesn’t realize that we went through some adversity here and we've got to be better.”