The Seattle Kraken’s return to action after the Olympic break has been anything but smooth sailing. Following a tough 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Dallas Stars on February 25, the Kraken traveled to St. Louis for a showdown with the struggling Blues. Hopes were high that Seattle could snatch two crucial points against a Blues squad ranked near the bottom of the NHL standings. Instead, the night belonged to St. Louis—and, more specifically, to a resurgent Dylan Holloway.
Playing at the Enterprise Center on February 26, the Kraken (now 27-22-9) faced off against the Blues (21-28-9) in front of a lively home crowd. The Blues, who have found wins hard to come by this season and were missing key players like top center Robert Thomas, turned to Holloway, fresh off injured reserve, for a spark. And boy, did he deliver.
Holloway, sidelined by a high ankle sprain for most of the past two months, made his presence felt immediately. In just his second game since mid-December, he erupted for his second career hat trick, notching three goals and an assist to power the Blues to a 5-1 victory over the Kraken. "It felt great to be back out there, especially with the guys," Holloway said postgame, according to Field Level Media. "I just wanted to help the team any way I could."
The Blues wasted no time asserting themselves. St. Louis jumped out to a 5-0 shots advantage in the first six minutes, hemming the Kraken into their own zone. Pavel Buchnevich, one of the Blues’ top scorers with 34 points in 57 games, nearly opened the scoring but rang a shot off the post. The breakthrough came at 7:58, when Pius Suter found Holloway in the left faceoff circle. Holloway’s one-timer beat Kraken netminder Philipp Grubauer, putting the Blues on the board first.
The Kraken responded with some pushback. Kaapo Kakko, who was scratched the previous night in Dallas, returned to the lineup and made an immediate impact. With 7:28 left in the opening period, Kakko crashed the net and buried the rebound from a Shane Wright turnaround shot, knotting the score at 1-1. For the Kraken, it was a much-needed spark after a sluggish start, and for Kakko, a statement goal after being left out of the previous contest.
But the momentum didn’t last. The Blues stormed out of the intermission with two goals in a dizzying 23-second span early in the second period. First, Jordan Kyrou converted a cross-ice feed from Buchnevich off the rush at 1:12, restoring the Blues’ lead. Then, chaos in front of the Kraken net saw Holloway poke home his second of the night during a goalmouth scramble, with assists from Suter and Jonatan Berggren. Suddenly, the Kraken found themselves trailing 3-1 and searching for answers.
Seattle’s struggles were compounded by their inability to generate offense. The Kraken, who had been outshot 32-19 the night before in Dallas and went 0-for-4 on the power play, once again found themselves chasing the game. Joel Hofer, starting in net for the Blues, stood tall when called upon, ultimately making 23 saves. Philipp Grubauer did his best to keep Seattle in it, turning aside 27 shots, but the Kraken’s attack couldn’t find another breakthrough.
The Blues put the game out of reach early in the third. At 1:56, Justin Faulk’s shot from the blue line produced a juicy rebound, which Holloway quickly corralled before threading a seam pass to Suter for a tap-in goal. That made it 4-1, and the Enterprise Center crowd could sense the victory. Holloway capped his magical night with an empty-netter at 16:59, completing his hat trick and sending hats flying onto the ice.
"We needed a win like this coming out of the break," said Blues coach Drew Bannister. "Dylan gave us a huge lift, and the whole group fed off his energy." The Blues, who had won just one of their previous nine games (2-7-1 in their last ten), finally had something to celebrate. Pius Suter finished with a goal and two assists, while Kyrou, Berggren, and Faulk each recorded multi-point nights.
For the Kraken, it was a second consecutive defeat to start the post-Olympic stretch, a worrying sign for a team clinging to third place in the Pacific Division. Jordan Eberle and Matty Beniers, Seattle’s leading scorers with 38 and 37 points respectively, were held off the scoresheet. The Kraken’s projected lines, featuring McCann-Beniers-Eberle and Tolvanen-Stephenson-Catton, couldn’t muster sustained pressure against a Blues team that has struggled defensively all season, allowing 3.51 goals per game and ranking near the bottom in both goals allowed and goals scored.
Injuries continued to be a storyline for Seattle. Ryan Lindgren, who left the Dallas game early with an upper-body injury, was questionable and did not factor into the outcome. Matt Murray remained out with a lower-body injury, leaving the Kraken thin on the blue line. Kaapo Kakko’s return was a bright spot, but the team’s depth was tested by the back-to-back schedule and mounting injuries.
The Blues, meanwhile, were without Robert Thomas, who left the team for personal reasons the day before the game and is expected to rejoin the squad on Friday. Oskar Sundqvist was also sidelined. Yet, the return of Holloway and the debut of Jack Finley, claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay earlier in February, gave St. Louis a much-needed boost.
Looking ahead, the Kraken will need to regroup quickly if they want to maintain their playoff positioning. With the Western Conference standings tightening and teams below them gaining ground, every game takes on added importance. For the Blues, the win offers a glimmer of hope in an otherwise tough season and a reminder of what’s possible when their young talent steps up.
As the Olympic break fades into the rearview mirror, the NHL playoff race is heating up. The Kraken face questions about their consistency and depth, while the Blues, buoyed by Holloway’s heroics, look to build on a rare bright spot. One thing’s for sure: with performances like this, the stretch run promises to be anything but dull.