Early look The full preview opens on Sunday 31 January, three days before puck drop, with the expected goalies, the latest team news and game-day prices. Until then this page shows the matchup as it stands.
Early look · NHL 2026-27

Montréal Canadiens at Seattle Kraken: game preview

Puck drop3 Feb · 9:40 PM ET
VenueClimate Pledge Arena
All-time meetings10 completed
BasisLast 5 meetings + 2025-26
The thesis

Twenty-seven points apart last season

Montréal finished last season 6th in the league on 106 points. Seattle finished 27th on 79.

Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.

Head-to-head

Meeting number 11

Across 10 completed games, Montréal lead the head-to-head 5-3-2.

All-time record5-3-2Montréal's record in the series
Meetings played10This is number 11
2025-26 series—
Last 53-2Montréal
DateResultShotsPower playWinner
28 Oct 2025MTL 4 – SEA 3 OT——MTL
14 Oct 2025SEA 4 – MTL 5 OT——MTL
12 Mar 2025MTL 4 – SEA 5 OT——SEA
29 Oct 2024SEA 8 – MTL 2——SEA
24 Mar 2024MTL 5 – SEA 1——MTL
Head-to-head finder

The table on each 2025-26 meeting night

DateMontréalSeattle
14 Oct 20253-1-0 · 6 pts6th2-0-1 · 5 pts10th
28 Oct 20258-3-0 · 16 pts5th5-2-3 · 13 pts10th

League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 14 Oct 2025, Montréal were 6th in the league and Seattle 10th. By 28 Oct 2025 it was 5th and 10th.


Where the shots come from · last 5 meetings

Seattle out-attempted Montréal 105 to 96

Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.

Montréal Canadiens

96 att · 43 on goal · 9 G · 20.9%
Crease8 att · 3 G
Slot32 att · 2 G
Wing36 att · 4 G
Point16 att · 0 G
Neutral zone4 att · 0 G

Seattle Kraken

105 att · 43 on goal · 7 G · 16.3%
Crease5 att · 1 G
Slot34 att · 2 G
Wing48 att · 1 G
Point18 att · 3 G
Neutral zone0 att · 0 G
GoalOn goalMissedBlocked

Expected goals

Montréal have created the better chances, last 10 games

Shot quality both ways: expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring. Finishing above zero means more goals than the chances.

MontréalSeattle
2.61xG for per game2.60
3.61xG against per game3.14
42.0%xG share45.3%
+4.2FinishingGoals minus expected goals+4.6
−3.2GoaltendingExpected goals against minus goals allowed+1.6

This season: 3 games for Montréal, 4 for Seattle. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.

Every team’s xG →


Special teams

Power play and penalty kill, season and series

This season's rates first, then 2025-26 and the last meetings between the two. Power-play chances are counted from the penalty log with coincidental minors cancelled; faceoffs are each club's wins over draws taken.

All bars share one scale · 0–100%SeasonLast meetings

Montréal

Small sample
Power play · 2026-2710.0%
Power play · 2025-2623.1% · 10th
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-2775.0%
Penalty kill · 2025-2678.2% · 18th
Faceoffs · 2026-2753.9% · 96/178
Drawn · 2026-2710 (3.33/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-2712 (4.00/gm)
PP goals · last meetings0

Seattle

Small sample
Power play · 2026-2725.0%
Power play · 2025-2619.5% · 20th
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-2772.7%
Penalty kill · 2025-2672.2% · 31st
Faceoffs · 2026-2749.6% · 121/244
Drawn · 2026-2712 (3.00/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-2711 (2.75/gm)
PP goals · last meetings0

Skaters

Skaters to watch

Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away.

PlayerGPGAPP/GP
14Nick Suzuki32462.00
22Chris Kreider31341.33
76Zachary Bolduc33031.00
19Jared McCann41451.25
7Jordan Eberle42241.00
Points leaders
PlayerGPGAPP/GP
48Lane Hutson30441.33
8Mike Matheson30110.33
29Vince Dunn41341.00
62Brandon Montour40220.50
41Ryker Evans40220.50
Defencemen stats

Goaltending

Who has stopped this matchup

Save percentage in the last meetings by goalie. Starters are confirmed on game day.

Expected startersAn estimate until the teams confirmEvery game tonight →

Expected starter after their game on 1 Feb: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Expected starter after their game on 31 Jan: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Montréal crease

MTL · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 31 Jan

Jakub Dobes.8573 GP · 1-1-1 · GSAx −3.0

No appearances against Seattle in the last meetings.

Seattle crease

SEA · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 31 Jan

Joey Daccord.9113 GP · 2-1-0 · GSAx +1.0
Philipp Grubauer.9062 GP · 0-1-0 · GSAx +1.1

No appearances against Montréal in the last meetings.


Totals

Scoring rates point to about 6.5 goals

No total is posted yet: it arrives with the game-day prices. Until then, the scoring rates and the recent meetings set the range.

Goals in the last 5 meetings

28 Oct 20257 · MTL 4–3 SEA
14 Oct 20259 · SEA 4–5 MTL
12 Mar 20259 · MTL 4–5 SEA
29 Oct 202410 · SEA 8–2 MTL
24 Mar 20246 · MTL 5–1 SEA

Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.

Scoring rates

Team26-27 GF26-27 GA25-26 GF25-26 GA
Montréal4.004.673.453.12
Seattle3.752.752.763.21

Goals for and against per game. The estimate averages each team’s scoring with the other’s goals allowed, and leans on 2025-26 until a team has played 20 games.

Scoring rates suggest6.5Goals in this game
Last 5 meetings8.2Goals per game
Line—No total posted yet
Books at the line—With the game-day prices

Team news

8 on the injury lists

Montréal · injuries

Bryce PickfordUndisclosedIRReturn17 Oct
Ivan DemidovLower BodyIRReturn31 Oct
Kaiden GuhleGroinIRReturn20 Oct
Lucas CondottaUndisclosedIRReturn10 Oct
Oliver KapanenLower BodyOutReturn8 Oct

Seattle · injuries

Jacob MelansonUpper BodyIRReturn17 Oct
Jake O'BrienLower BodyIRReturn24 Oct
Ryan LindgrenUpper BodyDay-to-dayReturn9 Oct
27 Sep · MTL

Placed D Reilly Walsh, D Maksymilian Szuber, D Ethan Samson, C Sam Poulin, RW Sasha Pastujov, C Hunter McKown, G Kaapo Kähkönen, LW Brett Berard, and RW Alex Belzile on waivers for the purpose of loaning them to Laval (AHL).

12 Sep · MTL

Signed F Chris Kreider to a one-year contract.

9 Aug 2026 · MTL

Loaned F Vinzenz Rohrer to EV Zug (Switzerland).

3 Oct · SEA

Activated RW/C Mackie Samoskevich from injured reserve. Placed RW Jacob Melanson on injured reserve.

27 Sep · SEA

Placed C Jake O'Brien and RW Mackie Samoskevich on injured reserve.

21 Sep · SEA

Placed F Jon-Randall Avon, F John Hayden, F Logan Morrison and G Victor Ostman on waivers.

Injury report
#26Gleb PugachyovRound 1 · Nizhny Novgorod Jr.RW
#57Timofei RuntsoRound 2 · VictoriaD
#93Cooper CleavesRound 3 · DartmouthD
#117Brayden KlimpkeRound 4 · SaskatoonD
Full draft
#7Chase ReidRound 1 · Sault Ste. MarieD
#38Casey MutrynRound 2 · Usa U-18RW
#99Viktor FedorovRound 4 · Torpedo-gorky NnC
#131Finn KearnsRound 5 · St. Andrews CollegeD
Full draft

Updated after every final