Early look The full preview opens on Tuesday 15 December, 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

Seattle Kraken at Pittsburgh Penguins: game preview

Puck drop18 Dec · 7:00 PM ET
VenuePPG Paints Arena
All-time meetings10 completed
BasisLast 5 meetings + 2025-26
The thesis

Nineteen points apart last season

Seattle finished last season 27th in the league on 79 points. Pittsburgh finished 10th on 98.

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, Seattle lead the head-to-head 7-3-0.

All-time record7-3-0Seattle's record in the series
Meetings played10This is number 11
2025-26 series—
Last 54-1Seattle
DateResultShotsPower playWinner
19 Jan 2026PIT 6 – SEA 3——PIT
22 Nov 2025SEA 3 – PIT 2 OT——SEA
25 Jan 2025PIT 1 – SEA 4——SEA
14 Jan 2025SEA 4 – PIT 2——SEA
29 Feb 2024PIT 0 – SEA 2——SEA
Head-to-head finder

The table on each 2025-26 meeting night

DateSeattlePittsburgh
22 Nov 202511-5-5 · 27 pts7th10-6-5 · 25 pts16th
19 Jan 202621-18-9 · 51 pts23rd23-14-11 · 57 pts13th

League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 22 Nov 2025, Seattle were 7th in the league and Pittsburgh 16th. By 19 Jan 2026 it was 23rd and 13th.


Where the shots come from · last 5 meetings

Pittsburgh out-attempted Seattle 131 to 97

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

Seattle Kraken

97 att · 44 on goal · 6 G · 13.6%
Crease7 att · 0 G
Slot33 att · 1 G
Wing40 att · 5 G
Point17 att · 0 G
Neutral zone0 att · 0 G

Pittsburgh Penguins

131 att · 64 on goal · 8 G · 12.5%
Crease18 att · 2 G
Slot48 att · 2 G
Wing41 att · 1 G
Point20 att · 2 G
Neutral zone4 att · 1 G
GoalOn goalMissedBlocked

Expected goals

Pittsburgh 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.

SeattlePittsburgh
2.60xG for per game3.58
3.14xG against per game2.47
45.3%xG share59.2%
+4.6FinishingGoals minus expected goals+4.3
+1.6GoaltendingExpected goals against minus goals allowed−0.6

This season: 4 games for Seattle, 3 for Pittsburgh. 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

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

Pittsburgh

Small sample
Power play · 2026-2740.0%
Power play · 2025-2624.1% · 7th
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-27100.0%
Penalty kill · 2025-2681.4% · 6th
Faceoffs · 2026-2745.5% · 87/191
Drawn · 2026-2710 (3.33/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-276 (2.00/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
19Jared McCann41451.25
7Jordan Eberle42241.00
71Evgeni Malkin32241.33
18Tommy Novak32241.33
81Ben Kindel22131.50
Points leaders
PlayerGPGAPP/GP
29Vince Dunn41341.00
62Brandon Montour40220.50
41Ryker Evans40220.50
72Declan Carlile32241.33
65Erik Karlsson30441.33
49Samuel Girard31231.00
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 17 Dec: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Expected starter after their game on 17 Dec: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Seattle crease

SEA · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 15 Dec

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

No appearances against Pittsburgh in the last meetings.

Pittsburgh crease

PIT · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 15 Dec

Arturs Silovs.8862 GP · 2-0-0 · GSAx −0.5
Sergei Murashov.9121 GP · 0-1-0 · GSAx −0.5

No appearances against Seattle 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

19 Jan 20269 · PIT 6–3 SEA
22 Nov 20255 · SEA 3–2 PIT
25 Jan 20255 · PIT 1–4 SEA
14 Jan 20256 · SEA 4–2 PIT
29 Feb 20242 · PIT 0–2 SEA

Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.

Scoring rates

Team26-27 GF26-27 GA25-26 GF25-26 GA
Seattle3.752.752.763.21
Pittsburgh5.002.673.573.27

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 meetings5.4Goals per game
Line—No total posted yet
Books at the line—With the game-day prices

Team news

6 on the injury lists

Seattle · injuries

Jacob MelansonUpper BodyIRReturn17 Oct
Jake O'BrienLower BodyIRReturn24 Oct
Ryan LindgrenUpper BodyDay-to-dayReturn9 Oct

Pittsburgh · injuries

Bryan RustUpper BodyIRReturn7 Oct
Justin BrazeauLower BodyIRReturn7 Oct
Ryan GravesKneeIRReturn24 Oct
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.

3 Oct · PIT

Activated C/RW Benjamin Kindel from injured reserve. Placed C/LW David Gustafsson on waivers.

1 Oct · PIT

Assigned F Rutger McGroarty to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).

30 Sep · PIT

Reinstated C Blake Lizotte from injured reserve.

Injury report
#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
#22Liam RuckRound 1 · Medicine HatRW
#39Markus RuckRound 2 · Medicine HatC
#54Tomas GalvasRound 2 · LiberecD
#86Pierce MbuyiRound 3 · Owen SoundLW
Full draft

Updated after every final