Shane Wright scores twice as Kraken wrap preseason with 6-2 win

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SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 02: Shane Wright #51 of the Seattle Kraken scores against Olivier Rodrigue #35 of the Edmonton Oilers during the second period at Climate Pledge Arena on October 02, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)

SEATTLE - Shane Wright scored two highlight goals, free agent addition Brandon Montour found the net as well, and the Seattle Kraken beat the defending Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers 6-2 on Wednesday in their final preseason tune up.

Jared McCann was a late scratch due to a lower body injury, and Tye Kartye also sat out with an injury. But outside of those two absences, it was Seattle's full complement of players getting a final dress rehearsal in ahead of Tuesday's season opener with the St. Louis Blues. The Oilers also iced a mostly NHL caliber lineup.

"That's a team that went to the Stanley Cup finals last year, so to match up and kind of see where both teams are, same division," Montour said. "I think anytime – no matter if it's preseason or not – anytime that you can kind of continue helping our team and finding ways to win, especially against those top teams, it just helps us move forward."

The Kraken scored four goals on five shots against goaltender Olivier Rodrigue in the second period to build a 4-2 lead after a scoreless first period.

After Brandon Tanev tipped a puck shot by Ryker Evans over the shoulder of Rodrigue for a 1-0 lead, Wright doubled the lead just two minutes later. Off a two-on-one break, Wright went forehand-to-backhand while spinning backward and beat Rodrigue through the legs for a 2-0 advantage.

It was an impressive display of skill from the 2022 No. 4 overall draft pick and a good sign of things to come for Wright as he joins the Kraken roster full-time for the first time this season.

"Confidence is building," Wright said of his play. "Confidence is definitely getting up there, but, you know, still a lot of work to do, still a lot of ways I can get better, but you know, happy with the progress so far."

Leon Draisaitl cut the lead to one with a power play goal for Edmonton coming out of a lengthy 5-on-3 advantage for the Oilers. Travis Dermott then tied the game at 2-2 cleaning up his own rebound off a Draisaitl pass.

"We'd like to put a little more pressure on the puck quickly in the corner, and when it goes out to the points, we need to put a little more pressure, quickness out to the points to get the puck out of the D-man's hands so they don't have an opportunity to roll around," head coach Dan Bylsma said of the goal. "And we just were a little passive when it got out to the top, and that allowed them to roll around and have four high and make that, create that seam play that happened there. So we'll take it as a learning experience."

Despite the two goals, it was a strong final exhibition for Philipp Grubauer in net. Grubauer made 28 saves on 30 shots faced, including stopping seven of eight shots on the power play.

"I've had preseason games where I got 15 shots total in three games. So the more chances they have, the better it is for us goalies to get into the game," Grubauer said. "So they have a couple boys back there who can make plays and find some seams, and I think today was a really realistic game."

Bylsma complimented the play of Montour and Jamie Oleksiak in being able to quickly get the puck up ice to start the chances for Wright's two goals. He also really credited the team's play in the third period in killing off a penalty and keeping the Oilers off the board.

"Had to come up with a big kill in the third period against a dangerous power play. And you saw Tanev blocking a shot, you saw Matty blocking a shot in the third and being in a good spot and blocking the shot. And at the end of the day, that's winning hockey. And you saw that a lot in the second and third," Bylsma said.

Montour restored Seattle's lead as he ripped a slap shot in open ice that slipped through Rodrigue for his second goal of the preseason and a 3-2 Kraken lead. Wright then netted his second of the night, snapping a shot from the right circle off a setup pass from Eeli Tolvanen.

Jaden Schwartz added a goal off a deflection of a Vince Dunn shot with five minutes left to play, and Will Borgen added another, creeping down into the right circle to finish a setup from Tanev from beneath the goal line.

"I think it shows what we're capable of," Wright said. "We know we can be a good team. You know we can really make a difference and really make a splash in this league. And we're confident in ourselves, we're confident in our game and I think that result tonight is a big step forward, a big confidence boost for us."

Bylsma said McCann is day-to-day after being scratched pre-game.