Daccord, Kraken shut out Jets, hand them 1st loss in 6 games

WINNIPEG -- Joey Daccord made 32 saves, and Jaden Schwartz had two goals and an assist for the Seattle Kraken in a 3-0 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre on Thursday.

"I think it just gives us a lot of confidence moving forward that if we execute our game plan, we can play with any team in this league,” Daccord said. “You know, we're probably not a team that's going to blow anyone's doors off offensively every single night, but we're going to be in every game, we’re going to compete, we're going to be disciplined and stick to our structure and execute our game plan. And when we do that we give ourselves a chance to win every night.”

Jordan Eberle also scored, and Daccord had an assist for the Kraken (4-2-2), who had lost two in a row. They finished 2-2-2 on a six-game road trip.

“For me it was about the level of battle and the level of compete and the buy-in to playing our way and our structure,” Seattle coach Lane Lambert said. “[The Jets] did have a push, they’re a good hockey team. For the most part we did a pretty good job of weathering that push. The one thing about that situation, it’s a structural thing, it’s a team thing, but it’s also about winning individual battles and paying the price. We had a lot of good blocked shots towards the end.”

Schwartz said, “We checked hard. They’ve got a lot of skill over there. I thought we were tight, we were moving our feet, our [defensemen] were [in] good gaps and they were defending hard in our own zone and letting Joe see the puck. We had good shifts in the offensive zone, moving our feet and playing hard, being physical on pucks. Everybody was involved today. It was a good team win.”

Connor Hellebuyck made 25 saves for the Jets (5-2-0), who had won five straight.

“The second (period) was loose,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “We got cute, kind of trying to stick-handle our way through the neutral zone. In the first, we got it deep and got it back. In the third period, we did the same thing. You know what, they’re good. They’re a good defensive team and their goaltender stood tall.”

Schwartz made it 1-0 at 2:28 of the second period, putting in a rebound in front after Shane Wright threw the puck on net from the right side and Hellebuyck got a pad on it.

“[Hellebuyck’s] one of the best goalies in the League,” Schwartz said. “… If he sees it, especially from a distance, there's a good chance he's going to stop it. A big goalie like that (6-foot-4, 207 pounds), you've got to get traffic and try to take his eyes away as much as you can and then be around there for rebounds always.”

Daccord made 13 saves in the third period.

“In the second period we got a little discombobulated,” Winnipeg forward Kyle Connor said. “Great push in the third. Tip your cap sometimes to the other team with the way they play and their goalie. It was not for a lack of chances.”

Schwartz scored into an empty net for his second goal of the game to make it 2-0 at 18:20 of the third, and Eberle scored an empty-net goal at 18:43 for the 3-0 final.

“Just attention to detail. I think that's the biggest thing when you're trying to close out a game,” Daccord said. “Being sharp and sharp mentally, and focused and just execute the game plan in the last 10 minutes. Coach pulled the guys [aside during] the last two TV timeouts just to go over stuff. I mean, I was doing my own thing, but I like that. I like that he's motivating the guys and giving instruction, and I thought we executed incredibly well down the stretch.”

NOTES: It was Daccord’s first shutout of the season and sixth in the NHL. … Schwartz has three goals in his past two games. … The Jets were shut out at home for the first time since Jan. 13, 2024, when they lost 2-0 to the Philadelphia Flyers. ... Winnipeg forward Mark Scheifele had a five-game goal streak (seven goals) and season-opening six-game point streak (seven goals, three assists) end.