SEATTLE, WA – Leon Draisaitl and Travis Dermott scored goals for the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night in a 6-2 defeat to the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena in pre-season action.

Trailing by two in the second period, Draisaitl notched his first of the preseason on a five-on-three 8:45 into the frame before the German connected with Dermott to notch the equalizer almost two minutes later.

But the Kraken would score four times on five shots against netminder Olivier Rodrigue in the middle stanza, receiving goals from Brandon Montour and Shane Wright over a 35-second span to take back Seattle’s lead at 4-2 through 40 minutes.

The Kraken would tack on two more goals in the final frame, finishing with six goals on 24 shots against Rodrigue in the 6-2 victory at Climate Pledge Arena. Edmonton went 4-for-4 on the penalty kill and converted one of five power-play opportunities.

The Oilers end off their pre-season schedule on Friday night in Vancouver against the Canucks before they return home to host the Jets in their regular-season opener at Rogers Place on Oct. 9.

FIRST PERIOD

During the preseason, the power play often takes a little bit longer to catch up to the penalty kill.

Zach Hyman got tangled up with Eeli Tolvanen for the first penalty that the Oilers killed off, but Leon Draisaitl shortened things up again almost three minutes later with a crosscheck to the back of Jordan Eberle after the former Edmonton forward set the physical tone with a heavy check on Mattias Ekholm that caught the Swede off guard.

The Oilers managed to outshoot the Kraken 3-2 in a low-scoring opening 10 minutes despite spending four of those on the penalty kill, as Head Coach Kris Knoblauch tried to cycle through as many forwards into PK roles as possible with only two pre-season remaining to figure out the final few roster spots for opening night on Oct. 9 against Winnipeg.

During the opening period, eight separate Oilers forwards saw time on ice while shorthanded, but the Blue & Orange power play failed to generate any meaningful chances on their only PP of the first frame with Brandon Montour in the box for slashing against Draisaitl.

McDavid failed to control a hard pass from Nugent-Hopkins to the far post on an odd-man rush that nearly produced the game’s opening goal before the Oilers captain was tagged for high-sticking Kraken centre Matty Beniers on the way back up ice.

SECOND PERIOD

Following a scoreless first period, the offence came quickly in the middle frame, starting with an early chance for McDavid in between the hashmarks on the power play that goaltender Philipp Grubauer managed to fight off despite having difficulty tracking the puck through traffic in front.

The Kraken netted twice in 1:55 to take a two-goal lead, opening the scoring on a deflection by Brandon Tanev that went bar down before Shane Wright tucked in a spin-around backhand past Olivier Rodrigue. Eeli Tolvanen beat the chipping Brett Kulak at the Oilers’ blueline and managed to win the puck race against Josh Brown down the right side before firing a pass in front to the 2022 fourth-overall pick.

The Oilers were then given a rare five-on-three opportunity, and the club’s top power-play unit showed some of its world-best ability on Leon Draisait’s first of the preseason that the German drove home from his spot in the right circle after Seattle was passed into submission by a combination of Draisaitl, McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins.

Just 1:51 later, professional try-out Travis Dermott activated down from the blueline and found space in front to pick up Draisaitl’s pass from the right side and take a few whacks at his own rebound to beat Grubauer in the Kraken crease. The veteran NHL defenceman is making a strong case this Camp for a contract with the Oilers and could prove to be a serviceable defenceman if the club elects to give the 27-year-old a contract before opening night on Oct. 9.

Seattle only had five shots in the second period, but two more tallies over a 35-second span before the intermission built back up the Kraken’s two-goal lead at 4-2. Brandon Montour snuck through a long shot against the run of play before Shane Wright wristed one blocker side against Rodrigue, who conceded four goals on five shots during the frame.

THIRD PERIOD

Jayden Schwartz redirected home Seattle’s fifth with just over five minutes remaining, but the tough night for Edmonton’s goaltender continued with 2:52 left on a rocket of a one-timer from Will Borgen that slid through short side to make it 6-2.