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Jaden Schwartz scored twice to help the Seattle Kraken grab their first win of the five-game road trip in a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday.
Could the Kraken be ready for an early puck drop: 1pm local time to get out of the way before the entire country turned their attention to a 3:30pm kickoff between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs? If the first period was tell-tale, you bet they were ready.
“It was important in different spots of that game to push back,” said head coach Dave Hakstol.
Schwartz busted a 2-2 tie late in the second period to give the Kraken a lead for good against a pesky and effort-laced Flyers squad, playing up to their brand under head coach John Tortorella.
COMPLETE RADIO GAME HIGHLIGHTS
“Schwartzy’s goal in the second was the biggest goal for us," said Hakstol. "He’s coming off some time off. The break is right there, so there’s not a lot of opportunity to do work individually. You look over the last three games, even today, you see the pace and sharpness of his game come back, game by game.”
Schwartz extended the lead with a blast from the right circle just 1:03 into the third period, enough to hold off Patrick Brown’s shorthanded goal with 3:20 left in regulation, and a last-second push by the Flyers to tie it before the final horn.
Matty Beniers ferociously blocked a shot with two seconds left, leaving him visibly in pain while leaving the ice. But Beniers made progress with his condition reportedly improving, after the game.
Jordan Eberle and Eeli Tolvanen strung back-to-back goals to give the Kraken a 2-1 lead after the first period, answering Owen Tippett’s 15th goal of the season just 2:11 into the game. James Van Riemsdyk scored early in the second period for the Flyers.
Philipp Grubauer made 15 saves for the win in net, besting Felix Sandstrom’s 17 stops.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
1. The Kraken got the start they needed. It’s a stark contrast to the first takeaway after the Rangers loss. Despite Owen Tippett’s early power play goal in the first, the Kraken recovered and dialed up their game to play to their strength – the speed game. Jared McCann found Jordan Eberle who broke out of a nasty slump (12 games without a goal) on a two-on-one, and the Kraken were ready to pounce on an egregious Flyers defensive zone turnover with the right guy on the ice – Eeli Tolvanen. He took advantage of it, uncorked a snap shot past Felix Sandstrom, and won the battle of the opening frame to make the Flyers chase them all day. The first period delivered the first two Kraken goals of that frame, for the entire trip – and it paved the way.
2. Though Matty Beniers didn’t score, we found another side of his game in a big moment. With the league’s leading rookie scorer now without a point in nine straight games, the question bears of how much has he recovered from the effects of the Tyler Myers hit against Vancouver shortly before the break? He still found other ways to make a difference. The Kraken led in shot attempts, 15-6 when he was on the ice at full strength, generating 90% of the shot quality rate. He sacrificed and sold out on two defensive plays, one in particular which saved the game. Beniers clogged the shot lane, taking a blast off the inside of his knee. That’s stuff leaders are made of, and he’s spared no chance to go the extra inch. That block sealed the win over the Flyers.
3. Expect a hungrier, determined, and even more confrontational Flyers team in the rematch on Thursday. This isn’t because of any love lost. They only face each other twice during the season. But the Flyers, who have morphed into one of the league’s hotter teams since Christmas, are built to play 82 games like it’s June under John Tortorella. With a Stanley Cup on his resume, he’s the one who coined the term, “safe is death.” The Kraken had to be ready for a battle in the proverbial trenches, and almost lost Beniers as a result. But once settling into their game, they forced the Flyers to chase them all over the ice, and comically had a rout underway in full strength shot attempts (51-13) through two periods until the Flyers made their move and pressured the Kraken with a 19-5 edge in the third period. They won’t go away. But the Kraken proved their speed and puck management can overcome a code-red aggressive style dished by the Flyers, and will need the same approach on Thursday when they get back to home ice.
KRAKEN LINEUP AT PHILADELPHIA, 2/12:
McCann-Beniers-Eberle
Schwartz-Wennberg-Tanev
Tolvanen-Gourde-Bjorkstrand
Donato-Geekie-Sprong
Dunn-Larsson
Oleksiak-Borgen
Soucy-Schultz
Grubauer
Jones