On a night when goals were scarce and scoring chances tightly contested all 60 minutes, New York Rangers veteran goalie outdueled a returning Philipp Grubauer, by not by much. In his first start in nearly two weeks, the Kraken earned plenty of “Gruuuuu” appreciation to keep his teammates in the early hunt for a fifth straight win on the current homestand.
Only a late second-period goal from 2020 No. 1 overall draft pick, Alexis Lafreniere, taking a cross-ice, high-skill pass from Artemi Panarin, marred Grubauer’s work through 40 minutes. It should be noted the visitors held offensive zone possession for roughly 45 seconds, allowing Lafreniere to lose defenders and stand open at the far goalpost for a tap-in with Kraken defenders enduring a minute-plus shift.
One shift after the go-ahead goal, Seattle D-man Jamie Oleksiak connected on a long (really long) stretch pass into the offensive zone directly to the stick of streaking Brandon Tanev, who, of course, had already scored four goals in the last four wins here at Climate Pledge Arena.
The home roared and held their breath. Could Tanev do it again? It certainly was feasible, but New York’s young star first-pair defenseman, K'Andre Miller, tangled up Tanev and separated him from the puck and scoring attempt. Tanev crashed into NYR goalie Jonathan Quick and both players required a little extra to get into play.
With just two seconds left in the middle period, the Kraken still digging as they did to that point, Kraken D-man Ryker Evans fired a hard shot on Quick from the left faceoff circle. Quick made the save but rebound scooted right to SEA center Chandler Stephenson, whose shot was blocked. But you have to admire the fight to finish. It’s noticeable to teammates, coaches and opposition alike that Evans is looking more comfortable in all zones with each game. That comfort level, grounded in the 22-year-old’s solid defensive work alongside Kraken stalwart Adam Larsson, is encouraging in that he is feeling more inclined to jump into the offensive flow with scoring stats (three goals, eight assists in 18 games, including four assists on the current homestand) to back it up.
For his part, Larsson told Kraken Hockey Network’s Piper Shaw that as a veteran, he has been intentional about talking more with his young defensive partner about having confidence in continuing to do things he does well. It appears to be helping both Evans and the offensive attack.
Grubauer continued his solid play with two big close-in saves in the first 90-some seconds of the third period. But NYR kept the pressure and soon third-pair defenseman Zac Jones was beating the Kraken goalie from the left faceoff circle. Grubauer kept the saves going after that score, but Seattle couldn’t beat the Rangers' backup goalie Jonathan Quick, who posted his second shutout of the year in just five starts.
Quality Starts for Both Teams
The first period proved to be quality hockey by both squads, though the Seattle power play didn’t live up the other 18 minutes of the frame. The visiting New Yorkers nearly scored shorthanded with Chris Kreider unloading a hard, accurate shot that goalie Philipp Grubauer (welcome back, Grubi) made eight saves – five in the first four minutes, plus one hit the post – to keep it scoreless. That was one more shot than the Kraken garnered on the aforementioned power play.
In his first start since Nov. 5 on the road at Colorado, Grubauer was sharp early against an NYR squad that has outscored opponents by a 4-1 margin this season, leading to 10 wins overall. His counterpart in the Rangers net, 38-year-old Jonathan Quick, turned away a half-dozen shots on goal. Four of the Kraken shots were booked as high-danger scoring chances, per Natural Stat Trick.
Forwards Jaden Schwartz and Daniel Sprong (welcome back to you too, Spronger) had the best point-blank chances. But Quick, in his 18th season and this season in a backup role behind the elite Igor Shesterkin, was spot-on. He entered the night with a 3-1 record, .964 save percentage, 1.17 goals-against average and one shutout.
“He's still got it,” said Kraken center Chandler Stephenson. When asked about a rival goalie, he has faced plenty. “He made a lot of really good saves [among 10 Grade-A scoring chances]. We had our looks; we had our chances.”
Bylsma on Team’s Response, Grubauer’s Performance
Kraken coach Dan Bylsma liked both the tenacity of his team to “play nose-to-nose” with one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference and the play from his own veteran goaltender.
‘[New York] had some opportunities, for sure,” said Bylsma. “We fought back and had opportunities, forced their goalie to make some great saves. Maybe after the second [NYR] goal went in, there was a little dip ... but the guys responded on the bench with the mindset of getting back out there and getting two.”
His take on Grubauer: “Solid. Real solid. Their goalie made some big saves; our goalie made some big saves. They had a couple of really good chances [after the 2-0 lead]. Both goalies gave their team a chance to win the game with how they played.”
