No (Brotherly) Love Lost in Philadelphia 

PHILADELPHIA - After eight days away from the ice, and ten days between games, the Kraken were able to recover from a rusty start where passes seemed just an inch off, and Philadelphia’s high-pressure style of game stunted Seattle’s transition game. But ultimately, even as the visitors became more effective moving through the neutral zone and continued to match the pace of play, it was special teams play that had the biggest impact on the outcome of this game which ended in a 3-2 Kraken loss.

The Flyers scored two of their goals during a penalty: one was on the power play (in the first of four opportunities) and the second came when they were short-handed something Dave Hakstol called “a huge point in the hockey game.” On the other side of the sheet, the Kraken couldn’t convert on any of their three power plays in the game.

How did it all go down? Let’s dig in.

No Laughton Matter

Scott Laughton was a thorn in the Kraken’s side to start this game. In the first 20 minutes of play, he had four shot attempts, three of which were on target. One of those shots was on a breakaway created by the Flyers’ forward came after he took the puck from Seattle, and while Daccord made the save, Alex Wennberg responded defensively and was called for the cross-check. That led to a Philly power play where another of Laughton’s shots went in the net after some pretty puck movement. It was Philadelphia’s first power-play goal in five games.

Team Effort

The Flyers held onto their one-goal lead for over 12 minutes, but a return to the line of Matty Beniers centering Tomas Tatar and Jordan Eberle paid off with support from the Kraken’s top defensive pair. After Seattle entered the Flyers’ zone, Beniers moved the puck low to high to Adam Larsson who flipped play to the left side of the ice where Vince Dunn was waiting to receive the pass. Tatar benefitted from the space all the passing opened up and set up in the high slot where he got the puck from Dunn and sent a shot past Cal Petersen to tie the game 1-1.

Facing the Response

There was a long and close look at Beniers’ goal after John Tortorella challenged for offside, but the goal stayed on the board and as a result, after losing the coach's challenge, the Flyers were on the penalty kill for the second time in the game. But that’s not often a concern for this Philly team.

At morning skate, Dave Hakstol talked about the need to be ready for the pressure the Flyers’ penalty kill can generate because this is a team that doesn’t just defend, they attack. 1:05 into the two-minute penalty, Garnet Hathaway gained possession of the puck and sent a long leading pass to Ryan Poehling who beat Daccord. The score re-established Philly’s lead and pushed them to a league-leading twelve short-handed goals on the season.

“They have guys who can skate and make you make plays under pressure,”  Jared McCann said. “Which is tough and especially on ice when it's bumpy, and, they kind of want the puck to bounce and get their chances that way. It's worked well for them.”

Flying In

There’s a reason pursuit of the puck is so important – it can set up grade-A scoring chances and that’s what set up the second Kraken goal 35 seconds into period three. Seattle moved the puck into the attack zone when Alex Wennberg sent it deep and with Jaden Schwartz on the forecheck, McCann came in as the second forward (“F2”) hanging in the soft space behind Schwartz. The puck bounced off the back boards right to McCann who fired a shot that redirected off Sean Couturier’s stick and into the net to put the game at two goals apiece.

Another Response

Couturier would get net front again and deflect another puck in the net – but this time it was a puck past Daccord to make it 3-2 and once again give Philadelphia an advantage on the scoreboard – something they wouldn’t relinquish throughout the balance of play on the way to their third consecutive win.

Seattle ends the season 1-1-0 against Philadelphia.

“There were more plays to be completed (to be had), especially in the first half of the hockey game,” Hakstol said. “(We were) just a little bit off in execution, and that changes the number of opportunities that we were able to gain. So, you know, they're a team, they skate, they pressure, they stay on top. We know that if you can make one extra play, you get opportunities. We got some of those but not enough and we didn't have enough of those clean opportunities in this game.”