Final Buzzer: Schwartz 'Super' Sunday

The Kraken yet again avoided a sizeable losing streak with a 4-3 win in Philadelphia, where local fans attended the matchup with vigor before the Super Bowl main event later. Forward Jaden Schwartz led the win by scoring two goals in just over two minutes late second period and early third period.
Philipp Grubauer turned in another strong performance, making 15 saves on 18 shots that included 12 Grade-A chances for the Flyers. Perhaps his biggest save of the night was mid-third period, stopping a close-in, all-alone attempt by Philly forward Owen Tippett, who scored the first goal of the game and assisted on what was then the tying goal in the second period.

The win was not without drama. Philly's Patrick Brown scored a shorthanded goal with 3:20 remaining to officially make it a nail-biter. Grubauer made another big save down the stretch and Adam Larsson laid out in front of Grubauer during a last-minute scramble to keep the puck out of the net. Matty Beniers secured the puck and sent it to an empty net, just missing and instead setting up the Flyers for two more scoring chances with 15 seconds remaining. But both Larsson and Beniers blocked last-second shots to earn the two standings points. Beniers left the ice limping, but Hakstol indicated post-game that the rookie forward appeared to be faring better 15 to 20 minutes after the game ended.
The victory represents the Seattle franchise's first against Philadelphia in the third try after regulation and overtime losses last season against the team Dave Hakstol led in his first NHL head coaching role. The Kraken have now defeated every NHL team except three-straight Stanley Cup finalist Tampa Bay.
With Montreal beating Edmonton Sunday, Seattle is back in second place on win percentage while in a three-way time at 65 standings points each for Seattle, Edmonton, and Los Angeles. Vegas leads the division with 68 points. The Kraken have one game in hand on the Oilers and Kings.

Schwartz Squared

As the second period wound down in Philadelphia, it seemed like Seattle would be entering a third period with a tie score and another test of coach Dave Hakstol's belief that his team will be in "a lot of 3-2 games" this season, hence requiring the high-wire act of finding a go-ahead goal while defending effectively enough to not give up the go-ahead goal.
But Jaden Schwartz and fellow veteran Jordan Eberle had other ideas. With just more than a minute left in the middle 20 minutes and the Kraken pressuring in the offensive zone, the puck was rolling out toward center ice when Schwartz caught up and rimmed it back to Eberle behind the net.
Eberle, who scored the game's first goal, displayed yet more of his elite behind-the-net play. He attempted not once, not twice but three times to send the puck back to Schwartz, now positioned in the coveted high slot. That third pass made it through to Schwartz, who scored his first goal since the much-ballyhooed Kraken win at Boston on Jan. 12. He missed the rest of the month due to injury, returning to the lineup on this trip. Alex Wennberg started the play with a touch on Schwartz's send-back, and helped the most by screening Philly goalie Felix Sandstrom.

Schwartz scored the go-ahead goal with 61 seconds left in the period. To start the third period, Schwartz scored again, nabbing the insurance goal, cashing in on an expertly threaded pass from Wennberg. Will Borgen started the play with a handoff to Wennberg. Schwartz's pair of goals were scored two minutes and four seconds of game time apart.

Post-game, Hakstol praised Schwartz's work in the "scoring area": "He's not a big guy but he is great on the walls and creates possession down low ... you see the pace and the sharpness of his game coming back game by game."
"Whether it's wall battles, winning the puck on a good stick play, and obviously he's got a good shot," said Jordan Eberle. "It's good to see him get a couple of goals."

Staying Away from Longer Losing Streaks

Sunday's victory is another example of how the Kraken have flipped the script compared to the inaugural season. The Kraken were facing the possibility of a four-game losing streak for the fourth time before beating the Flyers. And for the fourth time, they ended the skid. Pair that with franchise-record win streaks and its sets up for an exciting playoff race for Kraken fans.

Chasing the Game

For the third time in four games on the current road trip, the Kraken surrendered the opening goal. In Sunday's case, Philadelphia notched the initial goal just over two minutes into the game. With Vince Dunn serving a minor penalty for tripping, the Flyers' second power-play unit registered the team's first man-advantage goal in seven games.
The Kraken penalty killers were back on the ice for another shorthanded situation at 3:27 into the period when Will Borgen was whistled off for elbowing. The PK, led by excellent work by forwards Brandon Tanev and Alex Wennberg, kept a clean sheet to keep the game in reach early.

First Lead of the Trip

As Jared McCann continues to produce goals for the Kraken - he scored his 24th Friday and leads the team - his all-zones work continues to impress the coaching staff and generate offense along with it. With seven minutes left in the first period, McCann stole the puck from Flyers defenseman Tony DeAngelo at the Kraken blue line. He raced up the left side of the ice and actually slowed a bit at the PHI blue line when a breakaway was feasible.
No worries, McCann was clearly and patiently looking for linemate Jordan Eberle, who was joining the rush. McCann executed the perfect example of making a "sauce" pass, lifting the puck a few inches off the ice to elevate over defending sticks but accessible to Eberle. The veteran alternate captain made good on the sauce, scoring his first goal in 13 games and 11th of the season.

Seattle took its first lead of this road trip when Oliver Bjorkstrand pickpocketed a Flyer attempting to leave his defensive zone, sending the puck cross-ice to linemate Eeli Tolvanen. The waiver-pickup-turned-regular scored his ninth goal for the Kraken in 19 games, bookending with the first goal tallied on Jan. 1. Tolvanen showed off his elite shot, firing upper right corner (hitting the goal post and in) to beat rookie goaltender Felix Sandstrom.

Bjorkstrand logged his seventh point in the last seven games (three goals, four assists) on the goal. Bjorkstrand, Tolvanen, and center Yanni Gourde turned out several high-energy shifts during the first 20 minutes. Gourde especially led by example to bounce back from the 1-0 deficit. The Kraken finished the period with 16 scoring chances, including seven Grade-A opportunities.
"He runs our line," said Tolvanen, smiling during a second-intermission interview with ROOT SPORTS' Piper Shaw. "He's always on the bench yelling at us how we can do better [on the next shift]. He's an easy guy to play with. He brings a spark every night."

Hakstol's Victorious Return

Hakstol was hired as Flyers head coach for the 2015-16 season, becoming only the third NCAA Division I hockey coach to go straight to NHL head coach in his next role
Hakstol took Philly to the playoffs in his first season after the Flyers had failed to do so the previous season. The team's record was 41-27-14, an improvement of eight more wins and 20 more points in the standings.
The Flyers posted a 39-33-10 record in Hakstol's second season but didn't qualify for the playoffs. Philly bounced back in 2017-18, qualifying for the postseason with a 42-26-14 record.
When the next season started at 12-15-4, the Philadelphia front office didn't bank on Hakstol's proven ability to right the win. Firing a coach, especially whose record was 134-101-42 at the time, is always a judgment call.