Bobby McMann rescued the Seattle Kraken in the 5th round of the shootout against the Philadelphia Flyers Tuesday at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Seattle had surrendered a 2-0 3rd period lead to the winless Flyers. Combined with his 1st period power play goal, McMann’s heroics were just enough to outlast the Flyers, 3-2. Matty Beniers also scored in the shootout, while goalie Philipp Grubauer stoned four of five Philadelphia shooters.
The Kraken won for the third consecutive time on their road trip and improved to 5-2-0 on the season. Philly has lost the first eight games of the season (0-5-3) after being serenaded by boos when they fell behind.
Seattle got the first career NHL goal from defenseman Ville Ottavainen in the 2nd. Christian Dvorak broke the shut-out in the 3rd, and Trevor Zegras tied the game 2-2 1:13 later.
Grubauer followed up his 37-save winning performance in Detroit by stopping 24 Flyers shots. His best might be twice denying Sean Couturier in the 2nd period, first on a one-timer bullet. Later, a Brandon Montour turnover left Couturier alone in front, but Grubauer’s poke-check prevented a scoring chance.
1st Period Goals
1-0 Seattle: Unreal hand-eye coordination by McMann on a Kraken power play. After a pop-fly puck lands and bounces off the ice, McMann whacks it out of the air into the top corner for his 3rd goal.
2nd Period Goals (& Non-Goal)
Sprung by an Adam Larsson lead pass, Jordan Eberle split the Flyers defense on a breakaway. Jamie Drysdale slashed him on his way to the net, setting up a penalty shot. Eberle got Flyers goalie Dan Vladar (28 saves) down, but stubbed his backhand off the heel of his stick into Vladar’s pads. The captain snapped his head back in disgust and slammed his stick on the glass.
2-0 Seattle: Unexpected offense from Ottavainen, shooting down the slot with Jared McCann and Beniers providing plenty of traffic in front.
3rd Period Goals
2-1 Seattle: Oliver Bonk sent a pretty no-look lateral pass from the far boards. Dvorak accepted in the right circle, one-timing a shot before Grubauer could slide post-to-post.
2-2 Tie: Zegras, who had engaged in his own private little war with the Kraken netminder (see below), beats Grubauer as the trailer flying down the slot.
Kraken Notables
Oh, the missed chances. The Kraken couldn’t take advantage of a Flyers too-many-men penalty in overtime. Seattle failed on a 5-on-3, and Eberle couldn’t convert the penalty shot, both in the 2nd period. The captain also took two minors, but the Kraken killed them both.
Grubauer and Zegras were involved in middle period truculence. Following an earlier skirmish, Grubauer gloved a Zegras wrister. The goalie released the puck for a face-off, but Zegras shot it back at him. Grubauer responded with a cross-check, resulting in minors for both players.
The Seattle Kraken’s two losses this season have been to Vegas and Edmonton, the only teams they’d played who don’t have red as their primary color. They managed to survive against the orange-and-black Flyers.
Eberle has recorded a point (3 goals, 3 assists) in six of Seattle’s seven games. The Kraken improved to 7-3-1 all-time against Philadelphia.
By The Numbers
Goals by period: Philadelphia 0-0-2-0 (2); Seattle 1-1-0-1 (3)
Shots by period: Philadelphia 6-12-8-0 (26); Seattle 6-10-10-4 (30)
Power Plays: Philadelphia 0-3; Seattle 1-5
Next up: The Kraken five game road trip concludes in Florida, with games at the Lightning on Thursday (4 pm PT) and the Panthers on Saturday (3 pm PT).
Earlier Kraken:
— Two Familiar Kraken Names Pursuing New Gigs
