Philipp Grubauer stared down Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry in a classic duel that ended with the Seattle Kraken winning in overtime for the first time in franchise history, 2-1 at Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena Thursday night.
Adam Larssson won it for the Kraken at 1:17 of overtime when he came off the bench, got a pass from Alex Wennberg, and beat Jarry from high in the slot.
But the hero for the Kraken was Grubauer. The goalie kept his team in the game making 23 saves and continuing his hot play of late.
“Great job by everybody” Grubauer said. “We were playing really tight, didn’t give them a lot of room to make plays like other games. As long as you keep that at 0-0 you have a chance. Once they got that goal we went right back at it. I think we had games where we didn’t come back after giving up a goal. Tonight everybody did a good job.”
The two teams battled through the first 40 minutes on Thursday with neither goaltender blinking. Jarry was just as tough as Grubauer and ended the night by stopping 27 of 29 Kraken shots.
Pittsburgh went ahead at 8:41 of the third period when Evgeni Malkin made it 1-0 with a power-play goal on a wrist shot from between the circles and past a screened Grubauer.
The Kraken pushed from there, outshooting the Penguins 18-4 in the third period, but could not solve Jarry. After two failed power play attempts Vince Dunn lifted a shot from the point at 16:04 that was tipped past Jarry by former Penguin Jared McCann to tie the game and force overtime.
“Dunner is a great defenseman, I know he’s going to make a play, just tried to get my stick on it,” McCann said. “[Marcus Johansson] made a play there, got it back to Dunner.”
It was the second straight game with a goal for McCann who is two away from his career high of 19.
“It’s a good win in this building, it’s a hard place to win,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “For us it’s an enjoyable win but one that we worked for. Our game didn’t change a whole lot from the drop of the puck to the game winner in overtime… We pushed a little bit in the third period without any risk to our game and that’s a good characteristic to our team.”
Grubauer won the game on one shift in second period
As solid as Grubauer was all night, it was one shift with about four minutes left in the second that may have swung the game.
The Penguins hemmed Seattle in its own zone for over two minutes. Johansson broke his stick early in the shift rendering him nearly useless to help get the puck out. Pittsburgh had Malkin and Sidney Crosby on the ice and turned the Seattle zone into a shooting gallery.
The Kraken could not corral the puck to clear, but Grubauer stayed steady.
“Guys were blocking shots like crazy,” Grubauer said. “Getting in shooting lanes and letting me see the puck by boxing out guys, knowing where their forwards are… I think it’s building over the last couple games at home. Last game wasn’t our best one, but I think since we’ve come out of Christmas break, we’ve been playing our game, and everybody is buying in.”
Johansson ended up on the ice for a three-minute shift and Mark Giordano for 2:26. It was an incredible stretch and logic says that the Penguins should have scored.
Grubauer wasn’t just good there. He made saves in tight all night, including a stop on Jeff Carter midway through the period.
Over his last five starts, Grubauer is 4-1-0 with a .914 save percentage.
Kraken figuring out overtime
The past two chances the Kraken have had in overtime they’ve played well. Against the Chicago Blackhawks on the recent homestand, they dominated overtime, hit a post just before it ended, and got the win in the shootout.
“Over the break we had a chance to talk about how we want to manage the overtime,” Hakstol said. “Just try to manage our shift lengths, not try to force things, and take what the game gives you until there’s a breakdown. We got that on the game-winning goal.”
The talk over the break has created results and raised the confidence level.
McCann started the overtime and nearly scored on the first shift.
“We’re going to get one,” McCann said about what he was thinking just before the face-off. “We’re due. It was a good team effort, we played well, played to our strengths and we’ve got to build on this.”
The Seattle Kraken find themselves in Pittsburgh Thursday for a tough road matchup against the Penguins. Pittsburgh has been playing well with a 27-10-5 record which is good for second place in the Metropolitan Division, one point back of the New York Rangers.
Pittsburgh is especially tough at home where it has a 13-5-2 record, meaning the Kraken have their tentacles full Thursday night.
“This team feeds off of momentum in this building,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said after morning skate. “Typically, Pittsburgh starts well in this building, and they feed off of momentum that they generate, especially offensively. We’ve got to be really ready to meet that head on. This core group has won together, they’re a deep team… they start well, they compete very hard in this building.”
Philipp Grubauer will start again for the Kraken, and he’ll be up against Tristan Jarry who is in the middle of a great rebound season. Jarry struggled in the playoffs last year, earning the ire of the fans and local media; it’s hard to believe fans would blame the goalie, but there it was.
This season, Jarry has gotten his skates under him and comes into Tuesday with a 2.12 goals-against average and .926 save percentage. Oh, and his record is 23-7-4 which is not too shabby. Seattle needs to get traffic and shots on him to stand a chance.
This is the second meeting of the Penguins and Kraken
Back on Dec. 6, the Penguins came to Climate Pledge Arena and scored three times in the first period to skate away with an easy 6-1 win.
Pittsburgh played that game without Evgeni Malkin who was rehabbing an injury. He’s been been back now for eight games and, of course, has nine points. With Sidney Crosby playing like Sidney Crosby, Malkin’s return makes the Penguins that much tougher.
“I think Geno’s getting better with every game that he’s played,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said Thursday. “He missed a lot of time, that’s not an easy challenge for any player coming back into the lineup. I give Geno credit for how hard he worked… his timing, his conditioning, just the intensity of an NHL game is difficult to simulate.
“I do think he’s getting better. You can see the impact he has on our team, particularly offensively with his instincts. We really like where we’re trending and we’re a much more difficult team to play against with him in the lineup.”
Just what the Kraken want to hear.
Other Penguins to watch
Your eyes are naturally drawn to Crosby and Malkin when Pittsburgh is playing, but their attack comes from more than just the two of them.
Up front, Evan Rodrigues has had a breakout season with 15 goals and 32 points. Jake Guentzel is having another strong season and leads the team in goals (21) and points (40).
On the back end, Kris Letang is killing it this year and has 37 points. Seattle needs to be aware of him joining the rush and make sure they keep a third man high in the offensive zone to prevent odd-man chances.
Some Penguins odds and ends
Pittsburgh can score. The Penguins are averaging 3.4 goals per game and the third period has been their most productive period from a goal scoring aspect.
With all the firepower they have, surprisingly they’re not dominant on special teams. Their power play is 23rd overall, and at home it’s been 28th in the league with a 14.9 percent success rate. Of course, that doesn’t mean you want to give Crosby, Malkin, et al a ton of chances with the man advantage.
They’ve won eight in a row at home, which it seems like every team the Kraken have played on the road of late has done, making Thursday’s night game just a bit more daunting.
BONUS EPISODE WITH A BIG-TIME GUEST ALERT! John Forslund deserves his own episode of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, so John Forslund gets his own episode of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast.
Darren and Andy spoke with the TV voice of the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena prior to Kraken morning skate last week. John does not disappoint. He tells fantastic stories that range from the beginning of Desert Storm to punching mascots, and he takes you through the journey that led him to becoming the legendary broadcaster that he is today.
This conversation will make you laugh and feel inspired all at once. When it’s done, you’ll think you’ve known John personally for years.
The guys cover a LOT in this episode of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, and in the process, they introduce you to the newest member of the Seattle Kraken, Karson Kuhlman. Kuhlman was claimed off waivers from the Boston Bruins last week, so he talks about the whirlwind it has been to get to Seattle and get acclimated to his new team and city. He also shares some thoughts on playing for the UMD Bulldogs and the Bruins and explains why Darren is wrong about Duck, Duck, Grey Duck.
Aside from the chat with Karson, the guys also dig into the last three Kraken games since the previous episode, in which Seattle won two out of three against the Sharks, Blues, and Panthers. John, Andy, and Darren are especially amped up about the outcome of the Florida game. They also talk about the Coachella Valley Firebirds jersey and Darren defends Jeremy Lauzon again.
Before getting to the Kuhlman interview, they dig into the very difficult topic of racism in hockey, hoping that the conversation can fuel even the smallest change in a few folks out there.
After the Kuhlman interview, the guys move on to their segments, which this week include Goalie Gear Corner, Weekly One-Timers, and Three Stars.
Don’t look now, but the Kraken are on a winning streak! Yeah, we know it’s only been two games, but nonetheless, seeing them get rewarded for their hard work this week has been a sight for very sore eyes. The Kraken look to extend their streak to three games Friday, as the St. Louis Blues make their first visit to Seattle.
Seattle had one of its best games of the season Monday against the Blackhawks, and deserved the shootout win that they eventually received. It was a borderline dominant performance that only went down to the wire because of otherworldly play in net by Marc-Andre Fleury. The Kraken lacked the same impressive dominance on Thursday against the Sharks, and frankly looked sloppy in the first half of the opening period.
The boys turned it on in the second, and Carson Soucy scored twice to give Seattle a lead that it never relinquished, despite taking four penalties in the third period alone.
Philipp Grubauer had his second positive performance in a row, stopping 23 of the 25 shots he faced. With Seattle on the second of back-to-backs Thursday, though, and with Chris Driedger still unavailable due to COVID protocol, coach Dave Hakstol is doing the smart thing by resting Grubauer. We thought he might be tempted to throw Grubauer right back in there, but with the starting netminder’s confidence just starting to build, turning to Joey Daccord is the right move for the Kraken against the Blues.
So, about Daccord… The friend of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast has made good use of his time with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers and has put up some outstanding numbers down there, notching a 2.18 goals against average and .925 save percentage in 14 games. His NHL numbers don’t show it this season, but he really has played well (but been hung out to dry) in his few appearances with the Kraken.
Seattle is playing better now than they have during other Daccord stints, so let’s see if his AHL success can transfer to the big club.
With no morning skate Friday, Hakstol played lineup changes close to the vest. He wouldn’t say if Jamie Oleksiak might be ready to return from a non-COVID illness, so we will see.
The Blues are third in the Central with a 23-11-5 record and 51 standings points. These two times played each other last week in St. Louis on a night when Driedger deserved to win, but the Kraken were done in by a late power-play goal by Blues forward Pavel Buchnevich.
This is a good team, but Seattle has proven it can skate with pretty much anybody. The Kraken came very close to winning that road contest against the Blues last Thursday, but got into penalty trouble—much like they did against the Sharks on Thursday—and didn’t generate enough offensively.
Kraken lineup
Really interesting shake-up of the lines by Hakstol. Yanni Gourde, Jared McCann, and Jordan Eberle have all been quiet of late, so the Kraken are going with a new mix.
Karson Kuhlman appears to be a scratch one night after making his Kraken debut, as Colin Blackwell is back in. ALSO back in is Haydn Fleury, who will be playing his first game since Jan. 1. Sheesh!
With Oleksiak apparently not ready to return, we are not surprised to see Jeremy Lauzon come out of the lineup after he took two straight penalties on Thursday.
The Blues got on the board first with a short-handed goal. Brandon Saad and Tyler Bozak got a two-on-one. Saad dished to Bozak, and Bozak buried it in a yawning cage. The goal came at 5:54.
If you picked Tyler Bozak for the first goal vote, YOU WIN!
…And just like that, the Kraken were chasing again.
The Blues scored again at 10:23. With Adam Larsson in the penalty box for delay of game, David Perron shot from high in the zone. Ryan O’Reilly deflected it toward Daccord, who made the first save, but the puck squirted out to Brayden Schenn for an easy tap-in.
In all, it was a pretty sloppy period by the Kraken, which felt very similar to the first frame on Thursday. The boys did wake up a bit in the last five minutes and had some good looks but were ultimately a little too cute with their passing.
Second period highlights
Daccord made one of the best saves of the season early in the second. On a partial two-on-zero, David Perron passed to O’Reilly for a sure goal. But Daccord did a full spit and just got his toe on it. Man, what a save that was.
Robert Bortuzzo nearly took Ryan Donato’s head off, just as Donato was releasing a shot off the rush. Donato was ok, but it was a very dangerous hit. Somehow Bortuzzo only got two minutes.
The Kraken looked better in the second and also got bailed out a couple times by Daccord. They put 15 shots on Ville Husso, including a breakaway by Riley Sheahan. Still, it really didn’t feel like they tested him all that much, despite the relatively high number of shots. They did apparently take a lot of shots from the left point through two periods, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
Third period highlights
It took the Blues just 24 seconds of third-period play before they stretched their lead to 3-0. Off a three-on-two rush, Vladimir Tarasenko passed to Torey Krug in the slot, who just deflected it to Buchnevich on the far side. Buchnevich ripped it off the bar and down.
The wheels officially came off the wagon after a Kraken power play. Colton Parayko (yes, the 6-foot-6, 220 defenseman) stole the puck from a tired Jordan Eberle at the Kraken blue line. Parayko went in on a breakaway, and Eberle hooked him, giving Parayko a penalty shot. Parayko scored.
BRAVO! 👏👏👏 Colton Parayko scores on his first-ever penalty shot.
Jordan Kyrou scored the fifth Blues goal of the night after he took a pass from Robert Thomas (the hockey player, not the singer of Matchbox 20), and deked around a sprawling Daccord.
The Kraken looked quite sluggish from start to finish Friday. Just not much going on offensively.
Post-game
Notes the top six has been “pretty dry” offensively. Says it’s hard to win games if the top six isn’t scoring goals. https://t.co/K7dUVQlIVB
The guys are back in BarrDown Studios for Episode 170 of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, which brings the shenanigans up a notch!
The Seattle Kraken are in the midst of an eight-game losing streak, and John, Andy, and Darren are recording fresh off of Thursday’s loss to the St. Louis Blues. But despite the miserable spiral of the Kraken, the guys are feeling surprisingly optimistic about the future of the team. So, if you’re a Kraken fan needing a lift, this is the podcast for you!
This episode starts with some Wes McCauley silliness, followed by discussion about Kodak Black taking the hockey world by… storm. It then shifts to the outlook of the Kraken for quite a while, before turning to the hockey world as a whole.
Plenty of discussion about the Team USA Olympic roster (which includes Matty Beniers), Tuukka Rask returning to the Bruins, and Evander Kane somehow still being pursued.
Segbits include Goalie Gear Corner, Serious Business, Bad Boys, Weekly One-Timers, and MORE!
