On Sunday, Dec. 28, the Seattle Kraken hosted the Philadelphia Flyers. This was the two teams’ second meeting of the season. The game began with a quiet first period, but Jordan Eberle quickly changed that in the second. In the third, both Chandler Stephenson and Eeli Tolvanen extended their lead. However, the Flyers scored a late goal, denying Seattle a shutout. Tolvanen scored his second empty-net goal of the night to ensure the Kraken’s 4-1 win over the Flyers and even the season series.
Eberle Kicked the Kraken Off
Early in the first period, Matty Beniers won the puck in the neutral zone after a battle with the Flyers. He began skating into the Kraken’s zone with Kaapo Kakko at his side. Beniers skated it behind the net and then passed it to Kakko to his left. He spotted Eberle between the two faceoff circles and sent a pass to him. Eberle expertly lifted the puck into the top corner of the net for the Kraken’s first goal.
Eberle is the Kraken’s current points leader for the season with 24 points via 14 goals and 10 assists. In his last three games, he has scored four goals. The captain has stepped up offensively while several of the Kraken’s strong forwards have been out with injury. Let’s hope he can keep this scoring streak alive, even with Jared McCann returning to the lineup. Now Seattle just needs Jaden Schwartz, and they’ll have all of their strong offensive players back.
Tolvanen is On a Hot Streak
Speaking of point streaks, Eeli Tolvanen has been on a great one of his own, and it just extended with this game.
Five minutes into the third period, Tolvanen gained control of the puck from behind Dan Vladar’s net. He spotted Chandler Stephenson skating up with speed. He passed to Stephenson, and his shot extended the Kraken’s lead. Following the Flyers’ first goal, Tolvanen blocked a pass between two Flyers’ players, allowing him to gain control of the puck in the neutral zone. He skated up to the recently empty net and shot the puck for his second goal of the night.
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Tolvanen then scored two empty-net goals, 53 seconds apart, to ensure Seattle would take home the victory. Stephenson gained control of the puck in the neutral zone after he outpaced the Flyers. He skated up to the net with speed, Tolvanen hot on his heels. Stephenson passed the puck back to him, where it bounced off his skate and off of Christian Dvorak next to him for the Kraken’s third goal.
Since Dec. 16, Tolvanen has recorded at least one point per game. He now has 10 points in his last six games via three goals and seven assists. He set his career high back in the 2020-21 season with the Nashville Predators with six points. Let’s see how long he can keep up his current streak.
Grubauer Held Strong
Despite being sick, Philipp Grubauer stopped 31 of the Flyers’ 32 shots on the net. He earned a save percentage (SV%) of .969 after allowing only one goal from the Philadelphia team.
Just like in their game against the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 22, Grubauer kept the Kraken in the game. This is now his second straight win after three straight losses. To keep his team on a four-game winning streak and to earn a huge win like this while he is not feeling well, Grubauer just proved himself in this game.
Kraken Have Second Half of a Back-to-Back
The Kraken will host the Vancouver Canucks on Monday, Dec. 29, for the second half of a back-to-back. They just broke their losing streak in the second half of these back-to-back games on Dec. 23 against the Los Angeles Kings. Let’s hope the Kraken can keep their win streak alive with the game against Vancouver.
