The party was due to end at some point. Just as no team goes 82-0, no team ever makes it through a season without losing in regulation. It was a strange one, with the Kraken on one hand seeming like they were ready for a fight (or, more accurately, two fights), but on the other hand starting to look gassed. It was a night full of tough battles throughout, even when it came down to puck possession and chances, but ultimately the Flyers were sharper enough to capitalize on the chances they had.
Observations
- There was some jump between both teams pretty early on to start the game, but the Flyers were the ones putting more pressure, making Joey Daccord perform some big saves. It’s still early in the season, but in a way, the Flyers have slightly more to prove. Going into tonight, they were sitting 6th in the Metropolitan Division, whereas the Kraken were sitting 2nd in the Pacific and had collected points in every single game played. That’s not to imply the Kraken aren’t hungry to keep winning…
- As I was typing, the Kraken immediately said “We are indeed hungry!” and scored the game’s first goal. This is what happens when you write your game story during the game itself! Originally awarded to Cale Fleury, Jordan Eberle scored the goal on a tip-in, but it also coincided with Catton’s first NHL point! Catton became the fourth Kraken skater to score a point in his debut.
- The Flyers quickly tied up the game with a shot from Owen Tippett. Daccord was caught out of position on that goal, but it brings me back to my original thoughts: the Flyers and the Kraken are both teams with much to prove. They finished neck-and-neck in the bottom barrel of the standings last season. The Flyers are still in rebuild mode (with a slogan this year of “Brick by Brick” to show the foundations they’re still laying), but they’ve been stewing in mediocrity for over a decade as a franchise. The Kraken are still a young team, but their identity has only come up out of the ocean for brief gasps of air over the past four seasons. In their fifth, Seattle has come bursting out of the gates with an impressive starting record, and I think the Flyers in the first period of this game came into it with the mentality of “If they can do it, why not us?”
- After the Flyers scored on the power play, courtesy of Tyson Foerster, a fight broke out between Nikita Grebenkin and Cale Fleury. It started after Fleury laid a big hit on Garnet Hathaway (who is usually known to do the hitting). Grebenkin earned himself a game misconduct for it, but it speaks again to that hunger that seemed to be driving the Flyers throughout the first period that it even felt necessary to start that fight.
- Into the second period, Travis Konecny extended the Flyers’ lead to 3-1, then the two teams started to skirmish behind Dan Vladar’s net, resulting in a John Hayden penalty, which quickly resulted in a second Foerster goal to bring the lead to 4-1. After the first period, I didn’t feel like the Kraken were playing a bad game despite the deficit. In the approximately 30 seconds of game time that separated the Konecny and Foerster goals, though, it began to feel like the Kraken were caught asleep at the wheel. Something easy to forget in all of this is that the Kraken are on game four of a six-game road trip. Some lethargy can be natural at this stage. They’re also down multiple players, including one of their best forwards in Jared McCann. It doesn’t make it feel any better to watch it happen, though.
- Jani Nyman’s goal helped give the Kraken some life back, but it wasn’t truly enough. The Flyers were able to once again capitalize on what hadn’t been one of Daccord’s best nights with another goal from Tippett. If anyone had been feeling torn about giving the Mariners their primary attention tonight, I think the second period effort from the Kraken dissuaded those emotions. Even I wasn’t immune from occasionally popping open my MLB app during lulls in play to check the score in hopes that things were going better in Toronto than they were here in Philadelphia.
- Speaking of it not being one of Daccord’s best nights, in the third period, the Kraken opted to swap him out for Philipp Grubauer. Something to keep in mind is that this is the first half of a back-to-back, with the Kraken playing the Capitals tomorrow night. Does Grubauer get the start against one of his former teams even though he played a period tonight?
- Even though I accused the Kraken of being a little lethargic in their play, that really erases just how chippy this game was. After a massive hit on Tye Kartye midway through the third period that had him struggling to get off the ice, Ryan Lindgren threw the gloves against Konecny, earning himself a game misconduct to mirror what happened in the game’s first fight. There had also been so many other small bouts of pushing and shoving between the two teams well into the third period. Part of that is thanks to the Flyers never shying away from playing a more physical style of hockey, but the Kraken’s willingness to mix it up in return showed that they were trying something. It just ultimately wasn’t enough.
In Their Own Words
After the game, media availability was open for Jaden Schwartz, Berkly Catton, and Coach Lane Lambert.
In general, Schwartz analyzed the team’s issues by highlighting how “It wasn’t our best night in a lot of different areas: puck play and defensively, puck management, and just speed and energy.” When asked whether it being the fourth night in a six game road trip should be considered a factor in their play, Schwartz said, “No, we just gotta regroup tomorrow. This wasn’t our best night. I don’t think we dug in just quite enough.” There was a sense from Schwartz’s quotes that the team knows this isn’t the best effort they can give. In spite of that, he had lots of good words to say about Catton’s debut: “You can see his vision, his skillset, pretty good with the puck, sees the ice very well and just makes a lot of little plays, and you know, highly skilled.”
Speaking of Catton, he found that tonight was a good learning experience for him. Facing against the Flyers was “fast” and “heavy” and it taught him a lot. He also highlighted that the Flyers didn’t give them much to work with: “I think they’re a really good defensive team too. And there wasn’t a whole lot the whole game, but you know, maybe the odd chance here and there.” Despite the loss, he had great words to say about playing with Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle: “They create lots, and I just kind of have to get to the right spot sometimes and they make the play.” He also couldn’t hide the awe he felt for his linemates in saying they were “really special and, you know, cool” to play with.
Coach Lane Lambert believed in no excuses when it came to the depleted lineup: “You’ve got guys out, but that is what it is. Those guys being out didn’t stop us from winning battles or winning face offs. We just didn’t do that…We weren’t good enough.” Even though injuries certainly don’t help, Lambert’s words still ring true. The team still has to go out there and get the job done regardless of who is or isn’t in the lineup.
Before facing the Capitals tomorrow, Lambert believes what needs fixed is “our battle level. We just can’t lose the battles, we’ve lost just too many of them…we’ve got to be more committed to winning battles.” This was an interesting phrasing to me, because I feel as if much of the game could have been described as a battle. It wasn’t just in terms of play, but physicality on the ice as well.
There’s little time for the Kraken to dwell on this loss. It’s off to Washington D.C. next as they face the Capitals in the second half of a back-to-back. As your friendly East Coast correspondent, you’ll catch me back on the beat tomorrow night as well!