In the second game of a four-game road trip, John Tortorella's Philadelphia Flyers (19-11-4) are in Washington State on Friday to take on Dae Hakstol's Seattle Kraken (13-14-9). Game time at Climate Pledge Arena is 10:00 pm. ET.
The game will be televised on NBCSP+. The radio broadcast is on 93.3 WMMR with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.
This is the first of two meetings this season between the Flyers and Kraken, and the lone game in Seattle. The teams will rematch at Wells Fargo Center on February 10.
The Flyers have posted at least one point (8-1-3) in 11 of their last 12 games and bring a record of 8-1-2 in December into Friday's game. The Kraken have won each of their last three games. Seattle is 5-2-3 over its last 10 games. Overall, the team has a 6-8-3 home record while the Flyers are 11-4-3 on the road.
The Flyers enter this game coming off a win over the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. The Flyers received goals from four different players: Egor Zamula (power play), Sean Walker, Joel Farabee and Garnet Hathaway (shorthanded).
Here are five things to watch in Friday's game.
1. Hart expected to start
Carter Hart was likely to be tabbed for the start in Seattle regardless of the outcome in Vancouver. However, the fact that Samuel Ersson had to leave Thursday's game early in the third period due to cramping from dehydration makes it nearly a lock that Hart will be in net on Friday.
In Thursday's game against the Canucks, Ersson earned the win with 18 saves on 19 shots. He was forced to exit the game after playing 42:36. Carter Hart went the rest of the way in relief. Hart stopped all eight shots he faced in 17:11 of duty.
With Philipp Grubauer (5-9-1, 3.25 GAA, .884 SV%) on IR and considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury, Joey Daccord (7-5-8, 2.53 GAA, .912 SV%, one shutout) has been getting the lion's share of playing team in recent weeks. Since being recalled from the AHL, Chris Driedger started and won Wednesday's game in Calgary. Driedger stopped 37 of 38 shots against the Flames.
2. Konecny's status is TBD
According to Tortorella's postgame comments on Thursday, Flyers leading scorer Travis Konecny (illness) is dealing with the same "bug" that has been going around the team since before the holiday break. Konecny played in the game against the Canucks but apparently felt worse as the night progressed. He left the game early in the third period.
If Konecny's situation plays out like the recent illnesses that teammates Travis Sanheim and Ryan Poehling dealt with before the Christmas break, he may not feel well enough to play on Friday. Poehling missed two games, while Sanheim missed one.
In the event Konecny is not up to playing on Friday, the Flyers can either dress callup forward Rhett Gardner or dress veteran defenseman Marc Staal and go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen. In Thursday's game, after Konecny exited, the Flyers juggled their lines over the remainder of the game. Notably, Bobby Brink saw several shifts on the top line centered by Sean Couturier.
The Flyers will not hold a morning skate on Friday. Around 8 p.m. eastern time (5 p.m. PT), Tortorella will meet with the media and announce the starting lineup.
3. Learning a lesson from last year
Last season, the Flyers were swept by the Kraken in the two-game season series. On February 12, 2023 (Super Bowl Sunday), the Flyers were held to a mere 18 shots on goal and were plagued by 24 turnovers (14 takeaways by Seattle, 10 giveaways by Philly). The Kraken won, 4-3.
Four nights later in Seattle, the Flyers suffered a 6-2 loss. Hart was pulled midway through the game. Trailing 5-0 after two periods, the Flyers got a pair of goals from Konecny in the third period but it scarcely made a dent. Philly was held to 19 shots on goal for the game including an 11-1 shot disadvantage in the first period. The Kraken, showing their characteristic speed and puck pressure, scored goals just about every possible way: two breakaways, a 2-on-1, a 6-on-5, through generating traffic on the power play and by taking Flyers players off the puck and counterattacking. Once again, the Flyers had trouble keeping possession of the puck. Seattle was credited with eight takeaways in this game.
The Flyers have played much better hockey this season than they were playing during a very rough month of February last season. Nevertheless, Friday's game is a dangerous one for the Flyers coming off an impressive win on Thursday against a very good Vancouver club. Hakstol's Kraken have not fared as well this season as they did last year. However, they play the same style that flummoxed the Flyers last year and have stifled each of their last three opponents. The Flyers will have to take much better care of the puck than they did in the two meetings last season.
4. Flyers special teams vs. Kraken special teams
The Flyers had a good night on both ends of special teams on Thursday in Vancouver. Philly went 1-for-3 on the power play. Zamula scored on a point shot with traffic in front. Later, it took a 10-bell save by Casey DeSmith to deny Owen Tippett from point blank range on a power play scoring opportunity. Meanwhile, the Flyers were 3-for-3 on the penalty kill, including Hathaway's shorthanded second-effort goal off a great pass from Ryan Poehling that restored a three-goal lead.
It's no secret that the power play has been a major struggle for the Flyers in recent years. Philadelphia enters this game ranked 31st in the NHL at 11.2 percent (12-for-107). The Flyers have allowed two shorthanded goals this season. The Kraken rank 19th on the penalty kill at 79.1 percent (opposing power plays are 22-for-104). The Kraken have scored two shorthanded goals: one by Alex Wennberg and one by former Flyers forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. Bellemare is currently on IR.
The Flyers penalty kill ranks fourth in the NHL at 86.1 percent (opposing power plays are 15-for-108). Hathaway's shorthanded goal against the Canucks' was the Flyers' eighth of the season. Leaguewide, only the Calgary Flames (nine) have scored more times than the Flyers when shorthanded. Konecny has three SHGs this season, followed by two from Walker and one apiece by Poehling, Scott Laughton and Hathaway. The Kraken's power play ranks 17th in the NHL at 20.4 percent (22-for-108). Seattle has allowed four shorthanded goals.
5. Behind Enemy Lines: Seattle Kraken
The Kraken are a team that relies on winning relatively low-scoring games. They rank 28th offensively in the NHL with an average 2.67 goals scored per game (Philly ranks 21st at an even 3.00 goals per game average). Seattle has been on its game over the last three games. The Kraken nipped the LA Kings, 2-1, on Dec. 20. That was followed by a 3-2 win in Anaheim on Dec. 23. On Wednesday of this week, the Kraken exited the holiday break with a 2-1 road win in Calgary. Kailer Yamamoto and Wennberg scored for Seattle.
Offensive-minded defenseman Vince Dunn leads the Kraken in scoring with 29 points (5g, 24a) in 36 games. He's followed by right winger Oliver Bjorkstrand (11g, 16a), Jared McCann (14g, 8a), Eeli Tolvanen (9g, 12a), Matty Beniers (5g, 13a), Jordan Eberle (4g, 12a), the currently injured Jaden Schwartz (8g, 7a in 23 games played), Wennberg (5g, 9a), and Tomas Tatar (3g, 10a in 32 games).
