Looking for their third straight win after the NHL All-Star break, John Tortorella's Philadelphia Flyers (27-19-6) will host Dave Hakstol's Seattle Kraken (21-19-10) on Saturday evening. Game time at Wells Fargo Center is 7:00 p.m. ET.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and Hulu. The radio broadcast is on 93.3 WMMR with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.
This is the second and final meeting of the season between the inter-conference teams and the lone game in Philadelphia. On December 29 in Seattle, the Flyers took a 1-0 lead into the third period on the strength of a Travis Konency shorthanded goal in the first period. Unfortunately, the Flyers were unable to close out a victory. The Kraken tied the game on a Vince Dunn tally before winning the match in sudden death on a Justin Schultz goal at 2:35.
The Flyers, who are 12-12-2 on home ice this season, enter Saturday's game coming off a 4-1 home victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. Konecny recorded a Gordie Howe Hat Trick in the first period, including his 24th goal of the season. Tyson Foerster (10th), Morgan Frost (8th) and Ryan Poehling (SHG, 6th) also lit the lamp for Philadelphia. Samuel Ersson earned the win with 28 saves on 29 shots.
The Kraken, who are 21-19-10 on the road, will begin a four-games-in-six-nights road trip on Saturday. The game against the Flyers is Seattle's first game since a 2-0 road loss to the San Jose Sharks on January 30.
Here are five things to watch in Saturday's game:
1. Breakout games for Couturier and Atkinson?
Cam Atkinson (51 games played, 13g, 15a, 28 points) put together a strong offensive run from January 13 to 23, posting five goals, five assists and 10 points over the course of a six-game point streak.
Since then, Atklnson has cooled off. He has not posted a point in his last four games. Atkinson was benched throughout the third period of Thursday's game against the Jets. Saturday's game is a chance for a reset.
Sean Couturier, who missed three games in late January with a mild lower-body injury, is still third on the team in scoring with 31 points (10g, 21a) in 48 games played this season while averaging 19:51 of ice time.
While he's remaining strong in his two-way game, points have been hard to come by lately for Couturier. He has just one point (0g, 1a) in his last seven games and just one goal in 17 games played (1g, 7a, 8 points) since the Christmas break. Couturier's last tally came on January 6 at home against Calgary.
As with Atkinson, a breakout game against Seattle for Couturier who be a major boost for the Flyers.
2. Staying the course
In Tuesday's game in Florida, the Flyers got off to a slow start before finding their desired style of play in the final 40 minutes of play. On Thursday against Winnipeg, Philly dominated the first period and built a 3-0 lead. The edge swelled to four goals early in the middle stanza.
However, over the game's final 37-plus minutes, the Flyers were largely hemmed in their own end of the ice. Tortorella was quite displeased with what he saw, although his team skated off with a 4-1 win.
Moving forward, the Flyers need to do a better job at regaining their equilibrium quickly when there are a few minutes that do not got their way. If they're leading, stay the course. If they're trailing or tied, channel the response from the Florida game.
3. Puck management
In the earlier game this season, the Kraken were credited with 10 takeaways against the Flyers. Added to three giveaways charged to the Flyers and puck management issues eventually took a toll on Philly.
This time around, the Flyers would do themselves a huge favor if they take better care of the puck against the Kraken.
4. Flyers Special Teams vs. Seattle Special Teams
The Flyers went 0-for-4 on the power play against the Jets, including an unsuccessful two-man advantage. The Flyers have fallen below 13 percent on the season (21-for-163, ranked 31st, three shorthanded goals allowed).
The Kraken's penalty kill ranks 20th in the NHL at 78.8 percent (opponents are 29-for-137) with two shorthanded goals scored: one apiece for Alex Wennberg and former Flyers forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.
Philly went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill against the Jets, with a shorthanded goal by Poehling. For the season, the Flyers rank second on the PK at 85.7 percent (opponents are 23-for-161). Poehling's SHG was Philly's 11th of the season (tied for the NHL league lead with the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues): five by Konecny, two apiece for Poehling and Sean Walker, one apiece for Scott Laughton and Garnet Hathaway.
Seattle's power play ranks 15th in the NHL at 21.7 percent (30-for-138, five shorthanded goals allowed).
5. Behind Enemy Lines: Seattle Kraken
Exiting their extended break, Oliver Bjorkstrand leads the Kraken with 40 points (13g, 27a). He's followed by Dunn (8g, 29a, 37 points), Jared McCann (20g, 15a, 35 points) and Eeli Tolvanen (13g, 17a, 30 points).
In goal, Joey Daccord has made 31 starts and three relief appearances, going 15-9-9 with a 2.32 GAA, .921 save percentage and two shutouts. The Flyes learned in the previous game against the Kraken this season that Daccord is a very good puck-handling goalie. They'll need to adjust this time around.
Phillip Grubauer has made 17 starts this season. He's gone 5-9-1 with a 3.25 GAA and .884 save percentage.
