In their first game back from the holiday break, the Philadelphia Flyers lost 4-1 to the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on Sunday evening. Goaltender Philipp Grubauer made 31 saves. Eeli Tolvanen had a three-point game.
The Flyers had superior pressure in the first period but the game went to intermission scoreless. Seattle leading scorer Jordan Eberle (14th goal of the season) gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead early in the second period. That's how the game went to the third period, with Philadelphia still trailing by a goal.
Early in the third period, Chandler Stephenson (10th) gave Seattle some insurance. Later, Eeli Tolvanen sandwiched a pair of empty net goals (6th and 7th) around a Carl Grundstrom goal (6th).
In a losing cause, Dan Vladar made 16 saves on 18 shots.
FIRST PERIOD SYNOPSIS
Matty Beniers had the game's first scoring chance. Vladar turned it away. The Flyers netminder was also equal to a close-range attempt from Eeli Tolvanen.
Through six minutes, shots on goal were 3-1 Seattle.
The Flyers went to the game's first power play at 7:40. Berkly Catton went off for holding Nikita Grebenkin. Grubauer stopped a Jamie Drysdale shot through traffic. Drysdale soon fired another shot at the net. Travis Konencny had the best scoring chance of the man advantage. Matvei Michkov had one of his own right before it expired.
Denver Barkey was held by Ryan Lindgren. After a lengthy delayed call, the Flyers went to their second power play of the period. Noah Cates created a play with Bobby Brink going to the net. The Flyers had two shots on this power play after four on the first.
Right before the period expired, Vladar made a very tough stop on a blast from Lindgren.
Shots: Flyers 10 - Kraken 6
Faceoffs: Flyers 8 - Kraken 8
SECOND PERIOD SYNOPSIS
Seattle's top line had a scoring chance right off the bat. Jordan Eberle wasn't quite able to get to it at the net. Two shifts later, after a slick entry by Konecny, Christian Dvorak tipped the puck just wide.
At 3:48, Eberle gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead as the Flyers had a coverage miscue. Beniers made the initial play, and then Kappo Kakko found Eberle in the slot.
Philadelphia had trouble navigating the neutral zone against Seattle's back pressure. Through 13:20, the Flyers were still stuck on two shots for the period to six for Seattle.
At 13:52, Seattle was caught with too many men on the ice during a sloppy line change. Brink set up a screen on a Konecny shot early in the advantage. The rest of the power play was uneventful. Barkey put a shot on net as the penalty expired.
Grubauer made his best five-on-five save of the period on a shot from Dvorak. Grebenkin provided the feed.
Shots: Flyers 8 (18 overall) - Kraken 8 (14 overall)
Faceoffs: Flyers 11 (19 overall) - Kraken 8 (16 overall)
THIRD PERIOD SYNOPSIS
Michkov got in on the forecheck and then went to the net to set up a screen for a Travis Sanheim shot. The Flyers continued in successive shifts to focus on getting pucks and traffic to the net.
Stephenson made it 2-0 at 5:49. Vladar and Sanheim were unable to execute a puck exchange behind the net. Tolvanen then fed the recently hot Stephenson for a goal from the slot.
Drysdale pinched in and took a pass from Zegras. Grubauer made the stop. Through 11:14, shots on goal were 8-3 Flyers.
Vladar made a vital save on Jared McCann to keep the deficit at two goals. At the other end, Konecny had a look. Tippett then challenged the goalie, who made his 30th save of the game.
The Flyers called a time out and pulled Vladar for a 6-on-5. Tippett fired a shot on net. At the other end Tolvanen sealed the win with an empty net goal that went off Dvorak. Stephenson got the lone assist at 17:31.
Grundstrom broke up the shutout bid at 18:03. The assists went to Rodrigo Abols and Grebenkin. The Flyers pulled Vladar again. After a Flyers turnover, Tolvanen scored his second empty netter.
