Trying to avenge their shootout loss from Friday night to the Vancouver Canucks, the Philadelphia Flyers will play host to the Seattle Kraken for their first ever encounter. The Flyers (0-0-1) are coming off a disappointing effort against the Canucks, trying to win their first game of the season. The Kraken (1-1-1) are coming off the heels of an overtime loss themselves against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night.
The highly anticipated season opener started off well as the Flyers had a very dominating first period. They took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission but a 6 minute stretch in the second period saw the wheels fall off as they found themselves down 4-2 heading into the third and final frame.
It was a lifeless effort as the Vancouver Canucks were dominating both ends of the ice and it seemed like the Flyers were dead in the water. The Flyers down by 2 with less than 3 minutes remaining, found the will to tie things up and send it into overtime. Travis Konecny scored a power play goal to cut the deficit to one and then Claude Giroux responded a minute and five seconds later with a goal of his own.
Carter Hart had a rough second period but he was able to keep the Flyers in the game and send it all the way to a shootout. He allowed 4 goals on the Canucks first 17 shots but was able to stop the remaining 22 he faced in the third period and overtime. He made some very big saves down the stretch, including a breakaway attempt by Elias Pettersson in overtime, but the game will largely be remembered by his bad angle gaffes that led to goals 2, 3, and 4.
The shootouts has always been a detriment to the Flyers game, no matter the coach, players, or goalies. They lost in the quickest way possible, going down 2-0, after Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux missed their chances. Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller finished things off and handed the Flyers their first loss of the season, albeit past regulation.
In their inaugural debut as a franchise against the Vegas Golden Knights, the Kraken found themselves down 3-0 midway through the second period. They forced their way back into the game, tying it up at 3 with goals from Ryan Donato, Jared McCann, and Morgan Geekie. The Golden Knights scored soon after on a somewhat controversial play as Chandler Stephenson redirected the puck with his skate, though some thought it was a distinct kicking motion.
Their fortunes changed a couple days later as they earned their first ever victory at the hands of the Nashville Predators. They got goals from Jared McCann, Brandon Tanev (2), and Alex Wennberg, as they were able to hold on at the end for a 4-3 victory. Saturday’s game was a little less offensive as they only mustered 20 shots on goal and lost to the Blue Jackets 2-1 in overtime. Brandon Tanev scored his third goal of the season and Philipp Grubauer, who has played in all 3 games, boasts a 1-1-1 record with a 2.98 GAA and an .894 save percentage.
The Flyers lineup will remain unchanged from their last game. Carter Hart will start again for Philadelphia. Nick Seeler, who was assigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms earlier on Sunday, was called back up again as Rasmus Ristolainen is still unavailable to make his debut. Zack MacEwen remains out due to issues relating to his visa, and Patrick Brown remains on the COVID protocol list.
The Seattle Kraken have been without Yanni Gourde, Calle Jarnkrok, and Colin Blackwell due to COVID protocol. Marcus Johansson was placed on injured reserve after their season opener, and Vince Dunn, who missed the Columbus game on Saturday, remains day-to-day.
The Philadelphia Flyers projected lineup:
Claude Giroux – Sean Couturier – Travis Konecny
Joel Farabee – Derick Brassard – Cam Atkinson
Oskar Lindblom – Scott Laughton – James van Riemsdyk
Max Willman – Nate Thompson – Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Ivan Provorov – Ryan Ellis
Travis Sanheim – Justin Braun
Keith Yandle – Nick Seeler
Carter Hart
The Seattle Kraken projected lineup:
Jaden Schwartz – Jared McCann – Jordan Eberle
Kole Lind – Alexander Wennberg – Joonas Donskoi
Brandon Tanev – Morgan Geekie – Ryan Donato
Nathan Bastian- Riley Sheahan – Mason Appleton
Jamie Oleksiak – Adam Larsson
Mark Giordano – Carson Soucy
Jeremy Lauzon – Haydn Fleury
Philipp Grubauer
