Dan Vladar was really good.
Problem was, Philipp Grubauer was just a little bit better.
That pretty much sums up how things went in the Flyers’ first game back from the Christmas break on Sunday night in Seattle.
Vladar allowed only two goals while guarding the Flyer cage (Seattle scored twice late into an empty net) but Grubauer made some sensational saves of his own as Philadelphia fell to the Kraken, 4-1, at Climate Change Arena.
Flyers coach Rick Tocchet shuffled his lines in the third period, moving up Noah Cates to take over for Sean Couturier on his line but the move did not have much of a desired effect.
Carl Grundstrom scored with 1:57 to play for the only Flyer goal.
In post-game comments, Tocchet indicated the Flyers’ biggest shortcoming was their inability to station players close to the net. Many of the Flyers’ 32 shots were from low-danger areas.
“We’ve got to get people in front of the net,” Tocchet said. “We didn’t have enough net-front or rebound type of goals.”
The shots which did make it to the net became easy stops for Grubauer.
Philadelphia was blanked on three power-play opportunities, two of them coming in the first period.
“He, Grubauer, played well,” Tocchet said. “When we had shots from the point, everyone was on the perimeter. That was the bottom line. That was the only criticism for the team. Most of the night I thought we controlled a fair amount of the play. But if you get three power plays, you’ve got to find a way.”
Jordan Eberle opened the scoring with a goal at 3:48 of the second period. Eberle used a Kaapo Kakko pass to the front of the net for a quick shot past Vladar. The Flyers’ Matvei Michkov might have missed a defensive assignment on the play.
The Kraken made it 2-0 at 5:49 of the second period. Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim lost control of the puck behind the Flyer net during a battle with Eeli Tolvanen. A pass to Chandler Stephenson resulted in a shot that Vladar couldn’t handle.
“We probably controlled most of the game,” Sanheim said. “We weren’t getting enough traffic in front of the goalie. We’ve got to get in front of him, deliver pucks. We made a couple mistakes and unfortunate we couldn’t come out with a win there.”
Nick Seeler said the Flyers played a sound defensive game. It was just a matter of getting more offensive attempts when they presented themselves.
“We played a real good first period I thought, structurally,” Seeler said. “Their goalie played really well tonight. I thought we moved the puck well on the power play. But not the result we wanted. But I think there were a lot of good things to our game.”
Seattle then added its first empty-net goal with 2:29 to play for a 3-0 lead and removing all doubt as to the outcome.
In a scoreless first period, the Flyers had several good scoring chances, particularly on the power play but Grubauer was up to the task.
During a first-intermission televised interview, defenseman Jamie Drysdale said the Flyers might be able to develop some good feelings with the man advantage, particularly during a power play caused when Denver Barkey was interfered with on a breakaway.
“We got pucks on net,” Drysdale offered. “We can build some confidence from that.”
>Tippett looking for consistency
Owen Tippett is one of those players who runs hot and cold. Tocchet said there are ways to keep things on an even keel.
“For me it’s just the details,” Tocchet said in a pre-game interview. “Barkey has helped him. If ‘Tip’ stays detailed, he can look really good out there. Off the rush, that’s where his talent is. There are still things around the slot he’s getting better at.”
Tocchet would like to see Tippett work his way in close to the net when possible.
“A guy like him, with his hands, his size, there’s seven or eight goals there,” the coach said. “We need a good second half (of the season) from him.”
>Trip continues
The Flyers’ road trip continues with a game on Tuesday night at Vancouver and then an encounter on Wednesday night at Calgary. The trip concludes on Jan. 3 at Edmonton.
>Barkey mark best in years
Barkey’s two-assist performance in his rookie debut at the New York Rangers on Dec. 20 was the first multi-point game by a Flyer first-timer since Hayden Hodgson had two points on March 24, 2022.
>Zegras streak ends
Trevor Zegras took a career-high nine-game point streak into the game but that’s where it ended. That was the second longest active streak in the NHL, trailing only Edmonton’s Connor McDavid (12).
>Road warriors
The Flyers’ success on the road this season has them among the league leaders. Going into the Kraken game, Philadelphia’s .750 winning percentage was in a four-way tie behind league-leading Florida (.800).
>Penalty killers strong
Penalty killing has not been an issue for the Flyers this season. They’ve been in the top 10 for most of the schedule and most recently were ninth in the NHL at 82.5 percent.
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