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RECAP: Grubauer shines in Kraken 2–1 win over Hurricanes

  
RECAP: Grubauer shines in Kraken 2–1 win over Hurricanes
Marcus Johansson of the Seattle Kraken celebrates after scoring a goal during the third period to take a 2-1 lead against the Carolina Hurricanes at Climate Pledge Arena on November 24, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Christopher Mast/NHLI via Getty Images)

Happy US Thanksgiving, Kraken fans and Rinkrats, we wish you all a safe and happy holiday with your families!

The Carolina Hurricanes made their first visit to Seattle, Wednesday, to face the Kraken. Carolina was on the heels of an overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks two nights before, which ended a four game winning streak. Seattle was coming off a big home win against the Washington Capitals on Sunday night. Taking two out of three games from the Colorado Avalanche, Capitals or Hurricanes should be just what they need to get the train rolling in the right direction.

The Kraken and Canes played a pretty tight first period, which was nice to see if you are a “long-suffering” Kraken fan. Shots were 9–7 in favor of the visitors, and there was just one goal scored.

Late in the first, defenseman Brendan Smith beat Philipp Grubauer from long range on a perfect screen shot just under the crossbar. As we mentioned on last week’s Kraken Hostile Rinkcast, the Kraken netminder has really struggled this season to stop those shots he should but this was not necessarily the case. Hurricanes veteran center Jared Staal provided the screen in front which was enough to delay Grubauer’s reaction.

This resulted in a 1–0 Carolina lead after 20 minutes.

The Kraken fought back, as they did against the Capitals, with another power play goal from red-hot Jared McCann. The goal was their sixth in their last 12 opportunities and ran their streak of power play goals to five straight games.

Despite getting outshot 16–9, Grubauer and the Seattle defense held the Canes scoreless in the second, which set up a tight third period for the Kraken faithful.

Just when it seemed as though the game was headed to overtime, Kraken forward Marcus Johansson surprised Carolina goaltender Freddie Andersen (and everyone watching) with a shot that found its way through two Canes defenders and into the back of the net. The goal came with just over three minutes left in regulation and was all that Grubauer and the Kraken needed to pull off a second goalie win in a row.

Anchor points

⚓ We pointed out the goalie win on Sunday which makes this game a second goalie win in a row. Could Grubauer finally be finding his footing? He has saved 51 of his last 54 shots faced and has a .944 overall save percentage. More importantly, he has saved all 16 high-danger chances he has seen in the last two games. This is the Philipp Grubauer we all expected.

⚓ The power play is on fire and has made its way up to 21st overall. We preached earlier this season about how the Kraken needed solid goaltending and power play production to win games and here we are, winning on the heels of a power play goal and strong performances in goal.

⚓ The possession and analytics metrics were a mess for the Kraken. The 5-on-5 in shot attempts (Corsi 63%-37%), unblocked shots (Fenwick 58%-42%), high danger chances for (HDCF% 69%–31%) and expected goal for (xGF% 69%-31%) were all heavily in favor of Carolina, which is not unexpected for one of the top teams in the league. Carolina also had a convincing lead in faceoff wins 61%-39%. This is a game that Seattle flat-out stole from the Hurricanes.

⚓ The Kraken have Thanksgiving off but are right back at it, facing the Tampa Bay Lightning, in Tampa on Friday. The puck drop is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. PST.