Phillip Grubauer and the Seattle Kraken can go into the All-Star break feeling good. On Saturday, they defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 at home in the Climate Pledge Arena and now go into their six days off as leaders in the Pacific Division. The win came after their first period of weakness in the new calendar year. After a sensational run of eight wins earlier in the year, the Kraken are 2-3-1 in their last six games.
“When you look at the schedule, the strain of travel, the number of games, you would expect the team to show signs of fatigue,” admitted coach Dave Hakstol, praising his side for their perseverance. “Ending the month with a record of 11-3-1 is really good. This team should be proud of that.”
After a 5-2 loss to the Calgary Flames just a day earlier, the end of the month threatened to be disappointing. But the Kraken quickly made it clear that they would only be satisfied with a win. After a third it was through Morgan Geekie (9th) 1-0, a third later Alex Wennberg (29th) increased to 2-0, Eeli Tolvanen (46th) put the final point in the third period.
Video: CBJ@SEA: Tolvanen in the third period
“It means a lot to me. I had a tough time early in the season,” said Tolvanen, who arrived from the Nashville Predators on December 12. “Hockey wasn’t much fun anymore. To come here and get the coaches’ trust and get the opportunity to play a lot was a really good feeling.”
The Kraken not only owed their victory against Columbus to their strikers, but also to a strong defense and goalkeeper Grubauer. In the first two periods, Seattle outplayed their opponents with 27:13 shots on goal, a clear contrast to the loss to the Flames when Seattle lost 30:38 attempts.
“We didn’t use our speed in the last game,” said Wennberg. “We talked about getting rid of the game and concentrating on the next one. We just take one game at a time and just look at how we played today. Now we’ll have a little break and then we’ll focus forward to the next game.”
Video: SEA 3, CBJ 1
The Blue Jackets put the pressure on again in the third period and came close to 25:31 shots on goal, but Grubauer didn’t allow anything in the final period. The Rosenheimer threw a certain burden off his shoulders, because he had been waiting for his next victory since January 10th. Since then he has had two assignments in which he has performed well. He saved 53 of 56 shots (94.6 percent) against the Colorado Avalanche and the Tampa Bay Lightning. The win came before half-time on Saturday and the keeper’s 24 saves also earned his coach’s praise.
“His performance doesn’t really get the attention it deserves,” Hakstol emphasized Grubauer’s contribution. “You can see that when you look at the second period and the quality of Columbus’ chances. For me, that was the key moment for our goalkeeper. The second period was crucial. He was there for his team-mates. He made a few saves from a difficult position . We defended weakly at times and looked tired.”
Grubauer lost his number one position between the posts to newcomers this season Martin Jones. In 17 games, the German national goalkeeper has a record of 5-8-2, an 89.7 percent catch rate and 3.03 goals per game. However, his recent performances commend himself for more ice time on Seattle’s road to its first Stanley Cup Playoff appearance.
[Ähnliches: Grubauer im Interview: “Es schaut ganz anders aus als letztes Jahr”]
The team is in its second NHL season. In their freshman season, the Kraken finished bottom in the Pacific Division with 60 points (27-49-6). They now surpass that haul after just 49 games with 63 points (29-15-5) and are the surprise team of the season ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights (62 points, 29-18-4) in first place.
Kicking off the month in February, the Kraken have six days off before going into a streak of five on Feb. 7 with the New York Islanders (7:30 pm ET; NHL.tv; Feb. 8 1:30 pm ET). go away games in a row.