Flyers fall flat in rematch against the Seattle Kraken, losing 6-2

SEATTLE — In their road rematch against the Seattle Kraken in the picturesque Pacific Northwest, the Flyers got lost at sea and caught in an unrelenting storm of goals.

After losing to former Flyers coach Dave Hakstol and the Kraken four days earlier at home, the Flyers responded with a lousy performance at Climate Pledge Arena and face-planted, 6-2. The Flyers have won just one of their five games since the All-Star break, going 1-3-1. In that span, they have averaged just 1.8 goals.

“It was probably our worst game of the year, I’d say,” winger James van Riemsdyk said. “Didn’t do a lot of good things at all. And we really left our goalies out to dry a few times.”

When the Kraken went up 4-0 in the second period thanks to a breakaway goal from winger Oliver Bjorkstrand, coach John Tortorella opted to pull goalie Carter Hart and put in backup Samuel Ersson. Hart finished with 15 saves on 19 shots, receiving little help from the defense in front of him.

Winger Travis Konecny made a dent in the Kraken’s 5-0 lead in the third period. Just 14 seconds after the opening faceoff, Konecny tipped a Noah Cates shot from the point past Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer for the Flyers’ first goal. He added another on a rebound with roughly six minutes remaining in the third period. Konecny’s tallies snapped a personal 13-game goalless drought and marked his 25th and 26th goals of the season, a career best.

However, center Matty Beniers added a breakaway goal 10 minutes after Konecny’s first goal, bringing the Kraken’s final scoring total to six goals. That matched the Flyers’ worst goals against of the season, having conceded six goals in four other games this season.

After Tortorella lamented the Flyers’ structure in their last game Sunday against the Kraken, the Flyers followed it up Thursday with an abysmal first period. They failed to record a shot on goal until 13 minutes, 41 seconds had elapsed in the frame when winger Joel Farabee’s wrister was denied by Grubauer. That marked the Flyers’ lone shot on goal through 20 minutes.

The Kraken were far more prolific, racking up 12 shots in the first period, two of which resulted in goals. Kraken winger Jared McCann scored one shorthanded just three minutes into the game, and center Yanni Gourde tipped another past Hart on a delayed penalty. They had a particularly strong power play when winger Wade Allison was called for tripping, generating five shots on goal.

“Didn’t have it from the first period,” center Scott Laughton said. “Kept going throughout the game. They’re a good team. Kind of the same-old story.”

Winger Nicolas Deslauriers dropped the gloves with Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak in an attempt to shift the momentum with 6:30 remaining in the period, but the Flyers failed to find a spark. The Flyers finished with 19 shots on goal to the Kraken’s 30.

» READ MORE: Flyers hope to recapture their identity and structure in second crack at Seattle Kraken

The Flyers headed to the man advantage just 2:30 into the game when defenseman Cam York drew a hooking call against Kraken center Ryan Donato. While the Flyers’ power play has struggled this season, ranking 31st in the league (15.95%), they looked to take advantage of the Kraken’s underwhelming penalty kill (31st, 71.43%). But the Flyers got off to a bad start when McCann stripped the puck from forward Kevin Hayes to create a 2-on-1 shorthanded rush. Defenseman Tony DeAngelo took away the pass from McCann, who then decided to shoot, scoring on Hart high to the glove side to put the Kraken up, 1-0.

McCann’s shorthanded goal marked the Kraken’s third of the season. The Flyers were not afforded another opportunity on the power play and went 0-for-1.

While the Flyers floundered on the power play, the Kraken soared, tallying goals on three opportunities. Gourde scored on a delayed penalty in the first period. In the second period, defenseman Justin Schultz continued to solidify the lead when he scored from the point through traffic on the man advantage to put the Kraken up, 3-0.

Roughly three minutes after Bjorkstrand scored on a breakaway, leading to Hart getting pulled, Seattle went back on the power play when center Patrick Brown was called for tripping. Kraken center Jaden Schwartz set Gourde up for a one-timer from the high slot, scoring on the first shot Ersson faced to go up, 5-0. For the game, the Kraken went 2-for-3 on the power play.

“I took an O-zone hooking penalty,” Laughton said. “Ends up in the back of the net. Stuff like that you can’t do, especially against a quick team like that that moves the puck.”

The Flyers play their first of three games in western Canada on Saturday when they take on the Vancouver Canucks at 10 p.m. ET (NBC Sports Philadelphia).