How the Flyers clamped down on the Kraken in the third period of a 3-2 victory

Two shots on goal.

That’s all the Seattle Kraken had in the third period of the Flyers’ 3-2 win on Saturday night.

One shot was the goal that tied things up at 2 just 36 seconds into the final frame. The other came with 32 seconds left in regulation. For comparison, the Flyers had 14, including a goal. Philly goalie Cal Petersen could have probably used a cardigan for how long he went without seeing action.

It was quite a difference from just two nights earlier, when the Winnipeg Jets got 10 shots on goal to the Flyers’ five in the final period. The push from the Jets, which included 15 shots in the second period, too, was to be expected as they have the likes of Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, Josh Morrissey, and Kyle Connor and were the top team in the NHL the last time the two teams met.

No disrespect to the Kraken, but they don’t have the firepower the Jets have — as evidenced by their 27th-ranked goals per game (2.76). But when there is opportunity, teams tend to take advantage. There just weren’t any blank spaces or open lanes for them to head to. In the end, Saturday night was all right for the Flyers.

Here are a few insights into how they shut down the Kraken.

The boring answer is the Flyers had two power plays in the third period. Obviously, when you have the man advantage, the other team, more than likely, doesn’t have the puck anyway.

There wasn’t much bad blood in this game; seven penalties were handed out, with one being an unsuccessful coach’s challenge and the other a delay of game. Will Borgen was the guy who sent the puck over the glass. It came nine seconds after Sean Couturier gave the Flyers the 3-2 lead. Momentum was already on the Orange and Black’s side and that just helped amplify it. They had six shot attempts as they controlled the play for the majority of the man advantage.

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Philly had another power-play chance with 11 minutes, 50 seconds left in the game. This time they had just two shot attempts, with one hitting the net. But the key to this was how the man advantage was earned. Travis Konecny put pressure on Jamie Oleksiak when he was trying to retrieve the puck in the Seattle zone and the big defenseman ended up hauling him down in the process.

Yep, the Flyers love to create trouble for their opponents. Forechecking is something that John Tortorella has stressed with his group, especially down the stretch as the playoff push begins. But while they put pressure in the offensive and neutral zones, a la Konency, they also created pressure in the defensive zone by keeping the Seattle squad to the outside and away from Petersen. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Kraken did not have a single high-danger chance in the final 20 minutes at five-on-five.

Thanks to the constant pressure, like when the Kraken tried to break out or in the neutral zone when they employed a 1-2-2 or a 2-1-2 defensive staggering, the Flyers forced Seattle to make quick decisions. By putting pressure on the puck carrier, they either forced him to make a bad pass that didn’t connect or they were able to take the puck away. There is a third option when you apply pressure to the puck carrier, and that is he makes a great play despite having an opponent in his face. You tend to tip your cap on that one. But the Kraken didn’t do that.

A prime example of good pressure was one that created a scoring chance by Tyson Foerster in the third period. He applied some pressure and got a high-danger opportunity from seven feet out with 4:35 left. The Flyers also had their defensemen open to pinching. It happened only sparingly in the final 15 minutes after Couturier scored, but when a blueliner did, he got coverage at his position from his forwards. It’s critical to know you have that guy backing you up to avoid odd-man rushes — and a Grade A scoring chance — the other way.

Then, with 2:58 left, the Flyers faced just their second defensive zone draw of the period. Couturier drew the puck back, but Kraken forward Tomas Tatar swooped in to get the puck. The Kraken’s offensive zone time didn’t last long as the Flyers did what they do best — put pressure on.

Whether it was immediate pressure or the thought of its coming, Seattle also began to dump the puck in more. Sure, it’s a good strategy, but more times than not, the Flyers were the first to the puck and were able to break out. And we all know just how good the guys from Philly are on the rush.

Instead of Taylor Swift songs, maybe it should be the LMFAO song “Shots” but with a tweak to blocks because, well, it’s a love story between the Flyers and shot-blocking.

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The Flyers finished with 23 blocked shots in the game. Eight of those came in the third period and four came in the final two minutes; the Kraken had one shot on goal in that span. One of those blocks was by Foerster on Oleksiak. The Big Rig can hit close to 100 mph and his shot from above the left faceoff circle seemed to sting Foerster who, according to The Athletic, was seen with a walking boot postgame.

Seeing the 22-year-old stand in front of the hefty shot surely sparked his group to clamp down even more. And shot-blocking is a critical component of the Flyers’ defensive game; they rank fourth in the NHL (952), with defenseman Nick Seeler leading the league in shot-blocking prowess (153). As Konency said in November, “If you’re not doing that, you’re not playing.”

And then there is puck control. It is a big part of the Flyers’ personality. Considering how bad things went against Winnipeg — from 65.63% Corsi For in the first period at five-on-five to 31.03% in the second and a look-away 17.86% in the third, according to Natural Stat Trick — it’s no wonder Tortorella was irate afterward.

Against the Kraken, the Flyers’ third-period Corsi For at five-on-five was 69.23%. That’s more indicative of who this team is. Across all strengths, they had 27 shot attempts to 12 for the Kraken. It’s somewhat on the level of the three shots they allowed in the third period in a come-from-behind 2-1 win against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday. It’s why Tortorella was more than pleased with Games 1 (after the first period) and 3 (”complete” game) of the three-game winning streak.