Grubauer Stars In Return, Leading Kraken To 2-1 Shootout Win Over Islanders

For the first time in more than two months, goalie Philipp Grubauer returned between the pipes for the Seattle Kraken.

Grubauer's stout 26-save, 65-minute-plus performance led a 2-1 shootout victory over the New York Islanders Tuesday at UBS Arena.

With a more spirited effort than earlier in their trip, Seattle broke a three game losing streak, and a string of six straight road losses. More importantly, they breathed two points of life into their Western Conference wild card chase.

Offensive support was provided by a spectacular 1st period goal from Matty Beniers, and the shootout winner by Tomas Tatar.

1st Period

Grubauer last played on Dec. 9 (photo at left), hurt while stretching for a puck in a home game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Since then, Joey Daccord has started 22 of the next 24 Kraken games, with Chris Drieger (now back in Coachella Valley) handling the other two.

Grubauer got to "feel" the puck, making a relatively routine save on Oliver Wahlstrom 40 seconds in.

Matty Beniers takes a licking and keeps on ticking!

New York's Ryan Pulock crumples Beniers with a hit that appears to leave him woozy. The puck heads down ice, but when Jared McCann lugs it back, there's Matty up and open on the right wing. He zings the puck past Isles goalie Ilya Sorokin for a 1-0 Seattle lead at 5:27.

The game within the game: Jordan Eberle engages with Pulock in response to the hit. This may have delayed the NY defenseman getting back into the play. Also, Beniers being slow to rise left him up-ice and ready to receive McCann's pass for his 7th goal.

The Kraken, not looking like a team on the 2nd of back-to-back games, have an early 14-4 advantage in shot attempts. Sorokin goes post-to-post to keep the Kraken from doubling their lead.

Grubauer makes confident-looking saves on Brock Nelson and Oliver Wahlstrom.

To make life more interesting, Andre Burakovsky takes a high-sticking double minor. Showing the same energy they've exhibited all period, Seattle kills all four minutes against the Islanders' 12th ranked PP. Grubauer makes three saves, and his defenders make four blocks in front of him.

Shots are 9-7 NY in the first, built largely on the double minor to Burakovsky.

2nd Period

Seattle has remarkable zone time early in the period. They're able to make line change after line change, while forcing the Isles' d-pair of Alexander Romanov and Noah Dobson to stay on ice for three minutes, thirty seconds. The only downside: no truly serious scoring chances.

A Kyle Palmieri wraparound is thwarted by the stick of Kraken defenseman Will Borgen.

Oliver Bjorkstrand, on a 2-on-1 with Yanni Gourde, is denied by Sorokin. It's head-scratching that the NYI goalie tandem of Sorokin and Semyon Varlomov is allowing 3.31 goals against per game, 25th in the league.

Half the game has elapsed, and Grubauer has saved all 14 New York shots. Just over two years ago, Grubauer authored the first shutout in Kraken history, a 3-0 whitewash on Long Island. Just sayin'.

Never mind. A borderline boarding call on Gourde leads to the Islanders' tying goal. Palmieri makes it 1-1 at 14:37. Adam Larsson whiffing on the puck behind his net just prior didn't help.

22 seconds later, Seattle gets its first shot at the NHL's statistically-worst (71%) penalty kill. The Kraken can't retake the lead on the PP. Shots were 10-10 in the period, 19-17 NYI after 40.

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3rd Period

Three NHL teams have suffered double-digit overtime/shootout losses. Two of those are the Islanders (12) and the Kraken (10). The game is tied going into the final period.

Both teams are averaging under three goals per game this season, and neither wants to make a game-deciding mistake. So a cautious 3rd period so far isn't unexpected.

Still - see above - neither team wants to see this game go past regulation.

It can be said without contradiction that Grubauer did not look rusty in the Seattle net; nor like a goalie who carried a 3.25 goals-against average and .884 save percentage in 17 prior games this season.

Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak has the period's best scoring chance with four minutes left, sending a ripper down the slot which Sorokin stops from the top of his crease. Palmieri and Jaden Schwartz were on the ice battling for position behind him.

With a minute left, Oleksiak down low tips a Will Borgen shot, forcing a fine Sorokin save.

Shots in the 3rd period were 12-5 Seattle, which dominated late, and 29-24 through regulation. Seattle has 20 blocks, NYI 27.

Overtime

This game, of course, goes past regulation.

Bo Horvat's 2-on-1 snipe is swallowed by Grubauer without a rebound.

Vince Dunn is tripped by Palmieri with 1:49 left in OT, setting up a 4-on-3 Kraken power play - again, versus the league's worst penalty kill. An ineffective PP is nullified with 32 seconds remaining by a Jaden Schwartz slashing call. The final seconds of 4-on-4 play tick away without a goal.

In the shootout, Seattle goes 1-for-3, Tomas Tatar scoring on a change of pace. New York 0-for-3, as Grubauer makes three saves for his 150th career win.

Kraken win 2-1, their second shootout win in six tries.