This was a night filled to the brim with many firsts. The first time the Kraken came to Philadelphia, the first time Dave Hakstol returned to Philadelphia as an opposing coach, and the first time Ryan Ellis and Derrick Brassard scored as Flyers.
This was a masterclass from the Flyers – there’s no other way to put it. The orange and black outclassed the Kraken en route to a 6-1 victory.
The Kraken took control early despite some early chances from the Flyers. They almost went up early but Carter Hart said “Not in my house.”
Alpha male save from the young goalie there. Equal parts Patrick Roy and Dominik Hasek, really.
Claude Giroux capitalized almost immediately after and gave the Flyers an early lead, receiving an assist from Travis Konecny.
No more than two minutes pass and TK pots a goal of his own off his own rebound, giving the Flyers a 2-0 lead with roughly 8 minutes to play in the opening period.
Before the end of the first period Travis Sanheim made a heads up play, picking the pocket of a Kraken player which lead to extended time in the offensive zone where Justin Braun found Derrick Brassard who put the third goal of the period on the board from a near impossible angle.
The second period started slow, but the Flyers kept the scoring going. Joel Farabee fed Brassard who found a streaking Ryan Ellis who scored his first goal as a Flyer. Not long after, stay-at-home defenseman Justin Braun snuck one past Philipp Grubauer for the fifth goal of the evening. Grubauer was relieved by Chris Driedger after.
With a score of 5-0 and no hope from the Kraken, things began to get chippy – scrums occuring at every break. One lead directly to a fight between Nick Seeler and Jamie Oleksiak which some fans will say is the highlight of the evening.
The fight may have energized the Kraken, despite the crowd going absolutely bonkers for Seeler, the opposing team put a goal on the board, Max Soucy potted his own rebound, to drop the Flyers lead to four at the end of the second period.
The Flyers scored once in the third period: Joel Farabee on a feed from Cam Atkinson and Brassard.
At the midway point of the final period, Nate Thompson absolutely beat the brakes off Nathan Bastian. Both players were sent to the locker room for the remainder of the game. 5 minute majors and 10 minute misconducts for the two of them.
From there, the game ended unceremoniously both teams going through the motions until the final horn; save for a Max Willman tripping penalty with 1:41 remaining.
The Flyers cruised to a 6-1 win and move to 1-0-1. The Kraken fall to 1-2-1.
Stats:
Derrick Brassard – 1 goal, 2 assists
Justin Braun – 1 goal, 1 assist
Joel Farabee – 1 goal, 1 assist
Travis Konecny – 1 goal, 1 assist
Claude Giroux – 1 goal
Ryan Ellis – 1 goal
Cam Atkinson, Oskar Lindblom, James van Riemsdyk, Travis Sanheim and Keith Yandle – 1 assist
Carter Hart: 22 saves on 23 shots.
The Flyers return to action on Wednesday Oct. 20 at 7:30 p.m. for a home tilt against the Boston Bruins.
Photo Credit: Alex McIntyre
