Philipp Grubauer relishes the sound of fans chanting his name when he makes crucial saves for the Seattle Kraken.
The constant chants of “Gruuuuu” were well-earned on Wednesday night as Grubauer delivered perhaps his finest performance for the NHL’s newest team.
“It’s special because they don’t do it for everybody,” Grubauer said. “It’s unbelievable. I love to hear it.”
Grubauer made 35 saves, and Marcus Johansson scored with a wrist shot past Frederik Andersen with 3:08 left, giving the Kraken a 2-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Just three nights after making a season-high 37 saves in a win over Washington, Grubauer was stellar again. He stopped 16 shots in the second period and 11 more in the third, helping Seattle secure back-to-back wins over top Eastern Conference teams.
Grubauer, who struggled early in the season, has shown significant improvement in his last two starts.
“He’s finding the puck through traffic. He’s seeing the puck and looks very calm and settled,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “You’ve got to read some plays very well, and we’ve seen that — for sure tonight.”
Seattle capped a six-game homestand with its second consecutive win and handed the Hurricanes their third regulation loss. Carolina, on a hot streak, lost for the second straight time after an overtime defeat to San Jose on Monday.
“Early in the year, we were getting a lot of bounces going our way, and now they’re not,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We play a game like that. Every game, we’re going to have good results.”
Seattle’s Jared McCann scored on the power play at 4:16 of the second period, and Johansson provided the game-winner in the final minutes. Johansson circled the net and fired a shot over Andersen’s left shoulder. It was Johansson’s second goal of the season and gave Seattle its first win this season when trailing after the first period.
“I saw a little bit of space between him and the post. The (defenseman) was giving me a good screen, and I was just trying to get it through, and it worked out,” Johansson said.
Brendan Smith gave Carolina an early lead at 18:32 of the first period with a slap shot from the point that slipped past Grubauer, who was screened by Jordan Staal.
But that was all Carolina could get past Grubauer. Andersen made 20 saves.
“These last few games, teams are selling out to make those blocks, and they’re really competing,” Smith said. “So we’re going to get the team’s best. We want it that way. We want to be prepared all year, so when it comes time in playoffs, we will be prepared for that.”
Seattle tied the game in the second period with its rapidly improving power play. McCann’s fifth goal on the power play marked the fifth straight game with a power-play goal for the Kraken. Seattle has scored on seven of its last 19 power-play opportunities after starting the season with just three goals in 38 chances.
Grubauer excelled when Carolina had the man advantage, demonstrating why Seattle invested heavily in him. He made key saves, including a lunge to stop Teuvo Teravainen and a kick save on a clear look from Andrei Svechnikov off a faceoff.
Grubauer also made a crucial save on Jordan Staal’s short-handed breakaway during Seattle’s power play and stopped several odd-man rushes in the third period.
“You got to tip your hat to their goalie,” Smith said. “I think he made some big saves and timely saves.”
NOTES
Carolina played its second game without defenseman Ethan Bear, who tested positive for COVID-19 before Monday’s game in San Jose. Vince Dunn and Svechnikov both received 5-minute penalties for fighting in the third period, with Svechnikov also receiving a roughing penalty. Johansson has five points in his past five games against Carolina.
UP NEXT
- Hurricanes: Close out their road trip at Philadelphia on Friday.
- Kraken: Open a four-game road trip at Tampa Bay on Friday.
