Shutout in Seattle: Philipp Grubauer and the Kraken hold the Penguins scoreless in tight 2-0 victory
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – In the face of adversity, the Seattle Kraken are still finding ways to produce results and keep their postseason hopes for their third season alive. Against a Pittsburgh Penguins team that had won four of their last six games and with the wild card chase becoming tighter by the day, the Kraken were able to hunker down and put together a 2-0 victory behind a shutout performance from goaltender Philipp Grubauer with net front goals by Oliver Bjorkstrand and Alex Wennberg. Despite an ugly first period that saw Grubauer bail them out on multiple occasions, Seattle was able to get on board first and held on to that one-goal lead until Alex Wennberg added the second Kraken goal of the night in the third period. It’s a gritty, tough two points that they desperately needed, and this level of play needs to continue into an even more difficult stretch that’s approaching.
Pregame sights and scenes from warmups and the national anthem, ahead of the 2-0 Seattle Kraken win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday, February 29th, 2024. (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Coming out on top of a sloppy period
From the jump, this game looked like it was headed in Pittsburgh’s favor. The Penguins dominated the shot total for this first frame and put a few decent chances on net, but Seattle’s Philipp Grubauer was up to the task early and often. With the tough shots that Pittsburgh put on the German born goaltender, there were more that provided less of a threat as the Kraken skaters were able to clog shooting lanes and force the Penguins outside, resulting in numerous shots that Grubauer could see all the way through which helped him get into a groove, or “GRUUUUUVE” if we’re playing into what the fans at Climate Pledge Arena chant after one of his saves. It was great to see that Grubauer was on his game and ready to go from puck drop, but that sort of play isn’t sustainable when it comes to winning and Seattle needs all of the points they can get, so something needed to change. They just needed to Bjork around and find out, and Bjork they did.
For the second game in a row, Oliver Bjorkstrand was able to punch home a goal that had found it’s way towards the net off the stick of teammate Will Borgen from the blue line. Borgen’s blast from the blue line spun into the air after hitting Alex Wennberg square in the back, going skyward where only Bjorkstrand was able to keep eyes on it. Two Pittsburgh skaters, goaltender Tristan Jarry, and Wennberg all looked around at eye level or below for the puck, but Bjorkstrand tracked it the whole way and was able to tap it home through Jarry’s five-hole at the right moment, putting Seattle on the board first despite the Penguins dominating the chances through the first 20 minutes of this contest.
“I knew it hit Wenny and I kind of just focused on the puck. I didn’t want to lose it, found a way to whack it in. I knew guys weren’t really sure where it went, but I found it.”
Seattle Kraken forward Oliver Bjorkstrand scored the game opening goal in the first period, punching home a puck that had gone airborne off the back of teammate Alex Wennberg. (Photos by Liz Wolter)
The German Gentleman kindly denies Pittsburgh all night long
The quality of the play for the Kraken steadily improved after that first period, but it didn’t result in a second period goal to help give some result to the strong work that Seattle was putting in. Despite the Penguins drawing two penalties in the middle frame to put their power play, which features dangerous players but ranks near the bottom of the NHL this season, out twice, it was the Kraken who had the higher number of dangerous chances in the second period. Even with those dangerous chances on net, Seattle surrendered more than a few scary opportunities to Pittsburgh, but the German Gentleman remained locked into this game. Despite redirected pucks, heavy traffic out in front, and weird bounces, Grubauer was stopping anything and everything and had some nice help in the form of clears and blocked shots from his skaters as well.
Seattle Kraken forward Alex Wennberg scored a chaotic goal net front in the third period, putting the dagger into the Pittsburgh Penguins in this February 29th, 2024 win at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Liz Wolter)
While it should’ve been the Penguins on the push for a dirty goal out in front, the Kraken were instead the ones pushing and fighting with tooth and nail to find that insurance goal that could get them over the finish line for two more points. Seattle was sending pucks through traffic, trying to jam them around and under Jarry, and generally making it a pain for Pittsburgh to try and get a clean entry. That dagger to Pittsburgh came around the five-minute mark and on the power play for the Kraken, as Alex Wennberg punched home a puck that had squirted out amidst a sprawling save attempt by Jarry. The Penguins eventually did pull the goaltender, but it was for naught as Seattle played so well defensively and Grubauer remained a brick wall that even the extra attacker couldn’t help, and the Kraken added two more points to their total as they kept pace in the Western Conference’s wild card race.
“It’s been a while for myself, but obviously it’s more important to get those points. It’s huge, not just for me, it’s huge for the team too, because everybody played their part.”
“When you have that type of goaltending it builds confidence because it erases mistakes. Mistakes happen all the time in this game, and when the goaltender takes one of those off the board, all of a sudden it’s a little easier to focus on the positive things. Our goaltending has been a big factor for us and both guys have done a great job. Obviously tonight, with the shutout, he should be proud of his effort. ”
Seattle Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer was strong all night long, making 33 saves and denying 1.76 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck. (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Strong, focused wins can go a big way...
I’ll once again hold my breath for this being something that Seattle will sustain, but seeing how the Kraken have played in recent memory with points in six of their last seven games and five of those seven being wins, it feels like they’re putting together the type of performance that they’ll need in order to not sell at the deadline. Seattle very well may decide to do a soft sell, getting rid of a player or two that other teams may covet extra (think Justin Schultz or Alex Wennberg), but it’s hard to imagine that they get rid of multiple veterans considering their recent stretch of play. Also considering how the team has talked about their lack of a fully healthy lineup until very recently, and even then, that’s over considering that Andre Burakovsky is now day-to-day, my belief is that Seattle doesn’t do more than one or two trades to take advantage of the market for a guy like those who were just mentioned.
“We’re fighting for every point here, it’s not gonna get easier from now on. Other teams are playing great too and we need those points to get into the playoffs.”
It was important to see the Kraken improve upon that poor first period, as their play in this game seemed to get better following that first 20 minutes, and Seattle looked strong in that crucial third period to lock down the Penguins defensively and to find that critical insurance goal by Wennberg to put the dagger in. Finishing games was an issue in the first half of this season for the Kraken, and while it hasn’t exactly been a strength for them in recent memory, it’s been better and it’s showing up at the right sort of time. It’s still going to require a lot for them to be able to reach the postseason, but getting hot at the right time and knowing how to finish games are two massive aspects that winning teams need. As stated at the top of this reflection, don’t look now because they very well could erase all of this progress, but it’s a welcoming sight for Seattle fans right now.
Quick notes
Tonight, Kraken Head Coach Dave Hakstol coached his 500th regular-season NHL game.
With the win tonight, the Kraken have split their season series with the Penguins and now have consecutive wins against Pittsburgh at Climate Pledge Arena for the first time in franchise history.
The Kraken are 11-for-12 all-time on the penalty kill against the Penguins and have been perfect on the penalty kill in their last four meetings with the Penguins dating back to Oct. 29, 2022.
With 33 saves tonight, Philipp Grubauer recorded his first shutout of the season and his third as a member of the Kraken. His 33 saves are the most in a shutout as a member of the Kraken.
He is now just two starts shy of starting in 300 NHL games. When he reaches the milestone, he will become the 19th active goaltender to have started at least 300 games.
Oliver Bjorkstrand's goal tonight gives him goals in back-to-back games for the third time this season.
He previously scored in consecutive games on Dec. 14 and Dec. 16 and Nov. 2 and Nov. 4.
With a goal and the primary assist on Oliver Bjorkstrand's goal, Alex Wennberg is now the fifth player in franchise history to total 100 points with the Kraken.
Tonight is Wennberg's first multi-point game of the season.
Eeli Tolvanen's secondary assist on Wennberg's goal tonight gives him 32 points this year, setting a new career high for the forward in three fewer games than it took him last season.
Will Borgen's assist tonight gives him 22 points this season, the second-most among Kraken blueliners, trailing only Vince Dunn (43) for the team lead.
His 22 points this season were the second-most among defensemen averaging less than 18 minutes of ice time per game trailing only the Rangers’ Erik Gustafsson (26) for the league lead.
What’s next?
Following tonight’s shutout victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Seattle Kraken wrap up their six-game homestand after a day off tomorrow. They’ll close this homestand on Saturday, March 2nd with a unique puck drop of 1PM PST against the Edmonton Oilers that will be broadcast on Root Sports Northwest within their market (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska) and on ESPN+/NHLPP nationwide. That contest against the Oilers is a giveaway game, as all fans in attendance will receive a “Kraken Luggage Tag” in the shape of their white road jersey. Edmonton, who rocketed up the standings after falling into a hole early, has won their last two games following a three-game losing streak. The Kraken have a poor all-time head-to-head record of 2-7-1 against the Oilers and will look to change that as Seattle looks to keep climbing in the wild card chase.
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Photos in this by Liz Wolter
