Grubauer stops 41, Kraken pull away from Flames to extend point streak to 8

Philipp Grubauer made 41 saves, and the Seattle Kraken extended their point streak to eight games with a 5-1 win against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary on Monday.

“Second period, we were a little under the fire there, but we managed to get away and get out of that one with a tie,” said Grubauer, who has won each of his past four starts. “And it was, I think, a phenomenal third period, different than the other night [in a 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators], for sure. We were giving them less time and space and didn't give them time to make some plays. I thought that was incredible, and that's how we need to play.”

Shane Wright, Vince Dunn and Matty Beniers scored for the Kraken (19-14-7), who have won three straight and are 7-0-1 since a 4-2 loss at Calgary on Dec. 18.

“We used everybody tonight, everybody contributed, and I thought our third period was outstanding,” Seattle coach Lane Lambert said. “We limited their scoring chances, and we capitalized on ours.”

Adam Klapka scored for the Flames (18-20-4), who have lost two in a row after winning their previous three. Dustin Wolf made 23 saves.

“I thought for two periods we did some good things, and I thought after they scored their second goal in the third, we lost a lot of momentum at that point,” Calgary coach Ryan Huska said.

Klapka gave the Flames a 1-0 lead off the rush at 6:33 of the first period after Ryan Lomberg’s shot from the left circle hit Grubauer’s left pad and floated to Klapka, who was skating in from the slot. Klapka batted the puck out of the air and under Grubauer’s glove.

“I thought the first two [periods], we had some looks and created a lot of chances,” Calgary forward Mikael Backlund said. “At times we were too stubborn, turned pucks over at the blue line, giving them some odd-man chances and some energy.”

Jacob Melanson tied it 1-1 at 2:17 of the second period with his first NHL goal. Ryan Winterton got his own rebound at the bottom of the right circle and sent a cross-crease pass backdoor to Melanson, who one-timed it into an open net behind Wolf.

"Getting that first goal is unreal, and it's cool that it came from ‘Wints,’ so it means a lot,” Melanson said of his fellow 2021 NHL Draft selection and former teammate with the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the American Hockey League. “We're on the hunt, on the forecheck, and we reloaded well, and good things are going to come from us doing the right thing. So, I mean, we had a good reload, and ‘Winnie' found me backdoor, which was nice to see.”

Seattle then scored four straight goals in the third period.

Wright gave the Kraken a 2-1 lead at 1:57 off a 2-on-1 rush, hustling to the top of the crease and redirecting Ben Meyers’ saucer pass under Wolf’s right arm.

“[Meyers] had some open ice there, and I saw the ‘D’ step up a little bit, so I thought I could find some room behind him,” Wright said. “And, I mean, he made an unbelievable pass.”

Dunn extended it to 3-1 at 5:12, taking Kaapo Kakko’s feed from the right half wall and snapping a shot from the slot past Wolf’s glove.

“We’re playing a little bit more on our toes instead of on our heels [in the third period],” Lambert said. “Before, we were trying to protect instead of going after it. It’s just a mindset thing, and we’ve talked a lot about it.”

Frederick Gaudreau scored an empty-net goal to make it 4-1 at 17:25, and Matty Beniers found a Jared McCann rebound and slipped it through Wolf’s five-hole at 17:39 for the 5-1 final.

“I thought for two periods tonight, we did some good things,” Huska said. “We didn’t capitalize on our chances when we had opportunities in the first and second period. And then I don’t think in the third period we defended the rush well early, where they were able to score two goals.”

NOTES: Seattle’s eight-game point streak is tied for the second longest in franchise history, behind their 13-game streak in 2023-24. … Kraken forward Jordan Eberle played his 1,100th NHL game. … Seattle defenseman Adam Larsson assisted on Dunn’s goal for his 250th career point. … Flames defenseman MacKenzie Weegar had an assist to pull within four points of becoming the 15th defenseman in Calgary history to record 150 points with the franchise.