Grubauer stops all 19 shots in relief, Kraken defeat Sharks

SEATTLE -- Philipp Grubauer made 19 saves in relief of an injured Matt Murray, helping the Seattle Kraken to a 4-1 win against the San Jose Sharks at Climate Pledge Arena on Saturday.

Murray allowed one goal on seven shots in the first period before sustaining a lower-body injury with 18 seconds left in the period. Grubauer faced 14 shots in the second period and kept the game tied 1-1 until Seattle scored two goals in the span of 38 seconds to take a 3-1 lead.

“Clearly at that point we rode off our goalie’s coattails to a certain degree, and then we were able to capitalize timely on a couple of our opportunities,” Seattle coach Lane Lambert said. “We spent a little bit too much time in our zone, we all know that, at the start. But our goaltender played fantastic, and sometimes you need that.”

Grubauer said: “I think going into the second period there, right away, the way the first two minutes went were not ideal from a team perspective, but it got me into the game with a lot of shots early on. And it's always tough, right? If you're not starting, it's another situation where you don't get too many shots in warm up, so it was helpful to get into the game right away.”

Jaden Schwartz scored twice, Adam Larsson and Eeli Tolvanen scored, and Chandler Stephenson had three assists for the Kraken (9-4-5), who have won two straight.

“Arguably [the second period was] the turning point of the game,” Stephenson said. “It could have been 3-1 [San Jose] at that point [when we took the lead]. So, obviously, it’s good to see ‘Grubi’ play how he can play. I think that he obviously felt good, and it’s obviously good confidence for the team to have a guy like that… that you can rely on.”

Alexander Wennberg scored for the Sharks (8-8-3), who have two in a row after going 6-0-1 in their previous seven games. Alex Nedeljkovic made 19 saves.

“We did a lot of good things tonight,” San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “We make a couple mistakes there in the second period and they end up in the back of our net.”

Schwartz gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead at 8:14 of the first period. Stephenson picked up a loose puck at the blue line, skated around Sharks defenseman John Klingberg and found Schwartz, who redirected it into an open net at the far post.

“I think it was just [Ryan Winterton] pushing them back. There was a loose puck there and [Schwartz] just going back door,” Stephenson said. “It’s just a hard-nosed goal by him. That's his style.”

Wennberg tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 19:42, redirecting Macklin Celebrini’s shot-pass from the right dot at the top of the crease.

“It’s a great play,” Wennberg said. “It starts with [William Eklund] selling the shot to open up for ‘Mac,’ and then after that, I mean, he just tees it up for me. So, it’s two really good players just making it easy for me, for sure.”

Murray was replaced by Grubauer after the goal. Lambert said postgame that Murray was still being evaluated.

Larsson gave Seattle a 2-1 lead at 16:05 of the second period with a wrist shot from just outside the right circle that floated through a screen and over Nedeljkovic’s left shoulder.

“Tonight and last game (a 5-3 win against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday), they’ve gone in,” Lambert said. “We can learn from everything, whether it’s good or bad, so let’s continue to learn and grow from that.”

Tolvanen pushed it to 3-1 at 16:43, one-timing Stephenson’s cross-slot feed on a 2-on-1 past Nedeljkovic’s glove.

“[Stephenson] is an awesome passer,” Tolvanen said. “Power play, 2-on-1’s, every time he has the puck, you have to be ready because you know it’s coming. He can make those passes that a lot of guys can’t.”

Schwartz scored his second goal into an empty net while short-handed at 16:31 of the third period for the 4-1 final.