Kraken ride hot streak into matchup with Flyers

Sometimes, it's hard to pinpoint the cause of the ebbs and flows of an NHL season.

The Seattle Kraken endured an eight-game skid (0-6-2) immediately before starting the seven-game point streak (5-0-2) they possess entering a Friday night home date against the Philadelphia Flyers.

In this case, though, it's not difficult to find the reasons for the Kraken's turnaround: stellar goaltending and the addition of Tomas Tatar.

The 33-year-old forward, acquired Dec. 15 from the Colorado Avalanche for a fifth-round draft pick, has two goals, two assists and a plus-3 rating in five games with Seattle.

"Hockey feels right again," Tatar said Saturday after netting the winner in the Kraken's 3-2 road victory over the Anaheim Ducks.

With Jordan Eberle out due to an injury on Dec. 16, Tatar debuted on the Kraken's top line in a 3-2 shootout loss to the visiting Los Angeles Kings.

When Eberle returned, Tatar stayed on the No. 1 line centered by Matty Beniers. Jared McCann, the team's leading scorer, moved down the lineup.

"I'm very grateful for the guys, how they welcomed me here in Seattle," Tatar said. "It looks like me, Matty and Ebs are building some chemistry and I'm having a lot of fun."

Tatar, a six-time 20-goal scorer, including last season with the New Jersey Devils, seemed happy to get out of Colorado, where he had just one goal in 27 games.

"He was excited and hungry to come in and help us," Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. "For me, his presence is outstanding. Very, very smart individual player. He brings that to the table, to the people around him."

At the other end of the ice, Seattle goaltender Joey Daccord has allowed just 12 goals in seven starts since Philipp Grubauer was injured, going 4-1-2 with his first NHL shutout.

On Wednesday, Kraken goalie Chris Driedger made his first NHL appearance since May 1, 2022, the finale of Seattle's inaugural season, stopping 37 shots in a 2-1 road victory over the Calgary Flames. The result gave Seattle its first three-game winning streak of the season.

Driedger tore his anterior cruciate ligament while playing for Canada in the gold-medal game of the 2022 IIHF World Championships and was sent to the AHL when he returned late last season.

"It was definitely some of the most adversity I've ever faced in my career. It's been a long road," Driedger said. "To come out and finally get back in, it was pretty emotional."

The Flyers will be playing the second half of a back-to-back set after defeating host Vancouver 4-1 on Thursday to snap the Canucks' nine-game point streak.

Egor Zamula, Sean Walker and Joel Farabee all tallied in a 2:06 span late in the second period for the Flyers, who have earned a point in 11 of their past 12 games (8-1-3).

"We just kind of played patient, waited for our opportunities," Farabee said. "You get a couple of quick ones there, it builds that momentum and you just go from there."

Goalie Samuel Ersson stopped 18 of 19 shots before leaving 2:36 into the third period with what the Flyers later said was dehydration. Carter Hart stopped all eight shots he faced in relief.

Flyers coach John Tortorella climbed into 10th place in NHL career victories with 723, surpassing Alain Vigneault.