Gourde’s 3-point game powers Kraken to 6-2 win over Flyers

SEATTLE (AP) — Yanni Gourde had two goals and an assist and the Seattle Kraken beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-2 on Thursday night.

Five Seattle players scored for the Kraken, who outshot Philadelphia 30-19, including 12-1 in the first period.

“Everyone was in the lanes,” Seattle forward Jared McCann said. “We were blocking shots. We were making them miss the net when we had to. I think that kind of speaks to our character in the room. Guys were stepping in lanes and blocking shots.”

McCann, Justin Schultz, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Matty Beniers also scored for Seattle. Philipp Grubauer had 17 saves.

Travis Konecny scored twice and Noah Cates had two assists for Philadelphia, which has dropped three straight.

“They were just playing better in all areas,” said Konecny, who had 26 goals. “They just wanted it more. They’re a fast team and we knew that coming in and we just let them do their thing.”

Ivan Provorov also had an assist. Carter Hart (15 saves) allowed four goals on 19 shots before giving way to Samuel Ersson (nine saves) in the second period.

“I am not going to talk about my hockey team after a performance like this,” Flyers coach John Tortorella said. “It doesn’t do me any good. It doesn’t do the team any good. Those are the people I’m most concerned about.”

Gourde scored his first goal at 14:39 of the opening period. He added another on the power play at 14:43 of the second.

“It’s good to get some confidence,” Gourde said. “It’s good to shoot the puck and get the puck going. It’s always good to score a few goals going forward, but at the same time don’t change the way you play. Just play hard and play your game and good things happen.”

Gourde’s two goals tied a career high.

“He does it all, every game all year,” McCann said. “There’s a reason he’s got back-to-back Stanley Cups. That’s the guy that we need to watch and need to learn from.”

The Flyers trailed 5-0 after two periods.

McCann opened the scoring early in the first period with an unassisted, short-handed goal. It was his 26th of the season. McCann has registered points in four consecutive games for the fourth time this season.

Schultz scored Seattle’s first power-play goal at 5:52 of the second. The Kraken went 2 for 3 on the power play.

“We knew there was going to be a response after the first period,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “(Philadelphia) had a response. That power-play goal, it settled things down for us and it pushed the momentum back in our favor into the second period.”

Bjorkstrand scored on a breakaway to push Seattle’s lead to 4-0. Bjorkstrand has four points in his last three games.

Seattle’s Eli Tolvanen has nine goals and 14 points since making his Kraken debut on Jan. 1, and has earned a point in each of Seattle’s last four games.

“We got to show up with everybody and go out and play well as a group to have a chance to win,” Hakstol said. “We were ready to play tonight.”

NOTES: Thursday’s game was the second and final matchup between the Kraken and the Flyers, and their first meeting in Seattle. The Kraken also defeated Philadelphia 4-3 on Feb. 12 on the road. … Justin Schultz has six assists in his last six games against Philadelphia. … The Flyers are 7-2-1 in their last 10 road games.

UP NEXT

Flyers: At Vancouver on Saturday.

Kraken: Host Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.