Two years ago, Phillip Grubauer was a very good hockey player on a super strong team. His team was expected to top the league and maybe even win the Stanley Cup. But now things are different – he’s headed into the playoffs in a different way.
Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said that Philipp Grubauer will be in the net for Seattle’s game against Colorado on Tuesday night. The Kraken are seen as a definite underdog since they’re going up against the defending Stanley Cup champion and also because Grubauer is playing his former team.
But, Grubauer believes that the Kraken have what it takes to get through this series and make it to the playoffs even though most people don’t share the same opinion.
“There was a sense that this team had something special in store. We worked hard to get here, doing it better than last year,” Grubauer said. “Now we start the real work!”
Grubauer was the first major new player for the Kraken ever. He was a great goaltender who had already won the Stanley Cup before with Washington back in 2018.
Grubauer’s performance doesn’t seem to justify the six-year, $35.4 million contract he accepted before Seattle joined the league. His first season was disappointing because the defense was unreliable and Grubauer allowed too many shots to get past him into his own net.
This season, Grubauer has played way better with a more talented team and better lineup around him. At some points during the season, his performance was just like it was two years ago when he was in the running for the Veniza Trophy with Colorado Avalanche.
This season, Grubauer had 17 wins, 14 losses, and 4 draws. He also had a 2.85 Goal Against Average (GAA) and .895 Save Percentage (SP). These numbers don’t show that he is the best goalie out there. However, this current playoff series with his former team could be a good opportunity for him to prove his worth which was backed up by his big contract.
Grubauer had done great in three games against Colorado earlier this season. He achieved an impressive 1.70 GAA and .928 SP during these games.
Braden Grubauer said that there’s not many people on his team from two years ago. He thinks it helped him a lot more playing games against Colorado this year than during practice three years ago. Soon, he’ll start a playoff game at the same building where he last started one before.
At first, Grubauer had a really great game during the playoffs in 2021. He made really good saves and only allowed seven goals while his team Colorado swept St. Louis in round one. Unfortunately, Colorado lost four games in a row to Vegas after taking an early 2-0 lead in the second round, and their amazing season that earned them the most points ended sadly.
On top of that, Seattle now has plenty of experience since they have Grubauer and Martin Jones who have both played in 95 career playoff games combined!
Grubauer and Jones’s performance affects Seattle’s likelihood of winning against the defending champions in the series. If their goaltending is great, it will help Seattle win some games and give the champs some worry. But if their goaltending isn’t good enough, then Seattle’s chances of winning will not be very high at all.
The playoffs are here and the focus is on certain parts of the game, such as goaltending. The coach said that he feels very confident with their two goalies in place.
