Seattle, WA
Observations from Seattle Seahawks’ 21-19 loss to Rams
Despite four interceptions by Sam Darnold, the Seattle Seahawks somehow still had a chance to pull off a last-second victory in Sunday afternoon’s NFC West showdown against the Los Angeles Rams.
Instant reaction | Box Score
However, Jason Myers’ 61-yard field goal on the final play sailed wide right and the Seahawks suffered a 21-19 road loss to their division rival as the Rams took Round 1 between these two Super Bowl contenders.
The loss dropped Seattle to 7-3 and allowed the Rams to move into sole possession of first place atop the NFC West at 8-2.
Here’s a look at what stood out from the game.
Darnold’s interceptions prove costly
In a clash of two evenly matched teams, turnovers had the potential to be a differentiating factor. The Seahawks, despite all their success on offense this season, entered the week tied for the second-most turnovers in the league. The Rams’ defense, meanwhile, was tied for the fifth-most takeaways.
And sure enough, it ended up being the story of the game.
Darnold, who entered with just six interceptions this season, was picked off four times by the Rams’ defense. As a result, the Rams began four of their possessions in Seattle territory, and they converted two of those short fields into touchdowns.
For most of this season, the Seahawks were good enough to overcome their high turnover rate. But they essentially handed the Rams 14 points on Sunday, which they simply couldn’t afford to do against one of the league’s elite teams.
A gutsy defensive performance
It’s a major testament to their defense that the Seahawks still had a chance to win this game in the closing moments.
Seattle completely suffocated Los Angeles’ high-scoring offense for most of the afternoon, holding Sean McVay’s crew to just 249 total yards, which was the Rams’ second-lowest mark of the season. Matthew Stafford completed just 15 of 28 passes for a season-low 130 yards, while averaging a season-low 4.6 yards per pass attempt.
And for the final two-thirds of the game, the Rams simply couldn’t move the ball at all. The Seahawks limited the Rams to just 105 total yards and five first downs over their final eight drives, none of which spanned more than 25 yards.
Again, the Rams scored 14 of their 21 points on a pair of drives that started at the Seattle 3 and the Seattle 25. The fact that the Seahawks lost the turnover battle 4-1 and still nearly won should be at least somewhat encouraging.
Settling for field goals
Darnold’s interceptions were by far the biggest problem for Seattle’s offense. But they weren’t the only problem.
The Seahawks drove inside the Rams’ 15-yard line three times over the first two and a half quarters. But all three times, they settled for field goals.
Seattle’s first red-zone drive stalled at the 12-yard line after a pair of incompletions. Seattle’s second red-zone drive – a 15-play, 89-yard march at the end of the first half – stalled at the 3-yard line after Darnold was forced into a third-down throwaway.
And in the third quarter, the Seahawks drove into the red zone again but settled for another field goal. That came after back-to-back plays where Kenneth Walker III had a TD run called back by a holding penalty and Darnold missed a potential go-ahead TD pass by underthrowing an open Rashid Shaheed down the sideline.
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Leading 2-1 going into the 3rd period, the Portland Winterhawks put together a dumpster fire in the 3rd period, being outshot 19-3. Luckily they only give up one goal, so they get one point, but that’s all they get as Cameron Schmidt’s 2nd goal of the game wins it for the Seattle Thunderbirds in overtime.
Schmidt’s winner was assisted by Matthew Gard, who tied the game halfway through the 3rd period.
It was the Thunderbirds’ 5th win in a row, as they’ve come back from looking dead two weeks ago. They’re now one point out of a playoff spot, although still in 10th. Portland remains in 7th, 2 points ahead of the 8th and 9th place Victoria Royals and Tri-City Americans.
Goalie Ondrej Štěbeták was Portland’s best player, but he was slightly outdueled in the end by Seattle’s Grayson Malinoski.
| 1st 2:35 POR Sam Spehar (Carsyn Dyck, Griffin Darby) 1-0 | An outlet pass from Darby finds Spehar at center ice. He passes it to Dyck, gets it back, and wrists it from the right dot, a nice finish. |
| 1st 11:54 SEA (PP) Cameron Schmidt (Coster Dunn, Antonio Martorana) 1-1 | After a faceoff goes back to him, Niko Tsakumis tries to pass it behind his net, but hits the side and Martorana gets the puck behind the net. He makes a short pass to Dunn, and Dunn finds Schmidt wide open at the right dot, a dangerous proposition. |
| 2nd 3:59 POR Ryan Miller (Will McLaughlin) 2-1 | Miller picks up a loose puck in the right corner, skates all the way up to just beyond the high slot, lets the shot go, and beats Grayson Malinoski. Duguay was in front causing a little bit of a screen, just enough to bother him. |
| 3rd 10:39 SEA Matthew Gard (Matej Pekar, Joe Gramer) 2-2 | Gramer and Gard get the puck out of the Seattle zone, with Gard making a nice backhand pass into space for Pekar near the Portland blue line. Pekar makes a touch to get by Cole Slobodian at the left boards, then makes a nice centering pass to Gard who went to the net, and he puts it in. |
| OT 1:03 SEA Cameron Schmidt (Matthew Gard) 2-3 | Ryan Miller tries to stickhandle down the middle in the Seattle zone. He loses control of the puck just a bit, and Gard pushes it ahead for Schmidt, who hung back just a bit as the other Portland players were facing toward to the Seattle net. Schmidt ends up with a breakaway from the Seattle blue line in, and he goes forehand-backhand to beat Ondrej Štěbeták and send it home. |
| Portland leads by 2+ | 0:00 |
| Portland leads by 1 | 35:59 |
| Tied | 25:04 |
| Portland trails by 1 | 0:00 |
| Portland trails by 2+ | 0:00 |
Pregame: A big battle for the last spots in the Western Conference’s playoffs. The Thunderbirds looking for their 5th win in a row. Portland trying to bounce back from a really poor game against Spokane a week ago.
1st period: Finished 1-1 with both teams having spurts. The Winterhawks scored on the first shot of the game. Seattle rattled off 5 shots in a row. Then Portland finished the period with 7 of the last 8 shots. They were having issues with turnovers coming out of their own zone, especially from their top defensive pair, Max Pšenička and Niko Tsakumis.
2nd period: The Winterhawks started with the turnover issues continuing, but as the period went on it looked like they were fading away and they held Seattle to 6 shots for the period, while taking the lead 2-1. Tsakumis took a penalty with 4 seconds left that ended up setting the tone for the 3rd.
3rd period: Which turned out to be a mess for Portland. They never got anything going, gave up the lead, and were outshot 19-3, not helped by taking two more penalties. Their penalty kill saved them, as did some poor shooting by the Thunderbirds. They were lucky to get the regulation point.
Overtime: It ended quickly with a turnover by Ryan Miller, the game’s best skater for Portland, and a breakaway by the last player you’d want to see get one.
| Top 10 | Stat line | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cameron Schmidt | SEA | 2 goals | The difference. Moves within 2 points of the WHL scoring lead. |
| Grayson Malinoski | SEA | 23 saves-25 shots | Numbers underrate his game. He made a bunch of big saves in the 2nd period when the Winterhawks could have increased their lead. |
| Matthew Gard | SEA | 1 goal, 1 assist | The tying goal and the setup for the winner. 4 goals and an assist in 4 games against the Winterhawks this season. |
| Ondrej Štěbeták | POR | 30 saves-33 shots | Played well after a poor game in his last outing. Likely the top star if Portland wins. |
| Coster Dunn | SEA | 1 assist | 4-game point streak. A nice assist on the power play to Schmidt. |
| Sam Spehar | POR | 1 goal | The opening goal on the game’s first shot. |
| Matej Pekar | SEA | 1 assist | The setup for Gard’s tying goal. |
| Will McLaughlin | POR | 1 assist | The only defensemen for the Winterhawks who had a good game. |
| Antonio Martorana | SEA | 1 assist | Somehow was given the first star in the arena. |
| Ryan Miller | POR | 1 goal | By far was Portland’s best offensive player, but drops based on his final turnover. |
| Other notables | Stat line | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Duguay | POR | 4-game point streak snapped, probably. Originally had an assist on Miller’s goal, but it was taken away, probably correctly. It will be reviewed though. | |
| Ethan Bibeau | SEA | 6-game scoreless streak. | |
| Radim Mrtka | SEA | NHL 1st-rounder didn’t have much impact, which would have been a key if the Thunderbirds lost. | |
| Max Pšenička | POR | He and Niko Tsakumis weren’t on the ice for any goals, luckily, but they had a lot of big turnovers in their own zone. Which contributed some to Portland’s 3rd period deficit and made it hard for the Winterhawks to get much going. A key to Seattle’s win. | |
| Alex Weiermair | POR | 6-game point streak snapped. Which was another key; the Thunderbirds did a good job on him. | |
| Brock England | SEA | 3-game scoreless streak. | |
| Carsyn Dyck | POR | 1 assist | Assist on the first goal, snapping a 3-game scoreless streak. |
| POR | SEA | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Record | 25-24-5-1 (.509) | 23-23-4-3 (.500) | Portland in 7th, Seattle in 10th, but the Thunderbirds only 3 behind Portland. |
| Score | 2 | 3 | Thunderbirds were burned for 2 goals after giving up just 1 in each of the previous 4, but good enough. |
| Shots | 25 | 33 | 20-3 Seattle in the 3rd and overtime. |
| Shoot % | .080 | .091 | Both teams below average in shooting percentage, and the goalies were on top of their games. |
| Power play | 0 / 3 | 1 / 5 | Usually it’s Seattle taking a lot of penalties, but it was the Winterhawks here. The penalty kill helped earn Portland a point, going 3 for 3 in the 3rd. |
| Even strength | 2 | 2 | Winterhawks were probably fortunate to be even here. |
Portland Winterhawks
Not the end of the world; they have points in 5 of their last 6 games after all. But the huge drops in the last 2 games are concerning. They have an overnight trip to Vancouver, while the Giants have a long, grueling trip from Spokane, but they might not have a favorable goalie matchup. A lost to the last-place Giants would be a big blow.
Seattle Thunderbirds
The 5 wins on their streak are all against teams 6th or worse, so they’ve won a bunch of games where they’ve been about 50-50. But their back in the race, and have a house money game against the top-ranked Everett Silvertips before another big game in Portland on Sunday.
Saturday 2/21 at Vancouver, 7pm PST
Sunday 2/22 vs. Seattle, 4pm PST
Friday 2/27 at Victoria, 7pm PST
next Saturday 2/28 at Victoria, 4pm PST
Looking ahead: Sunday 3/8 vs. Tri-City, 4pm PDT
SEATTLE — Seattle’s beauty scene is taking center stage as the 12th annual Reign of Style Hair Show & Competition returns to the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall on March 1.
This high-energy, family-friendly event brings together top hairstylists, barbers, makeup artists, and rising beauty stars for a full day of creativity, competition, and community impact.
Founder Aisha Ellis Asim and Beauty Bootcamp cosmetology program leader Natasha Green joined ARC Seattle to share how Reign of Style has evolved over the past 12 years.
For more information, visit https://www.reignofstyle.com/
Watch more ARC Seattle stories.
Watch ARC Seattle weekdays from 7 to 10 a.m. and 10 to 11 p.m. on The CW Network.
Seattle, WA
CONGRATULATIONS! West Seattle Nursery wins top prize at Northwest Flower and Garden Festival
(Photos courtesy West Seattle Nursery)
That’s the newest thing flowering for West Seattle Nursery (WSB sponsor) – their Grand Prize trophy from the Northwest Flower and Garden Festival! You might recall their call – and community members’ response – for books to include. Here’s what they became:
Here’s how WSN announced the win:
Many long days went into building this display, and we are so proud of what our crew created. Thank you to every person who worked tirelessly to bring our garden library shed concept to life.
The care poured into every small (and not so small) detail is what makes this woodland escape feel so effortlessly homey.
“Where Stories Take Root” was designed as a cozy reading retreat nestled among ferns, shade-loving shrubs, and trees, a space where structure and landscape blur together. A deck extends over a gently moving pond, wooden bowls drift and softly knock against one another, and a sunken seating circle invites you to slow down and stay a while. Look up and you’ll find a chandelier crafted from books. Look closer and you’ll see pages fanned into floral forms. Every detail has a story.
Also:
People often ask where those big Madrone branches on the corners came from. One of our employees has Madrones in his yard and these were broken off during a wind storm.
You can see how many of those donated books were used. Again, thank you to the community for stepping up and helping.
You can see the display firsthand at the Flower and Garden Festival – at the Convention Center downtown – through Sunday (February 22).
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