Flames (6-8-3) at Kraken (7-8-4) | 7 p.m.

One: Best Defense Can Be Best Offense Too

Saturday’s big win in Vancouver was a terrific start to what let’s call Division Week, the current string of four games in seven nights against Pacific rivals. There were plenty of accolades to go around for hanging the first regulation home loss on the PNW rival Vancouver, including a three-point night for Jordan Eberle (his sixth such productive outing with the franchise) and Matty Beniers scoring a game-winning goal.

But let’s focus on the Kraken defensive corps for a view on how to continue racking up standings points (and preventing foes from earning even a share) during this important work week. Jamie Oleksiak scored his first goal of the year when he skated deep into the offensive zone to receive an in-stride pass from the aforementioned Matty Beniers and then air-mailed a slapshot past VAN goalie Thatcher Demko. Oleksiak also contributed his usual allotment of blocked shots (in this case, four, but often higher), the biggest one during a critical late third-period penalty kill. Oleksiak and Adam Larsson make a foreboding and highly effective pair on the PK.

Oleksiak’s 5-on-5 defense partner, Will Borgen, is another D-man eager to jump into the offensive rush and zone possession in Dave Hakstol’s systems of play. Borgen streaked down the right lane into the Canucks zone Saturday to carry the puck to the face-off circle vicinity before sending a perfect pass to Yanni Gourde net-front for a tap-in Gourde said he “barely touched.” That third goal of the game confirmed a bounce-back quality (losing a lead but rallying) that stands as a harbinger of playoff contention in the coming months.

For good measure, Justin Schultz picked up an assist on the Jordan Eberle goal (right after a power play officially ended) and all six D-men had a least one shot (Borgen led the D-corps for the night with four). And we all have watched what Vince Dunn’s urgent and hard shots from his usual blue-line positioning in the offensive zone can do for scoring production.

Two: (Penalty) Boxing Out

Yanni Gourde and Jordan Eberle are regulars for post-game and morning skate scrums, frequently requested for their performances but always for insights and it is worth noting that both alternate captains, unprompted, raised a key to the VAN victory from their perspective: Avoiding too many penalties is a winning formula, both for limiting man-advantage to opponents but also to take better advantage of the Kraken’s roll-four-lines approach (aka depth scoring). Eberle said the team has been “a little too undisciplined” while Gourde chimed in “we were better” at keeping “the top [power play] unit off the ice on their side.” No Kraken defenseman took to the penalty box Saturday while forwards Kailer Yamamoto (to wipe out a Kraken power play) and Tye Kartye (late third period, yikes) were the only two forwards to sweat out two minutes. To perhaps ease those two younger wings, Dave Hakstol said post-game that he thought maybe his squad should have endured no penalties per his view of the infractions assigned by Yamamoto and Kartye.

Three: Know the Foe: Calgary Returns, 6-8-3 Record

When the Kraken lost at home to the Flames on the first Saturday of this month, veteran center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare suggested during a post-game interview that perhaps the Flames were more desperate because they were coming off a six-game losing streak. No doubt the vocal Bellemare and other seasoned pros, plus Dave Hakstol, will remind the home squad of that deduction. Calgary is 3-2-1 since then, including a convincing 5-2 home win against Vancouver last Thursday and a loss in a shootout to the New York Islanders Saturday—but Calgary rallied with two third-period goals to earn the point. It’s an important divisional matchup for both teams.