3 Game Essentials | Blue Jackets (15-31-3) at Kraken (28-15-5) | 7 p.m.

Time: 7:00 p.m. PT | Watch: ROOT SPORTS | Listen: 93.3 KJR
##### One: Simply Put
Probably the best thing you say about Friday night's loss to divisional playoff contender Calgary is no one on the Kraken roster or coaching staff is about to take Columbus lightly despite the Blue Jackets arriving in town with a record 16 games under the .500 even mark.
"It's actually pretty amazing," said Dave Hakstol Friday post-game. "We had a one-goal hockey game [after Eeli Tolvanen scored his seventh goal this month since debuting with the Kraken Jan. 1]. "One shot away from tying this thing up. That does say something about this group, but again, you can twist and turn this [result] any which way you want, but we weren't very good. We lost a hockey game in our home building and got one more opportunity tomorrow night for critical two points before we take a seven-day break.

"We had a lot of turnovers, a lot of sloppy play and I think we were cheating a little bit offensively," said Tolvanen, who has displayed a solid two-way game that fits with linemates Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand, the latter facing his former team Saturday "That's not a winning way. I think we have to get back to our game and play simple."
Tolvanen defined 'playing simple': "Everybody shooting the puck. It's crazy how it works. You shoot the puck and start creating more. That's what we were missing in the first couple of periods [Friday]. "We didn't shoot the puck enough and we've got to have a lot more hunger out there."
"I think you take what they can give you," said John Hayden, Friday's other Kraken goal scorer. "The building was great tonight. There were just too many spurts of low momentum [in the first two periods]. It's too little too late."
##### Two: Grubauer Likely Starter in Goal
With Martin Jones taking the net Friday, expect Philipp Grubauer to get the nod against the Blue Jackets. Grubauer has turned in solid performances in his three January starts. He has posted save percentages of .963, .931, and .914 in those three games. He kept his squad in each game but only has a 1-1-1 record (three of six possible standings points to show for it).
The win was in Buffalo, where he made 35 saves and a .914 percentage. He then played even better against the 2022 Stanley Cup finalists Tampa Bay (2-1 loss) and Colorado (shootout loss in which all three Kraken shooters missed).
##### Three: Know the Foe
Columbus is finishing up a four-game Pacific Division swing. The Blue Jackets lost to Calgary in overtime Monday, beat Edmonton in overtime Wednesday (for which all Kraken fans are grateful since they were down 3-1), and weren't much of a factor Friday in a 5-2 loss in Vancouver. Johnny Gaudreau, the mega-free-agent signee, leads CBJ with 48 points (13 G, 35 A). Patrick Laine, who has haunted the Kraken before, is co-leader in goals with 14, while 22-year-old Russian-born rookie Kirill Marchenko has 13 goals (no assists), including both scores against Vancouver.