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One: Follow the Gourde Line, Good Things Will Happen
The recent road trip didn’t trend up but the Yanni Gourde line proved a rising unit from Chicago to Montreal and stops in between. Gourde and his wings Eeli Tolvanen and Oliver Bjorkstrand were consistent and productive, generating scoring chances and facing top lines of opponents. What are those three doing that teammates can emulate?
“One of the things I hope everybody realizes is that the group has chemistry together, they’ve spent a lot of minutes together. That's one of the things we haven't been able to provide to the other lines yet, whether it be through injury situations or things of that nature.
“Gordy's line, they have a plan. It starts to feel natural when you have chemistry. You know when the puck is going to a linemate before it starts to go that direction. It starts and finishes with the time they've spent together and how hard they work at it. You look at the way they generate offense. It's not an easy way. They work. They work real hard. They make it hard on other teams, they stay on pucks and they find ways to get the puck and get it inside.”
Two: Reinforcement on the Way?
Andre Burakovsky skated his third straight day Wednesday without a red injury jersey, indicating the forward is close to returning to the lineup. Burakovsky’s offensive skill set, especially his puck-carrying skills, will represent a major boost to the Kraken. Check back with the Kraken website and app on Thursday for updates on Burakovsky’s availability against New Jersey.
“It was his first full practice, obviously, good long work day [Wednesday],” said Kraken coach Dave Hakstol while meeting the press scrum. “We’ll see where he's at after, but he's very close. He's been champing at the bit now for the last couple of days ... He looked really good out there, good energy and he’s feeling pretty good. But we are just making sure we take all the right steps.
“His last couple games before he got injured this year, we saw that light switch go on. He’s one of the guys on our roster that helps generate offense, he can generate it on his own. The pace he brings and his creativity offensively will be a nice addition.”
Three: Know the Foe: Devils Look to Move Up in Metropolitan Division
With captain Jack Hughes back in the lineup, New Jersey has won four of its last five games, including a 6-5 win in Vancouver Tuesday in which Devils forward Jesper Bratt scored with 34 seconds remaining to rescue his teammates from blowing a three-goal lead in the period. Hughes scored a goal and added two assists to boost his league-leading 1.86 points per game average. His brother, Luke, a 20-year-old rookie defenseman who was selected fourth overall in the 2021 NHL Draft just two spots behind former University of Michigan teammate Matty Beniers, scored his fourth goal of the season. Older Hughes brother Quinn, captain of the Canucks, notched two assists in Vancouver’s third-period rally and is now fourth in the NHL in scoring. The Devils are missing Dougie Hamilton in the defensive corps and it shows in goals allowed and giving up too many Grade-A chances. Nonetheless, NJD is within four points of second place in the Metropolitan Division with two games in hand.
