Kraken (31-29-9) at Panthers (34-32-3) | 4:00 p.m

One: Get more pucks to the net – We can debate desperation level and intent all we want but the bottom line is the Kraken must get more pucks to the net and force opposing goalies to stop them. Kraken head coach Lane Lambert said after the loss in Columbus that his team had gotten players to the net front but then passed up on taking shots.

That was evident in the final 40 minutes of the team’s last two games, the prior one being in Nashville. The Kraken fired only 10 shots on the Blue Jackets’ net the last two periods of Saturday’s game and just 13 those same final frames on Thursday night in a loss to the Predators.

“When we did get it in their zone I thought there was more effort to get to the net,” Lambert said after the Columbus game. “But our D have got to get pucks through. We have time when we can shoot it and then we don’t. Now we’ve got guys standing in front of the net and we’re not delivering it. 

“So, somewhere the disconnect has to get connected fast.”

The Kraken have scored two goals or fewer in nine of 14 games since the Winter Olympic break. 

Two: Embrace the moment – Another thing Lambert pointed out postgame, repeating something he’s said before, was that the Kraken are navigating unfamiliar territory in being part of a neck-and-neck sprint to the playoff finish. During the team’s only prior playoff appearance three years ago, the Kraken more-or-less had things wrapped up with several weeks to go and officially clinched a spot with a week remaining in their season.

All other campaigns, the Kraken were effectively done with a month or more to play.

“We’re a team that, as I said last week or maybe 10 days ago, we’re not overly used to being in a position like this,” Lambert said. “And everything is a learning day.”

There have been times the team has come out too tentatively. Other times when it’s been aggressive but can’t sustain it for 60 minutes. Or, when it’s been outbattled for pucks. 

This time of year, especially when teams are fighting for playoff spots – which feels like every team sometimes – your opponent is going to play tighter and limit chances compared to what you faced back in October.

That magnifies every mistake. Sometimes, it seems as if the Kraken are afraid of making a mistake. Which would explain some of the aforementioned hesitancy to take shots.

Whatever it is, the Kraken would do themselves well to take a deep breath and just embrace the moment. They’ve gotten this far because they spent much of the season defying the odds and grinding their way to a playoff positioned record. This part of the schedule, playing meaningful hockey down to the end, is in many ways their “reward” for having gotten this far. 

So, they should give themselves some credit and get back to playing the way that got them here. They didn’t get here because the rest of the Pacific Division played poorly. If anything, really poor divisional play of late has kept the Kraken in this race despite their struggles of the past few weeks. But they’d played well to that point and a four-point gap at this stage with 13 contests to go is hardly insurmountable.

Know your foe – The Florida Panthers may be two-time defending Stanley Cup champs and three-time finalists, but this current edition is not one of those NHL teams battling for a playoff spot. In other words, this is a chance for the Kraken to pick up two valuable points.

They did it just more than a week ago with a 6-1 win.

The Panthers, likely exhausted from so much hockey the past few years, enter Tuesday’s game 14 points out of the final Eastern Conference wild card spot with 13 games to go. They’ve lost three of their last four and on Monday sat out 

They’ve also lost quite a few regulars to injury. Among those either out or not expected to play Tuesday: forwards Sam Reinhart, Brad Marchand, Anton Lundell, Jonah Gadjovich and Mackie Samoskevich, as well as defensemen Uvis Balinskis and Nikko Mikkola.

The Kraken have played well in this building in the past, winning three of four, and are 6-2-1 all-time against Florida. They need that to continue. 

Projected lineup (not official):

McMann-Beniers-Eberle
Kakko-Stephenson-Gaudreau
Catton-Wright-Tolvanen
Nyman-Meyers-Melanson

Dunn-Larsson
Lindgren-Montour
Oleksiak-Evans

Grubauer