One: Avoid the Avoidable, Don’t Try to Do Too Much
Kraken coach Lane Lambert was pretty clear on how his squad busts out of a four-game losing streak Saturday night in B.C.
“Play the game the right way, stop making avoidable mistakes,” said Lambert post-game Thursday. “Things have to change if we’re gonna make the playoffs.”
Lambert allowed that some of his players are “trying to do too much, which puts you in a bad position [defending the opposition].” Another issue is not getting pucks out of the defensive zone, leading to “fatigue and breakdowns.”
What bothered Lambert and his coaching staff was the recent trend among Kraken forwards and defensemen not sticking to the systems of play that had pushed Seattle to third place in the Pacific Division before the Olympic break. Getting right back to it with a pair of games this weekend allows the Kraken skaters to reset. The Kraken are one standings point out of the second wild-card spot, now chasing San Jose and bunched in a three-way tie with Los Angeles and Nashville.
Two: Net Front Leads to Net Gain
While the Kraken will not rip up their systems of play, there are a couple of factors that could upgrade the intensity and results. One is simple yet not easy.
“We are doing a poor job of clearing our net [of opponents],” said Lambert. “Colorado went to the net hard [in Thursday’s 5-1 loss to the Avalanche]. We also have to get to the [offensive zone] net front a lot more.”
The other X-factor is whether trade acquisition Bobby McMann’s visa paperwork is approved in time for the Saturday puck drop in Vancouver, followed quickly with an opening faceoff 23 hours later in a Sunday tilt with defending Stanley Cup champion Florida. There was no update on Friday.
Three: Know the Foe: Canucks 2-6-2 in Last 10 Games
The Canucks did the Kraken a solid by rallying to beat West wild-card contender Nashville, 4-3, Thursday in Vancouver. So perusing the meager 48 standings points for VAN and embracing overconfidence is not recommended. The Canucks took an early seller position at the NHL trade deadline, sending superstar D-men Quinn Hughes to Minnesota for a package that includes young forward Marco Rossi, whose three-point night triggered the Canucks comeback. Another pickup in the Hughes trade is 20-year-old rookie defenseman Zeev Buium, highly touted coming out of the 2024 draft (pick No. 12 overall).
Projected lineup (not official):
McCann-Beniers-Eberle
Tolvanen-Stephenson-Gaudreau
Catton-Wright-Kakko
Winterton-Meyers-Melanson
Dunn-Larsson
Lindgren-Montour
Oleksiak-Evans
Grubauer
