One: Getting Back in the Win Column
The Kraken will be looking to sweep the season series with Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon with a 1 p.m. puck drop in honor of Kids’ Day at Climate Pledge Arena. The teams met on the Kraken’s recent road trip as Seattle pulled through with a 4-2 win when Jamie Oleksiak tied the game, and less than a minute later, Eeli Tolvanen scored a go-ahead goal that turned out to be a game-winner. From there, the Kraken won two of the next three games before running into a buzzsaw in league-leading Washington Thursday night. Saturday is an opportune time to get back on the victory track with Pittsburgh coming out of a 5-1 loss in Anaheim Tuesday that revealed an inconsistency the venerable franchise has displayed all season. On the Seattle side, coach Dan Bylsma will be looking for his squad to execute more crisply on their offensive chances Saturday after “not being able to abate the pressure” that Washington generated all night on the forecheck in a 3-0 blanking of the Kraken. Look for better breakouts from the defensive zone and more pucks shot on net.
Two: Stephenson is Game-Time Decision
Free agent signee and center Chandler Stephenson notched four goals and five assists in the last 10 games, providing goal-scoring that would be welcome as the Kraken look to claw back into the Western Conference wild-card race. But Stephenson suffered an upper-body injury on a shot during Thursday’s second period. He skated on his own Friday at Kraken Community Iceplex to test out whether he can play Saturday in the last game of a homestand before the club travels to Edmonton for a Monday matchup, the five more home games follow. Coaches, teammates and fans alike will have to wait until warmups Saturday to determine if Stephenson will go. If he doesn’t, it may be time for young forward Tye Kartye to return to the lineup. He has taken what Bylsma called “a bit of a reset,” with veteran forward John Hayden manning the right wing position on a fourth line with winger Brandon Tanev and center Mitchell Stephenson. “Tye is still in the development part of his career,” said Bylsma Friday. “When he gets back in the lineup, he is clear on the assets he has to be effective.”
Three: Know the Foe: Penguins Up and Down
Pittsburgh and Seattle share a common view of their respective wild-card races: Each squad is single-digit points from a playoff spot but with some half-dozen between them and that coveted second wild-card spot. The time to now for both clubs to put together a winning/standings point streak before the Four Nations break. When the Kraken beat the Penguins earlier this month, Tristan Jarry was playing his last game before going on waivers and then to AHL Scranton Wilkes-Barre. Alex Nedeljkovic is the new No. 1 and has picked up a pair of wins but took the loss in Anaheim Tuesday. After Kraken fans witnessed Alex Ovechkin’s 875th career NHL goal (an empty-netter) Thursday, all-time great Sidney Crosby is next for the Kraken and Joey Daccord, who starred Thursday, keeping the game at 1-0 until the late second period in a game dominated by the Capitals.