Flames (0-2-0) vs. Kraken (1-1-0) | 5:00 p.m.

One: Stay out of the box – This was a big part of the top “essential” heading into Saturday’s game and bears repeating as a main item now because the Kraken nearly took themselves out of the Edmonton contest by getting penalized three times in the first period. They were also forced into two 4-on-4 situations by taking retaliatory penalties after some opponent peskiness. 

Even though they killed off the penalties and survived giving Edmonton all the extra 4-on-4 space, it took almost the entire first period for the Kraken to generate any offensive momentum until about the 18^th minute. From there, the game largely flowed the Kraken’s way as their speed game took over both offensively and defensively and had the Oilers on the run. 

But they can’t get that speed game going when sitting in the penalty box. They were able to rout the Flames on the road last Thursday by taking only one minor penalty all night and getting their offensive game untracked before the midway mark of the opening period. 

The Flames almost certainly did not enjoy getting blown out in their own home opener and you can expect they’ll seek some revenge in the Kraken’s  Climate Pledge Arena season debut. So, if they come out flying and physical, the Kraken need to maintain their composure and play their game.

Two: Keep utilizing Samoskevich’s speed – Mackie Samoskevich played just under 12 minutes in the Edmonton game, which was somewhat expected given he was being eased back in on the fourth line after missing eight days on injured reserve. 

But the upside play of bringing him to Seattle was being able to afford him more top line minutes to thrive in and he certainly looked good enough against the Oilers to consider moving him to a higher trio. 

The Kraken were right to ease Samoskevich back in and it also afforded them a continued look at the other three lines to see whether they’d replicate opening night success. The best scoring chances on Saturday were generated in the slot by the Chandler Stephenson line with Bobby McMann and Jordan Eberle. The Matty Beniers line with Kaapo Kakko and Jared McCann wasn’t as formidable offensively even though they played well defensively.

And the Berkly Catton line with Ryan Winterton and Shane Wright had its moments but also wasn’t as dominant as in the first game facing Calgary. So, while we all know Samoskevich will get moved up at some point soon, don’t be surprised if it happens as quickly as Sunday afternoon. 

Samoskevich’s speed and smarts are so good they can’t help but make those around him better. The Kraken needed a little more offensive balance against the Oilers and Samoskevich should eventually help bring that.

There’s no morning skate Sunday so we likely won’t know the lineup until right before gametime.

Three: Know your foe – If the Kraken don’t know the Flames by now they never really will. This will be their second meeting in four days and the fourth time they’ve met in the last two weeks if you count the preseason, so don’t be surprised if familiarity breeds a little contempt.

We already mentioned the Flames don’t shy away from physical play as evidenced in the preseason. The Kraken did a good job of avoiding retaliatory penalties in the opener and need to continue doing so.

The rebuilding Flames, like the Kraken, will be coming off a Saturday night game. They lost 4-1 to the Vancouver Canucks after carrying a 1-0 lead into the third period and have now have just two goals their first two contests and been outscored 10-2 overall.

If the Kraken avoid too many penalties of their own their power play, which went 1-for-2 against the Oilers, should get some chances in this one. Calgary took five more penalties against the Canucks after being whistled down for five against the Kraken on Thursday. 

Devin Cooley got the start Saturday so the Kraken should once again see former Everett Silvertips netminder Dustin Wolf. 

Projected lines (not official):

McCann - Beniers - Kakko
McMann - Stephenson - Eberle
Winterton - Catton - Wright
Meyers - Gaudreau - Samoskevich

Dunn - Larsson
Evans - Montour
Lindgren - Fleury

Daccord