One: A little more desperation early – The Kraken scored a pair of late goals against the Ducks that everyone agreed was a result of “desperation” more than anything. But even though the goals weren’t due to any real sustained pressure, the Kraken did manage 10 shots the final six minutes of the game once they fell behind by four goals.
A little more urgency a bit earlier on would have probably helped. Sure, they need to do a better job of executing when they do get chances, but those actual opportunities vanished for wide swaths of the game. Too many, in fact. The Kraken started consistently winning more puck battles once the game was already out of reach and got pucks to the net with traffic in front.
So, they need to do those little things earlier. There is just one game remaining before the Winter Olympic break, so they’ll have three weeks to rest up and can afford to leave it all out on the ice in this one as if it’s Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The stakes are huge. Grab this last game, they’ll have taken two of three on a huge road trip where most pundits agreed ahead of time that four of six points would be great. Well, that part is still up for grabs.
Two: Do better at moving guys out when defending the net front – Part of this Kraken playoff push that has seen them beat everybody but Anaheim the past seven games has been stellar goaltending by Philipp Grubauer and Joey Daccord. But that was helped largely by both goalies having clear lines of vision to incoming shots. That wasn’t the case against the Ducks, who have several imposing forwards capable of crashing the net and making things difficult for goalies attempting to see pucks.
Grubauer was screened on the first two goals against him, then appeared rattled by Ryan Poehling being in his face right at the lip of the crease for several seconds ahead of the third goal. The fourth goal then saw Grubauer, who didn’t look himself once the second and third goals went in, give the puck away behind his own net for a fourth goal allowed.
It was only the second time in 12 games that Grubauer has allowed more than three.
Now, it’s Daccord’s turn and he’ll be facing a Kings team that’s also very big and likes to disrupt goalies right at their net front. The Kraken can’t let them set up shop and block the goalie’s vision the way the Ducks did against Grubauer.
Sure, the Ducks are a big team, and disruption is what they do. But they did it just a little too often and it appeared to throw Grubauer off his game. The Vegas Golden Knights are also a big team up front but Daccord on Saturday night was able to see the pucks coming his way and made key saves when needed.
Three: Know your foe – The Kings have been a streaky team struggling for consistent success since starting 10-5-4. In the 2 ½ months since, they’ve gone 13-12-14, which looks halfway decent on paper until you realize they’ve won only a third of their games since mid-November.
Yes, just like the Vegas Golden Knights, they’ve used the extra point gained in overtime and shootout losses to stay afloat in the playoff hunt. Los Angeles has won four of their last six games and gone 4-1-1 that stretch, but the last two games went to overtime and a shootout and ran their season total of non-regulation losses to 14. That ties them with the Golden Knights for the NHL lead and is one reason they enter this game trailing the Kraken by a single point.
The Kraken played a whole bunch of non-regulation games to start the season but have really tapered off with only five such contests since Nov. 1 and nine overall. That’s why they’ve won three more games than the Kings and are arguably the better team. They’ve won both head-to-head matchups this season by 3-2 scores.
The Kings don’t throw a whole lot of offensive firepower at you, sitting second worst in the league at 2.57 goals per game. Adrian Kempe is their top scorer at 20 goals and best point-getter at 45. Kevin Fiala is next in goals at 18 and points at 38, but the fact 40-year-old Corey Perry is fourth in points at 28 tells you all you need to know.
Defense is where they’ll beat you. They are third best in the NHL at 2.72 goals per game allowed. Drew Doughty and Mikey Anderson are formidable top-line defenders while young Brandt Clarke has emerged on the second pairing. Vezina Trophy finalist Darcy Kuemper has enjoyed another strong season and could get the start as the Kings have rested up. But Anton Forsberg had previously shut the Kraken out in consecutive starts and was up 2-1 in the dying seconds of a mid-December game against them before Seattle rallied to tie it and win in overtime.
So, no one will be surprised if backup Forsberg gets the nod again.
As mentioned, the games between these teams have been very close, so this won’t be easy. But the Kraken are 6-3-0 lifetime at Crypto.com Arena, and the Kings weren’t exactly a slouch team those prior seasons. So, this is a chance for the Kraken to open up some standings distance and they need to take it.
Projected lineup (not official):
McCann - Beniers - Eberle
Tolvanen - Stephenson - Winterton
Schwartz - Wright - Kakko
Kartye - Gaudreau - Melanson
Dunn - Larsson
Oleksiak - Montour
Lindgren - Evans
Daccord
