One: Formula for Better Starts
In his Friday night press meetup after the 4-2 loss to Pacific Division rival Anaheim, Kraken head coach Lane Lambert was unfiltered in his assessment of the first two periods in what he called overall “a terrible, terrible hockey game ... That was the worst 40 minutes we played all year.”
After Saturday’s practice at Kraken Community Iceplex, Lambert said he and his staff have provided his squad with a clear formula for better starts to games and for shaking off the ongoing tendency this month to fall behind 2-0 or 1-0 in the opening period. It is an urgent item to watch for fans attending the Kraken game at 12 noon, with a puck drop, to accommodate the Seahawks’ big NFC title game at 3:30 p.m. Seattle has allowed at least one goal in the first five minutes in eight of the last nine games.
“There are a few things you could probably attribute it to,” said Lambert about the early-game deficits since Jan. 8 and a 2-5-2 as a result. “But from my standpoint, the focus going into the first five minutes of the hockey game [Friday] was to get the puck into their zone, behind their defense and forcheck [for potential opportunistic offense].
“We turned the puck over about four times. It’s a point in time when we have to figure this out. Players have to understand there's a certain way to play. Certainly, at the start of the game, we've got to be a lot better. When you look at teams’ records, when they score first as opposed to when they get scored on first, there's a staggering difference. It holds true with us.”
Two: Doing It the ‘Wright’ Way
Lambert was asked Saturday about Shane Wright's recent play. He was involved in some quality scoring chances and picked up his ninth assist of the season on a skilled cross-angled pass to an open Jaden Schwartz (the latter now with a three-game point streak). Lambert chose to talk first about how Wright’s 200-foot play is important for the team’s overall success.
“I think he's way better in the defensive zone right now,” said Lambert about the 2022 first-round draft choice. “His understanding of his positioning when he comes into the defensive zone is miles ahead of where it was 30 games ago.
“His ability and his confidence, and we've talked about this before, to hold on to pucks and make plays, have improved throughout the year. All of those things coupled together are making him and will make him a better hockey player. He's doing a really good job of embracing what we're coaching into him. Sometimes players, to play the right way, have to play for the team, type of thing. I’m not saying he wasn't before, but sometimes you have to sacrifice a little bit of your personal statistics to embrace the way to play for the team to succeed. He’s done an amazing job of that.’’
Three: Know the Foe: Rematch with East Wild Card Contender Devils
Sunday’s visitors beat the Kraken, 3-2, in overtime Jan. 14. Since then, New Jersey has four of five games to push back into feasible wild-card contention in the Eastern Conference. Depth center Cody Glass has scored pivotal goals in the NJD’s last two road wins in Edmonton and Vancouver, while Jacob Markstrom, winning goalie against Seattle, starred in the first game of the Devils, making 21 saves in overtime at Calgary. Captain Nico Hischier, who scored twice in the win over Seattle, including the OT game-winner, leads New Jersey in scoring with 16 goals and 23 assists for 39 points in 51 games. Superstar Jack Hughes missed 18 games due to injury but has amassed nearly a point per game with 11 goals and 21 assists.
Projected Lines (not official):
Kakko - Beniers - Eberle
Schwartz - Stephenson - Tolvanen
Catton - Wright - McCann
Melanson – Gaudreau - Winterton
Dunn - Larsson
Lindgren - Montour
Evans - Oleksiak
Daccord
