One: From the Beginning ... for Right Result
Kraken coach Lane Lambert has been crystal clear on how he wants his squad to start games. The objective of the first five minutes, he says and repeats as needed, is to make sure to get the puck into the opponent’s zone, then forecheck aggressively to both prevent zone exits plus look for offensive opportunities resulting from the pressure. The last two games have been playbook-perfect in hemming in foes. On Sunday afternoon, the New Jersey Devils did score the game’s first goal, but not in that five-minute window. Goals in that brief first segment of a 60-minute game were frequent, including matchups in which the opposing team scored twice in the first five minutes.
“I thought it was great,” said Beniers post-game Tuesday when asked about Seattle blanking Washington for the entire first period, not just early minutes. “Honestly, the last two games, the starts were great. We didn't score the first goal [against New Jersey ] ... But I thought we've really been on our toes. We've been skating really hard, working together as a five-man unit, getting pucks in [to the offensive zone], getting on our forecheck, just establishing play down in their zone. It's huge for us.”
Both Seattle and Washington were scoreless at the first intermission on Tuesday. But when the Kraken broke out with three middle-period goals, the Kraken were the team being chased on the scoreboard rather than pursuing a tie game that requires extra bursts of energy and the temptation to be overly aggressive with offense chances. Sticking to the first five minutes of establishing play in the offensive zone is a strategy to watch as the Kraken finish the current homestand with a chance to post four wins against two losses, plus to evaluate the subsequent early starts during the upcoming three-divisional-game road trip before the league’s Winter Olympics break.
Two: Celebrating AANHPI Night at Thursday’s Game
As the Kraken continues its “Common Thread” program of dedicated nights this season, honoring Asian-Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, there will be plenty of entry points for fans to be part of the celebration. For instance, DJ LouRawk will hyping the pre-game crowd and at intermissions, while Filipino-American singer-songwriter Danika Justyne Kloewer will perform the national anthem.
Another highlight is the special AANHPI-themed Kraken jersey designed by local artist Kenji Stoll, who has Japanese heritage on his mother’s side. He aimed to connect the Asian-American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander cultures.
“I was thinking about being an Asian-American tattooer and thinking about other Asian-American tattooers who have paved the way for not only Asian-American tattoos, but all tattoos,” said Stoll, who is creating Japanese/American traditional tattoos based in Tacoma. “For the ‘S.’ I decided on a modern tribal style that was pioneered by a Filipino-American tattooer and inspired by different tribal tattooing histories across all sorts of AANHPI cultures.”
As part of the night, fans can get a temporary tattoo of Stoll’s AANHPI logo at the Anchor Auction table.
There’s more: Past Common Thread artists Juliana Kang Robinson and Shayla Hufana will be holding a meet-and-greet table on the main concourse (level LL2). The Seattle Flying Dragon Boat Club will be tabling along the Storm Wall on LL2. Plus, Halau Hula Ka Lei Mokihana I Ka Ua Noe, a cherished hula school known for preserving traditional Hawaiian dance, chant and cultural teachings, will be performing in the atrium during the first intermission.
Three: Know the Foe: Moving on Without Marner
Former Toronto star Mitch Marner led the Maple Leafs in assists over his nine seasons with the Original Six franchise and was the club’s regular-season scoring leader five times. Now in Vegas—the Kraken’s foe this coming Saturday in Nevada– Marner has 52 points (12 goals, 40 assists) in 52 games. The Maple Leafs clearly miss the star forward, but there are other problems that have pushed Toronto below the Eastern Conference wild-card line.
Shutdown defenseman Chris Tanev is out long-term and has only played 11 games. Leading William Nylander (48 points in 37 games) is banged up and won’t play Thursday. Auston Matthews has scored 26 goals, but not much support. Goaltender Anthony Stolarz, expected to be a solid No. 1, is just back from a long stay on injured reserve. He’s currently 6-6-1 with an .880 save percentage on the year. Young goalie Joseph Woll has fared better at 11-7-4 with a .908 save percentage. But he was shelled in a 7-4 loss to Buffalo on Tuesday.
Projected lineup (not official):
Kakko - Beniers - Eberle
Schwartz - Stephenson - Tolvanen
Catton - Wright - McCann
Melanson – Gaudreau - Winterton
Dunn - Larsson
Lindgren - Montour
Evans - Oleksiak
Daccord
