One: Create home ice advantage once again: The Kraken began the season performing very well at home but that’s vanished record-wise the past month. They are 1-7-0 at home since Nov. 26 and the lone victory only came after tying the Los Angeles Kings in the final minute and pulling things out in overtime.
Prior to that, the Kraken were 6-0-3 at Climate Pledge Arena, so they need to get back to doing what good teams do when they want to make the playoffs. A solid record of 8-7-3 on the road has helped the Kraken stay in a playoff position points-percentage wise, but this three-game homestand represents a chance to really start to build.
“We have an opportunity here, certainly in the next few games at home, to be better at home, improve out record at home and climb the ladder,” Kraken head coach Lane Lambert said after the team resumed practicing on Saturday morning.
The Kraken could use a winning streak to offset the impact of losing nine of 10 over a three-week stretch earlier in the month and they began that by taking three in a row on the road ahead of the holiday break. They sit just three points behind Utah for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff position but also hold four games in-hand.
Some of those games they will make up on the Mammoth will come at home and the Kraken need to cash-in. They were aware heading into the season of how mediocre they’d been at home the first four years of the franchise and made it a season’s goal to do better.
As mentioned, they had done better prior to Nov. 26. So, it’s time to get back to that results wise.
Two: Keep up special team momentum – Both Kraken special team units have been markedly better in recent weeks. The power play could also get an added boost as soon as Sunday against the Flyers as Jared McCann and Vince Dunn were both out practicing in full Saturday.
McCann, who hasn’t played since suffering a Dec. 10 lower body injury, will likely need to be gauged in how he recovers from that workout. Same with Dunn, who suffered an upper body injury last week against Calgary. Lambert said both players “looked good” but don’t expect news on whether either play until right before gametime. We’ll keep projected lines what they were beforehand until we get news one or both have been activated.
Meanwhile, the power play is tied for 10th in the league at 21% efficiency after backsliding a bit the early stages of the team’s losing stretch. The unit now has nine goals over its last 28 opportunities since Dec. 7, which is the league’s third highest success rate that three-week period.
“I think, really, it’s the puck movement,” Lambert said. “And even when we weren’t scoring – we had the Edmonton game at 5-on-3 and everyone’s in a panic about the power play not scoring – they were getting looks.
“And for me, that was the key. It was only a matter of time and it’s up big for us here over the last little stretch of games.”
The penalty kill has also performed at a rate of 83.3% the past eight games after giving up seven goals in eight opportunities the prior three contests. For comparative purposes, the Colorado Avalanche have the league’s top penalty kill at 85.4% so the Kraken the past few weeks have looked like an elite unit.
They were still last in the NHL at 70.3% ahead of Saturday’s games, so it’s going to take more than a few good weeks to undo the prior damage. But things are looking up after some structural adjustments were made following the debacle of allowing seven goals in eight opportunities.
“We just felt like the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again with the same bad result,” Lambert said. “We had to do something. And we felt we would change a little bit of the thought process and a little bit of the line of thinking and maybe put some more onus on certain individuals, and they’ve done a really good job and come up big with that. And our goaltenders have played well as well.”
Three: Know the foe – The rebuilding Flyers were the first to hand the Kraken a regulation loss this season, beating them 5-2 in Philadelphia back on Oct. 20 to drop them to 3-1-1. That game was notable for the NHL debut of Kraken prospect Berkly Catton, who, as we all know, is still with the team at age 19.
But that defeat was also no fluke. The Flyers are an improved team, and the injury-depleted Kraken did not play well at all in that game even after grabbing an early lead. Philadelphia enters at 19-10-7 and in second place in the Metropolitan Division just two points behind Carolina.
This game launches a four-city West Coast swing for Philadelphia coming out of the break, so they should be well-rested despite the travel. Team defense under assistant coach Brad Shaw has been a big part of the Flyers’ success, sitting 10th in the league in allowing 2.75 goals per game.
Overall, the Flyers under head coach Rick Tocchet rely heavily on an identity-built, structural and disciplined approach for a team devoid of true superstars. One possible exception is Matvei Michkov, the 21-year-old, second year NHL forward drafted 7th overall in 2023. He’s got nine goals and 20 points thus far after notching 26 goals and 63 points his rookie season a year ago. The perception Michkov’s development has slowed is now a hot topic of conversation in Philadelphia to the point where Tocchet this week grew visibly exasperated at being constantly asked about him by media members.
Trevor Zegras leads the Flyers with 15 goals and 37 points after coming over from Anaheim last summer. Travis Konecny has 11 goals and 33 points.
Dan Vladar is a goalie the Kraken saw plenty of in preseason and regular season games as a Calgary Flames backup. He joined the Flyers this season and has taken over the No. 1 job, sporting a 13-5-3 record with a 2.39 goals against average and a .910 save percentage.
The Kraken are just 1-7-1 lifetime when facing Vladar – including the loss on Oct. 20 -- who’s got a 2.51 goals against average and .905 save percentage against them.
Projected lines (not official):
Kakko-Beniers-Eberle
Tolvanen-Stephenson-Gaudreau
Catton-Wright-Winterton
Kartye-Meyers–Melanson
Evans - Larsson
Lindgren - Oleksiak
Fleury - Mahura
Daccord
