After a 4-2 loss to the Kings on Saturday, the Kraken gear up for a rematch tonight. Same time, same place. They’ll look to bounce back after a game where LA’s defensive structure suffocated any signs of Seattle’s offense. This is the first time the Kraken have ever played the same team twice in a row, which will give us interesting insight into Dave Hakstol’s ability to make adjustments.
Opponent Spotlight – Los Angeles Kings
Since not much has changed with the Kings over the last two days, I’ll refer you to Saturday’s morning brief.
The one change that probably will be made is in net, with Jonathan Quick being the favorite to start for the Kings tonight. Of course, that won’t be officially confirmed one way or the other until later this morning. Update: Cal Petersen will start in goal for the Kings.
Three Keys
- F1 speed – Coach Hakstol mentioned F1 speed as an area that fell short last game. “We had trouble generating F1 speed at different times of the game. When we were successful, we had F1 in on it.” F1 stands for “forward 1,” which in that context means the forward with the puck leading the rush. That means the forward who leads the rush needs to hit the blueline with speed to back the Kings’ defensemen up at the blueline. That will help generate more successful offensive zone entries.
- Net-front traffic – Morgan Geekie’s goal with four seconds remaining in Saturday’s game came too late to make a difference. But it did provide a blueprint for success tonight. The Kraken need to pick up where they left off and get traffic to the front of the net to clean up shots from the point.
- Lateral puck movement – As mentioned earlier, Jonathan Quick will likely get the start in net for the Kings tonight. Quick is a very aggressive goalie, coming far out of his net to cut down shooters’ angles. Moving the puck from side to side quickly can pull aggressive goalies out of position, as Kraken fans have seen with Chris Driedger at times this season.
Did You Know…
Did you know that players aren’t allowed to play the puck while they’re on the bench? You probably did. Even the newest hockey fans would probably assume so. But nearly ten years ago (the anniversary is next week), the Sharks’ Ryane Clowe played the puck from the same visitors’ bench the Kraken will occupy tonight. One may wonder how the official could miss something like that. But I was in attendance and neither me, nor my family, nor any of the fans around us caught it at the time. Clowe later called the incident a “brain cramp.”
Then-Kings governor Tim Leiweke, brother of current Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke, had some choice words about it, saying “It’s a shame that a guy can cheat and get away with it in a game this important.”
ECH Postgame Live
Join us after the game for ECH Postgame Live! After every Kraken game this season, RJ and Dylan will do a live postgame show on the Emerald City Hockey YouTube Channel. ECH Postgame live will include a postgame wrap-up, analysis, and a live Q&A with viewers. Join the community of Kraken fans who tune in after the game to talk Kraken hockey!
