One: Maximizing Consistency and Versatility
Dave Hakstol’s team had been pleased with the way they were playing going back to the four-game road trip that started in Detroit through the first half of the last game versus Calgary – the head coach described it as “excellent” and noted the seven standings points earned across five games. But in Saturday’s game versus the Flames, the Kraken showed a blip in the consistency the team had been displaying. They didn’t push enough to extend a second period lead and ultimately suffered a home loss.
As the team looks to return to that quality of play they’ve had, Hakstol made some tweaks to the forward lines to increase the “press to produce offensively.” One such move was reuniting Jared McCann with Matty Beniers and moving Kailer Yamamoto to the right side of that line. That’s not surprising considering the Spokane native’s “versatility” was one of the hallmarks of Yamamoto’s play that drew the Kraken’s interest in signing him as a free agent this past off-season, (during his time in Edmonton, the 25-year-old spent most of his playing time in a top-six role alongside Leon Draisaitl).
“That group together should be a good line off the rush,” Hakstol said. “They have the same mentality once they get into the (offensive) zone in terms of recovering a puck and looking to quick strike.”
Other changes seen in Monday’s practice include reuniting the stalwart combination of Eeli Tolvanen, Yanni Gourde, and Oliver Bjorkstrand and transitioning Tye Kartye to Pierre-Edouard Bellemare’s line with Devin Shore.
