One: Tackling the Back Half
The Kraken have reached the halfway point in the season and Dan Bylsma said Wednesday that this road trip (five games in eight days) is about making hay with the opportunities the team has. While there are no moral victories to be had in Monday’s loss to New Jersey, the team did feel that it was a tough-fought game that now the Kraken has to build on. That means playing consistently and that’s not just about X’s and O’s, necessarily. Bylsma says it’s about a “concerted effort on our emotion and energy level.” The team needs to be at a high energy level both from game to game and in-game moment to moment. A shift towards this mindset started at the beginning of December with the east coast mindset but now that has to be evident every game. “When we can get our energy and our emotional level and our execution up in every game, we’ll be an aggressive team. We’ll be a good team.”
Two: Roster Update
With tenacious center Yanni Gourde on injured reserve, the Kraken welcomed Mitchell Stephens back to the team (in a corresponding move, Ben Meyers was returned to Coachella Valley). Both player and head coach said there’s a benefit to a return call-up when it comes to comfort – both on the ice and off. Expected to slot between Tye Kartye and Brandon Tanev, Stephens has proven he can help the Kraken as a “solid and stable” right-handed center who is good on the dot – an asset on the penalty kill especially. Another plus – having already played nine games with the Kraken, he’s no longer a “new face” in the room, so there’s a comfort level not just in terms of how the Kraken plays but with all the other players on the team.
Other updates: Adam Larsson was at Wednesday’s practice but did not go on the ice. Bylsma said it was a maintenance day. Additionally, the Kraken placed forward Daniel Sprong on waivers Wednesday.
Three: Know the Foe
The last time the Kraken saw the Blue Jackets, Columbus was in the midst of a five-game losing streak. Seattle ended up pushing that to six by coming back from a 2-0 deficit after the first period with five straight scores including a four-goal middle frame. The energy around the opponent this time, however, is a little different. Columbus is 6-3-1 in their last 10 and has scored four or more goals in eight of those games (including the last three). Their young talent is producing with Kiril Marchenko and Dimitri Voronkov tied for most goals with 17 a piece, and only Cale Makar (13-36-49) has more points than defender Zach Werenski (12-34-46) thus far this season. But as a young team, there can still sometimes be mistakes. The Blue Jackets have given up the second most 5-on-6 goals this season (7), and their penalty kill, which has allowed the third most power-play goals against (32) is ranked 28th. One big thing to watch for is that the Blue Jackets will be without the services of Sean Monahan. He has centered the top line and served as the bumper on the team’s top power play unit (ninth overall) but as general manager Don Waddell told Jeff Marek, Monahan suffered a wrist injury in Tuesday’s game in Pittsburgh and will “miss some time.” If Monahan can’t play against Seattle, Columbus will need a center and have recalled Luca Del Bel Belluze, as a result.
