One: Sprong into action
The arrival of forward Daniel Sprong, now that he has a visa to play for a U.S.-based team, could not have come at a better time. The Kraken said Friday that Jordan Eberle, who has a lower-body injury after slamming into the boards on Thursday night, will miss at least the two weekend games and likely more.
Enter Sprong, author of 40 goals since the start of his final 2022-23 season with the Kraken. He had 21 that season, 18 with Detroit in 2023-24 and one more with Vancouver in nine games before last week’s trade for future considerations. The knock on Sprong has always been a shortage of defense in his two-way game. But let’s get serious. Sprong isn’t trying to win a Selke Award, and Eberle’s defense isn’t what the Kraken most need to replace short-term.
Sprong can score and just the threat of his fearsome shot could also be enough to preoccupy opposing defenders and free up space for other shooters. And he does it while playing some of the fewest minutes of any 20-goal man in the league. If he can put up a few in Eberle’s absence, it will go a long way toward helping the team get through his injury while it also awaits the pending return of offensively gifted defenseman Vince Dunn.
Two: A Bur-key to the game
Andre Burakovsky is coming ever-closer to bursting the scoreless dam. Now, with Eberle out, Burakovsky will get promoted to the top line alongside recently hot Jared McCann and Matty Beniers.
Burakovsky has been gaining the zone in smoother fashion, then hanging on to the puck and making better decisions at times once there. He should have scored against Columbus on Tuesday but caught a bad break. The Kraken, as mentioned, need an offensive boost and Burakovsky has the track record suggesting he’s capable.
As with Sprong, coach Dan Bylsma has a clear-cut idea of what he’ll need from Burakovsky.
“To shoot the puck,” he said.
That need for more of a “shoot-first” mentality is exactly why the team traded for Sprong. Between him and Burakovsky, somebody needs to deliver. If both can, the Kraken won’t feel Eberle’s loss as heavily.
Three: Know your foe
The Kraken overcame obstacles in what looked like “trap” contests against losing teams their last two games. The trick now is not to get trapped by a .500 Islanders team that made the playoffs last spring and are generally considered a notch above the Blackhawks and Blue Jackets.
So, wait, what’s the trap part? Well, it’s tempting to downgrade the Islanders due to their overall health. Onetime Seattle Thunderbirds captain Mat Barzal is out another month and winger Anthony Duclair several more weeks with lower body injuries. Defender Mike Reilly is out indefinitely with a concussion while fellow defenseman Adam Pelech took a puck to the face and is likely gone until December. Finally, defender Alexander Romanov ditched his non-contact jersey at Friday’s morning skate but isn’t expected to play the Kraken.
That’s a whole lot of hurt, yet these guys just upended the Canucks in Vancouver. The Kraken can’t sleep on them. They need to come out strong and buzz the shorthanded defense – a blueline corps that includes onetime Kraken expansion draftee Dennis Cholowski -- as they did against Chicago. And, of course, hope some additional pucks start going in.
