Golden Knights (34-23-7) vs. Kraken (28-24-11) | 7:00 p.m.

One: March Madness, NHL Version

Tuesday’s home matchup against Vegas is technically not a must-win game in the Kraken’s quest for a Western Conference wild-card spot. There are 18 games and 36 standings points available on Seattle’s remaining schedule. But on pretty much every other level Tuesday qualifies as a must-have.

Some highly relevant data: Seattle is eight points out of the second of the two wild-card bids for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The team in that spot right now is, remarkably, Vegas. Only a month ago, VGK looked comfortably headed in the postseason as one of three automatic bids in the Pacific Division. Beating Vegas in regulation represents a four-point swing for the Kraken, picking up two and denying the visitors two points. There is one more VGK-SEA showdown (next week in Vegas); consider this pair of games to be a playoff series within the regular season.

The Kraken trail wild-card leader Nashville by 11 points but Seattle has three games in hand to make up ground. Tuesday is one of the gain-ground games (plus Nashville visits Climate Pledge Arena Saturday night). The Kraken have a game in hand on two wild-card contenders (Vegas & Calgary) and two on St. Louis and Minnesota (the Wild have 69 points to Seattle’s 67 because new coach John Hynes pulled his goalie in overtime to beat Nashville with the extra attacker while an empty-netter would have eliminated the one standings points earned by extending to OT).

After Friday’s tough loss (important to understand Winnipeg is a top team in the West and Seattle won up in Manitoba and were maybe one crossbar and one goal post away from earning more standings points against the Jets on Friday), both Tomas Tatar and Joey Daccord brought up the importance of Tuesday’s game without any prompting. Dave Hakstol was less willing to focus on the Vegas visit, but Monday allowed that his squad knows the stakes that compounds the win.

“We don't have to have the conversation specifically about tomorrow's game and the magnitude of it,” said Hakstol Monday after practice. We know where we're in terms of the playoff race. We've simplified it a little bit more than just [Tuesday], breaking it down to some short-term opportunities. You can't play the next six weeks' worth of games all at once ... we’ve got a good opportunity here this week, and that's where our focus will be.”

Two: Dunn, Schwartz Status

As opportunity knocks four times in seven nights beginning Tuesday, Hakstol reported both Vince Dunn and Jaden Schwartz remain “day-to-day” as to availability. Neither player was on the ice for Monday’s practice. Dunn has produced three goals and three assists in his last 7 games, including the road win at Calgary in which Flames rookie Martin Pospisil’s late-game “garbage” hit (Hakstol’s description) knocked Dunn out of action. Schwartz, who set up several clutch goals (via forechecking and moving pucks up ice in the neutral zone) in recent wins without making the scoresheet, left Friday’s game, logging only three minutes of time on ice in the first period. Check back on the Kraken app and website Tuesday for updates.

Three: Know the Foe: Vegas 3-8-1 Last 12 Games

Vegas’ tailspin over the last month has included three-game and four-game losing streaks and a precipitous freefall into the wild-card portion of the NHL standings. An active trade deadline week resulted in forward Anthony Mantha slotting into the VGK second line with all-star Chandler Stephenson at center, plus the defensively reliable and offensively-talented Noah Hanifin, a Ron Francis draft choice in Carolina, forming a top-pair on D with Alex Pietrangelo. That’s plenty of upside, along with Dave Hakstol’s point Monday that Vegas has key players back from injuries, is plenty to consider since Seattle shut out Vegas on New Year’s Day at the Mariners ballpark. Big-name deadline acquisition Tomas Hertl (knee surgery in February) will not be skating for two weeks, so the Kraken won’t face the former San Jose star either on Tues or March 21 in Vegas.