3 Game Essentials | Kraken at Sabres | Nov. 29

One: Limit odd-man rushes, play as unit of five

Stick tap to the insights from
the Kraken app and web colleague Alison Lukan
: Seattle allowed nine odd-man rushes and seven scoring chances off those rushes versus Florida. Not surprising for a Florida team that leads the league in creating such chances when the Kraken are outnumbered.
The Kraken left Florida with a 4-1 win and two standings points from a difficult back-to-back weekend, mostly because goalie Chris Driedger made saves on all of those odd-man rush scoring chances. According to SportLogiq, Seattle is third in the NHL in preventing rush chances, averaging less than five per game.
If there is a return to form against the Sabres, fans can watch for what coach Dave Hakstol calls playing as a five-man unit. He basically means the forward line of three and defensive pairing are working together as one blended unit of defenders/offensive players depending upon who has the puck.
A checklist to know what Hakstol wants from his squad: (1) Defend against high-quality scoring chances by disrupting opponents' puck possession in all parts of the ice and, in Monday's case, keeping Sabres shooters to the outside areas of the Kraken zone and (2) Create SEA offensive rushes by "clean" exits and/or effective passes from the defensive zone, moving the puck through middle-ice and establishing play deep in the offensive zone.

Two: Focus on Kraken: Net-front, young D-men, who starts in goal

One item that Seattle was missing during the recent losing streak, which resoundingly turned around with three wins in the last four games over seven days against elite teams: Getting players net-front to screen the opposing goalie, seize tip-in opportunities and get second shots on rebounds.
Forward Ryan Donato, who works on them in extra time after practices, scored Saturday's second and decisive goal when he deflected a shot from D-man Jamie Oleksiak. Jordan Eberle scored the second of his pair of goals against Florida when he rammed home a rebound following a shot on goal by Yanni Gourde. More of that work will be pivotal against the Sabres Monday and Detroit Wednesday during the second half of a four-game, week-long road trip.
Defenseman Will Borgen made his Kraken debut in Saturday's win, getting in a scrap early and playing a solid game paired with Haydn Fleury. Both young defenders are out to make a case for more ice time with captain Mark Giordano still in COVID-19 protocol. Borgen led the Kraken with five blocked shots in his 14 minutes of ice time (Seattle blocked 22 shots to Florida's 10) and Fleury recorded five hits and, as usual, was notable on the offensive end.
In Giordano's absence, Vince Dunn picked up more power-play quarterback time and assisted on Eberle's man-advantage goal to open Saturday's scoring. Check back on our app and website for a Monday morning update on who gets the start in goal against the Sabres.

Three: Know the Foe: Buffalo Sabres (8-10-3)

Buffalo has cooled since a hot start. The Sabres lost in overtime to Detroit (the Kraken's Wednesday opponent) Saturday on the road. It completed a 1-3-1 record in five games over seven days. Veteran forward Jeff Skinner scored with 83 seconds left to tie the contest during a 6-on-5 empty Buffalo net situation, only to lose on a Detroit goal by rookie sensation Lucas Raymond 25 seconds into overtime.
Buffalo has received uneven goaltending from Dustin Tokarski and Aaron Dell in recent games, including one game in which each goalie was pulled for the other. Check back on our Kraken app and website Monday for a starter update against Seattle.
BUF forward Tage Thompson leads the Sabres with 10 goals and 15 points overall. He was acquired in a trade executed by then Buffalo GM and now Kraken assistant GM Jason Botterill.