3 Game Essentials | Kraken at Panthers | Nov. 27

One: More sustained time in offensive zone, work the net front

That's tough work to defend against a two-time Stanley Cup champion, injuries or not, plus it wears out Seattle players who then can't get consistent time in their offensive zone, aka down on the Tampa Bay end of the ice.
"We couldn't sustain zone time," forward Jaden Schwartz said post-game. "We didn't win enough 50-50 puck battles and we didn't put offensive pressure to wear out the Lightning]."
"We were a half-step behind tonight," Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said during the post-game scrum. "Their puck speed got us. We never got them stopped in our [defensive] zone and likewise in the offensive zone.
The Kraken finished with 4:11 of puck possession in the offensive zone - and a good portion of that came when Seattle pushed hard on several consecutive shifts during the middle period, after TBL scored early that frame to make it 2-0. More of that over three periods will be a boost facing Florida.
Lots of Kraken "O-zone" time Friday night featured the team's shots deriving from areas other than those with
[the highest probability for scoring
. It will be important for more Kraken forwards to establish net-front presence - one reason why losing veteran forward Calle Jarnkrok hurts. Players such as Mason Appleton, Joonas Donskoi, Marcus Johansson and Ryan Donato are candidates across lines to do that work.
"[Tampa Bay] skated well and pushed us to the outside when we did have opportunities," Hakstol said. "In our D-zone, we didn't get 'em stopped quick enough in order to have any energy left to go back offensively."
Watch to watch Saturday: Can the Kraken exit its defensive zone faster into their shifts? Hakstol estimated the first half of most Seattle shifts for forwards and defensemen were devoted to defending in the Kraken end of the ice. He explained such a trend "doesn't leave a lot of gas left to go back the other way" on the typical 40- to 50-second shifts.

Two: Focus on Kraken

When Wednesday night's victory over Carolina started, it was the first time the Kraken played with a full lineup, no one on the injured list. That lasted two periods, when Jarnkrok (he scored a goal and added an assist in last Sunday's win over Washington) did not play in the third period.
Hakstol said Jarnkrok was "still being evaluated" and did not make the cross-country trip to Tampa Thanksgiving morning.
Friday afternoon, Seattle captain Mark Giordano was placed in the NHL's COVID-19 protocol. There's no further word on the situation going into Saturday morning. Defenseman Haydn Fleury was added to the defensive pairings and had six hits and three blocked shots. He also had five shot attempts, including three shots on goal, playing 21 minutes. He looked like a player who wants to prove he belongs in uniform every night - he was scratched the previous three games.

Three: Know the Foe: Florida Panthers (14-3-3)

Florida is first in the Atlantic Division with 31 standings points, same as Carolina and Washington in the Metropolitan. The Panthers have zoomed to an elite start on the strength of balanced scoring - 11 players have double-digit point totals - and hot goaltending of Sergei Bobrovsky with solid work from backup Spencer Knight.
The goal leaders are Aleksander Barkov (15 games played) and Anthony Duclair (19 games) with Jonathan Huberdeau the overall points leader (7G, 13A). Eight Panthers have six or more goals.
Florida is coming off the first end of back-to-back games, albeit an afternoon road game. On Friday, the Panthers lost 4-3 at Washington and Capitals star Alex Ovechkin notched his 28th career hat trick. Bobrovsky gave up three goals on 22 shots, leaving the game twice in the second period. In relief, Knight allowed one goal on seven shots.