That framework includes "knowing who you are playing against" and "sometimes you just have to play defense" rather than focus on trying to score on every shift, said the now-injured Jared McCann going in Game 4.
"We defended very well," said alternate captain Gourde late Wednesday night. "We blocked shots, guys are laying the body on the line. We're taking time and space away from them. It's as a unit of five, not just one guy."
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##### Two: Home is Where the Last Change is
When an NHL team plays at home, the coaching staff has the right to make the last change in the on-ice lineup before the pending faceoff. Dave Hakstol and his assistant coaches will no doubt take advantage of adjusting personnel per the ongoing pattern of Colorado doubling Nathan McKinnon's shifts by sending him out as the third member of other lines. MacKinnon played 27-plus minutes Wednesday and Bednar told the press corps MacKinnon "can play 30 minutes if we need him."
Gourde and his linemates, Eeli Tolvanen and Oliver Bjorkstrand, have been leading by example on how to be hard to play against and still generate scoring chances. Per Kraken colleague Alison Lukan, Gourde led the Kraken in shot quality in Game 5 while Tolvanen was second. All that while mostly tasked with limiting MacKinnon and whichever linemates (most often Artturi Lehkonen and Evan Rodrigues).
Gourde scored Wednesday's game-winning goal by scrapping with Avs defenders net-front and one-handing his stick for a deflection. Tolvanen led the Kraken in hits (eight Monday and nine Wednesday) in both games 4 and 5. Bjorkstrand continues to excel in winning puck battles and carrying pucks into the offensive zone, among many reasons GM Ron Francis traded for him over the summer.
##### Three: Grubauer Going Strong
While fans were no doubt buzzing about Cale Makar's suspension and Tye Kartye scoring his first NHL goal on his first shot in a Game 5, Philipp Grubauer has somewhat quietly posted a .918 save percentage, He ranks top five of the 14 goalies who played four or all five of a team's game going into Thursday's action.
In Game 5, Grubauer prompted his own challenge on Colorado's first goal by rimming the puck up and around the right boards, only to have it intercepted by Mikko Rantanen. The Avalanche's late-game, net-empty second goal (admit it, creating a high-worry factor for Kraken fans) came on a shot by the aforementioned Rodrigues at the right point that pinballed off not just Alex Wennberg but also Jamie Oleksiak before arriving at the net.
"That first one, it's tough, right?" said Hakstol. "It looks like there's a lot more space to go the other way with it. But in a loud building where communication is almost impossible, he's trying to beat the play up the wall. Obviously, he doesn't, didn't work out but what I can say is he moved on to the next save and that's what he's done all series long. And he did it all night long for us [Wednesday]."
