One: Know Your Strength, Bring the Work Ethic
DENVER – The Kraken arrived here at a downtown hotel in the early morning hours with the challenge of playing the Colorado Avalanche game some 15 hours later. The Kraken will be looking to break a four-game losing streak Sunday and not dip four games under NHL .500 for the first time this season. Seattle has stayed close to .500 all season, from two games above to three games below.
For Brandon Montour, the way out of this skid is more energy on the bench and acknowledging frustration is normal without giving in to it.
“We know what our strengths are as a team, what ticks for us, what we need to do to win and be successful,” said the Kraken defenseman. “The frustration part, it’s gonna happen. You're gonna make mistakes in the games ... but the work ethic's gotta be there. We want to strive for consistency and know what we're doing or what we're trying to do with our systems of play.”
“We’ve just got to reset,” said veteran forward Jaden Schwartz. ‘It's going to be a late night, so it's going to be a mental game for us make sure we're on our toes and aggressive. It's our last game before the break, so good chance for us to just go all out, turn our minds off a little bit and just start working and playing [Sunday].”
Two: Reinforcements On Hand
With the back-to-back weekend games, the Kraken hockey brain trust decided to call up defenseman Gustav Olafsson and forward Ben Meyers from American Hockey League affiliate Coachella Valley. Meyers performed well earlier this fall when centering the fourth line, plus he was previously with the Avalanche. Olafsson is a left-handed shot who has been a first-pair fixture for the AHL Firebirds over two Western Conference championship seasons and again this year. He has appeared in 63 NHL Minnesota, Montreal and Seattle, last playing for the Kraken in late March. Forward Tye Kartye was a healthy scratch Saturday. There is no morning skate tomorrow, so check back closer to the 5 p.m. puck to see if any of this trio draws back into the lineup.
Three: Know the Foe: Colorado 7-3-0 Last 10 Games
Colorado struggled early in the season due to injuries and inconsistent goaltending. They traded not one but both of the goaltenders who started the season on the Avalanche roster. The bigger deal was swapping Alexandar Georgiev to the Sharks for goalie Mackenzie Blackwood, who is 2-1-0 in his first three starts for Colorado, sporting a .938 percentage. The Kraken know Blackwood’s upside all too well; he made 38 saves against Seattle on Dec. 1 for the win and a save percentage of .947 in the victory. NHL veteran Scott Wedgewood played in Friday win in Anaheim, so expect to see Blackwood face the Kraken. Plus, this is still a squad that features stars Nathan McKinnion (14 goals, 41 assists) and defenseman Cale Makar (10 G, 32 A, 42 points).
