One: Keep pushing forward
There are a few reasons the Kraken have won consecutive games to start this road trip, but a huge one has been their self-described “direct” and “simplified” approach in both contests. Instead of perimeter hockey and playing the puck backwards, the Kraken have been pushing northward toward the opposition net and getting results doing it.
One of the bigger contributors on Thursday that wasn’t found on the scoresheet was Yanni Gourde, who positioned himself directly in front of Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin and screened him on two Kraken goals. Pushing northward to the net isn’t only for the puck carriers to do. Those without the puck need to do it as well and we saw that on the first four Kraken goals – two of them deflections and the final two coming off the Gourde screens.
Again, this isn’t some complicated formula. It’s an attacking, aggressive mindset of getting the puck in deep where it needs to be behind the defenders in order to maximize chances of scoring. And it requires paying a physical price, which the Kraken are back to doing once more as they commit to the art of winning games.
Two: Score the first goal
Sure, this is a bit of a cliché, but in the Kraken’s case, it is a winning formula. The Kraken are 8-1-1 when they score the first goal and they haven’t lost a regulation game in such circumstances since the season opener nearly two months ago.
Besides not being forced into “chasing the game” once spotting themselves an early lead, the Kraken scoring first takes immediate pressure off goalies who know they won’t need a shutout to win. And scoring first also affords the Kraken room to open up their offensive game in search of a critical second goal. That’s huge when offensive woes have been a well-documented part of this team’s struggles.
The Kraken don’t have the firepower to score five goals in a game all that often, the way they did against the Islanders on Thursday. But once they get an early lead, they are usually adept at putting in at least another goal or two more and making it stand up. In fact, they are 7-0-0 when they carry the lead to the second intermission, 1-13-1 when opponents are ahead after 40 minutes.
When teams have trouble scoring, getting that tying goal in a pressure-packed final 20 minutes can be a bridge too far. It is much easier for a Kraken team, already more naturally inclined toward defense, to try to cover up and hang on to a third-period lead rather than chase the proverbial game in search of goals that are often tough to come by under any circumstances.
Three: Know your foe
The Kraken have never beaten the New Jersey Devils in a regulation game. New Jersey holds a 4-0-2 record in the series and both Kraken victories came at home via a Ryan Donato shootout winner and an Andre Burakovsky overtime goal.
On the road, the Kraken are 0-3-0 at Prudential Center and have never scored more than two goals in a game there. In fact, they’ve scored only four goals total in the three prior contests and have lost by two each time.
New Jersey sits tied for the Eastern Conference lead with Washington and has won seven of its last ten games. Interestingly, the Devils are only 6-5-2 at home compared to 11-4-0 on the road – continuing a trend seen last season when their 17-21-3 home record is what largely sunk their playoff hopes.
Anyhow, a big key to success for the Kraken will be staying out of the penalty box as the Devils lead the NHL with a 34.5% efficiency. Not surprisingly, the Devils are sixth in the league in goals per game at 3.54.
The Devils are also No. 6 in goals per game allowed at 2.71.
So, yeah, they’re a good team. Too good to help them out by taking penalties. On the end leg of a back-to-back, this was always looking like the least winnable contest the Kraken would have on this road trip, and indeed, goalie Philipp Grubauer will have his work cut out for him against the likes of Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes – who have a team-leading 35 and 33 points, respectively. Nico Hischier leads the team with 15 goals, one of four Devils with at least 11.
Jared McCann, at 10 goals, is the leading Kraken scorer, and a bunch of the next closest other guys are three behind him.
This won’t be easy. But road trips never are. Score first, stay out of the box and don’t give the Devils any freebie goals. Do that and score, say, three times at a minimum; the Kraken might have a chance.
