3 Game Essentials | Canucks vs Kraken | 7 p.m.

One: Stephenson in Friday’s Lineup

The Kraken face Vancouver at Climate Pledge Arena Friday, then head to Alberta to play Edmonton Saturday and Calgary Monday to total three games in four nights. The team will practice in Calgary Sunday to continue the process of becoming the relentlessly competitive squad that new coach Dan Bylsma envisions on the ice this season.

At Thursday’s media scrum after a pair of spirited training camp workouts, Bylsma said he is looking for his team to play fast with “more cohesiveness.”

“In order to play fast, in order to play quick, you need to have to be connected,” said Bylsma. “That's what clearly wasn't there in game one [last Sunday’s preseason opener, a 6-1 loss to Calgary]. But as we go along here in camp there is more connectedness with five-man units executing the puck up the ice together.”

Observing morning skate, it looks like free agent signee Chandler Stephenson will make his preseason debut, centering Jaden Schwartz and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Shane Wright was skating lines with wings Jordan Eberle and Eeli Tolvanen. As for prospects, 2022 second-rounder Jani Nyman was motoring with center Ben Meyers (he scored Tuesday in Vancouver) and free agent signee Brandon Biro, who has turned in three strong AHL seasons as part of the Buffalo Sabres organization. Friday’s fourth line (a nominal designation) looks to be NHL-tested Mitchell Stephens (he played 23 games for Montreal last season) will work between Ryan Winterton and Lleyton Roed.

Two: When Special is Not So Special

Bylsma said the two groups on ice Thursday was more about refining special teams play as compared to prepping one particular group for Friday’s game. He said he will draw from both groups to fill out his lineup card against the Canucks. Bylsma and his coaches prioritized power play execution, which, of course, gives reps to potential penalty killers. But Bylsma was clear after Tuesday’s 3-1 loss (Seattle nearly tied it late before an empty-netter ended the suspense) that six penalties called on his charges provided way more PK duty for Kraken skaters than he wanted. Two penalties were too-many-men whistles, no doubt an area that will be cleaned up before the regular season starts on Oct. 8.

Three: Daccord Gets Friday Start in Goal

Joey Daccord will be in goal Friday, which likely means Philipp Grubauer, gets the Saturday nod in Edmonton. The guess here is AHL-bound goaltender Niklas Kokko (a 2022 second-rounder who starred in the top Finland pro league playoffs last spring) will see some action Friday and/or Saturday, similar to how his goalie partner in Coachella Valley, Ales Stezka, played the third periods in the first two preseason games.