Kraken (5-8-3) at Oilers (4-9-1) | 5:30 p.m.

One: Staying with It

Most Kraken fans are well aware of Dave Hakstol’s success at NCAA Division I North Dakota, advancing to seven Frozen Four finals in 11 seasons. They likely know he took the Philadelphia Flyers to the Stanley Cup Playoffs twice in his three full seasons with the team. What’s instructive is to know over those seasons as a head coach, his teams have experienced some slow starts only to get in sync to qualify for postseason runs.

Hakstol’s demeanor following Monday’s rematch loss to Colorado is another example of the Kraken leader looking for what he liked in a game, what didn’t go right, and how to build from here. The here-and-now starts Wednesday in Edmonton, facing an Oilers team for a second time in five days but with a new head coach even if the Oilers won decisively Saturday at Climate Pledge Arena.

What Hakstol liked about Monday: His squad’s fast start, generating high-threat scoring chances in early shifts and registering seven of the first eight shots on goal in the opening six-plus minutes. Hakstol estimated the Kraken had four or five good scoring chances in the first half of the second period when the two standings points were still up for grabs. When asked about Joey Daccord’s night in net, the head coach went straight to how much he likes the rookie goaltender’s stickhandling skills and propensity for making big saves at the right time.

He noted it was nice to have Brandon Tanev back in the lineup and offered maybe Jordan Eberle will return Wednesday. He was positive about the penalty-kill group, noting two clean kills and a Colorado power play goal scored off an originating shot that wasn’t on target but was cleaned up for a shot on goal and score. Hakstol is staying positive and knows there are 66 games left to play, which includes three games in the next four nights, two against divisional foes.

Two: Forwards Thinking: Kids Reassigned to AHL, Eberle Soon Back?

With the aforementioned Jordan Eberle possibly ready Wednesday (or likely soon if not then) along with returnee Brandon Tanev (he said post-game Monday he was feeling good for several days and the coaching staff saw him fit to play) back in the forward mix, the Kraken understandably reassigned forwards Ryan Winterton and Shane Wright to AHL affiliate Coachella Valley. To make sure not to get caught short on bodies with back-to-back game nights, Seattle recalled alternate captain Andrew Poturalski, who has been a steady veteran with the AHL Firebirds and led the league in scoring when he played for the 2022 Calder Cup title winner Chicago Wolves. Here’s hoping Poturalski gets a look; he played four NHL games for Carolina (two in 2017 and two in 2021) and looked solid for Seattle during the preseason.

Winterton played his first-ever three NHL games and achieved acceptance and admiration from teammates and coaches alike for his two-way, full-throttle play that equally auditioned his scoring and playmaking instinct. It was a simple move, but during a rush with Kraken leading goal scorer Jaden Schwartz, Winterton looked natural getting to an open space, prompting Schwartz to attempt to get the puck his way. The play didn’t materialize but the trust was in place from the 31-year-old (nearly 700 NHL regular season games and another 102 in the postseason) to the 20-year-old (game three). As for Wright, more than a few Kraken players remarked on the 2022 first-rounders expanded confidence on the ice, motioning for the puck, talking to teammates more actively about the next play, and getting defensive-zone faceoff assignments from the coaching staff.

Three: Know the Foe: The McDavid Factor

When Edmonton general manager and surefire future Hall of Fame general manager Ken Holland announced a coaching change Sunday, the surprise was less that Jay Woodcroft was relieved of his duties after a 2-9-1 start but the move came just hours after EDM dispensed with the Kraken Saturday. The new guy is Kris Knoblauch, Oilers superstar Connor McDavid’s juniors head coach when both were with the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League from 2012 to 2015.

McDavid’s former agent, Jeff Jackson, is the Edmonton team president. McDavid, who hadn’t scored in eight games and just last week talked about a dip in confidence among both himself and teammates, responded with a goal in a 4-1 home win over the New York Islanders Monday while Leon Draisaitl chipped in a goal and three assists. Perhaps as importantly, Stuart Skinner, who beat the Kraken Saturday, made 32 saves and might be coming out of a season-start funk himself.

Knoblauch coached not only McDavid in Erie, but also future NHLers Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Strome and Anthony Cirelli. He also worked as an assistant coach under Dave Hakstol in Philadelphia from 2017 to 2019. Knoblauch was in his fifth season coaching AHL Hartford (New York Rangers affiliate) and certainly is familiar with Hakstol’s systems of play.