The Need To Knows
- The Time: 4pm PT
- The Place: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
- Place to Watch: KING-5, KONG, KHN-affiliated channels, ESPN+ (out of market), MSG-Sports Network
- Place to Listen: KJR 93.3-FM via Kraken Audio Network
- An Opposing Viewpoint: All About The Jersey
Know Your Enemy
- The Devils are 2nd in the Metropolitan Division; tied with the Capitals with 36 points in the standings, and a 17-9-2 Record.
- You’d think that a successful Devils squad would have Jack Hughes leading the charge in points, right? I mean, that seems about what it should be, but no! It is Jesper Bratt of all people who leads the Devils on that front; He’s got 35 Points in 28 games, 23 of those being assists; another category he currently inhabits.
- Don’t assume then that Hughes is slacking however, he’s right behind Bratt with 33 points in 28 Games.
- Swiss-born Nico Hischier isn’t neutral on scoring goals; he loves it. He leads the Devils in goalscoring with 15 in 28 games.
- The Devils are the last team you would ever want to put on the power play this year; they lead the league on man-advantage success-% with 34.5%. The man who’s been the most dangerous for them however? Not who you’d think; it’s Stefan Noesen; who has 6 goals on the power play.
- While both goaltenders are doing pretty well for the Red and Black, Jacob Markstrom has taken the brunt of starts for the Devils, and just came off of a .974 SV% performance against NJ’s arch-rivals the New York Rangers. Given that they’ve had 3 days off, it stands to reason he’ll see the net again. Both Markstrom and Jake Allen are sporting a .907 SV% on the year.
Game Notes
Well, the Kraken managed to handle both a rapidly short-circuiting Eastern Power and a deeply mediocre team; putting them in the general direction of “back on course”. They still have a lot of work to do of course, but those last two games really felt like statements that they are not going to fall back into old habits if they can help it. Having Vince Dunn back really helps in that regard, and it’s paid dividends already.
That said, if they want to actually push off from the dock and get back on track, they’ve got a helluva challenge tonight on a back-to-back; The New Jersey Devils.
The Devils have had their stinkers for sure, but this year they are a force to be reckoned with; 6th in the leagues in Goals-For per Game, a league-leading power play, multiple players beginning to bunch up in the top 20 of skaters in the league in terms of points, and a respectable squad when it comes to possession; particularly when it comes to shot-danger. Only three other teams have a better Expected-Goals-For-%.
Definitely not an easy task. So what do the Kraken need to do to survive this onslaught of a team?
First thing’s first, the Kraken’s PK, which hasn’t been ideal recently, needs to be lights out, if they use it all. The Devils are simply too dangerous and have too many weapons to allow any chances for their man-advantage. Next, they need to take the lessons they learned from the Islanders and Hurricanes games of constant pressure to cause the Devils trouble in their own end, and especially use their skating speed in transition. In the few games the Devils have dropped this season; many of the goals they’ve given up came from offensive zone turnovers, and while the Devils’ D is nothing to sneeze at, it’s not nearly as impressive on the backcheck as it is in the OZ. Taking advantage of that will be the key. Oh yeah, and one more thing.
They need to keep up if the Devils strike back. Because they can play an 80’s hockey game if they really want to. If they lose steam, it will only make New Jersey stronger.
This is a measuring stick game. Let’s make a good impression.
LET’S GO KRAKEN, LET’S GO SQUIDS