The Need to Knows
- The Time: 6:30pm PST
- The Place: Climate Pledge Arena in Beautiful Seattle, WA
- Place to Watch: TNT, TruTV, HBO Max
- Place to Listen: KJR 93.3-FM
Game Preview
The seas have been rough for King County lately.
After days of clinging to their position in the Pacific, they’ve at long last tumbled out of contention again thanks to three losses in a row finally allowing San Jose and Anaheim to take their place. They have been blown out, beaten, and have watched their defense and goaltending, otherwise things that have made them capable of finding a place at the table, fail spectacularly in spite of doing things correctly. Things are dour.
…And, In true Pacific Division fashion, they can get right back in it with a win because this year is actively determined to evade trends and this division does not give a rats ass about who is supposed to be “good” or “bad”. It just is.
Meanwhile, the Kraken face Lane Lambert’s former stomping grounds.
The Islanders have experienced a wild turnaround from last year, due in no small part to the slight gamble of Matthew Schaefer having already turned out to be worth double his weight in solid gold. Schaefer has totally revitalized the Isle in a way that few rookies can ever claim to have done in the NHL, his emergence coinciding with major resurgences from players like Mat Barzal and Bo Horvat, coming out parties for Emil Heineman, and even vets like Anthony Duclair are finding themselves again, and even if the Islanders aren’t exactly league leaders in possession, the few times they do get it have led to results in their favor.
The Kraken could focus on what the opponent does wrong to potentially pull apart their foe, but right now, they really need to use this as a reset point for their game right now; they’ve been giving up far, far, far too many golden opportunities to their opponents, and that needs to end. Rebuilding their goalies’ confidence after a harrowing road trip will be paramount, and that starts with actually defending their net-front, getting the zone exits we know they can get, and finally establishing some real danger through their transition game.
And yeah, they need to sort their special teams out. More than anything the sloppiness during that part of the game is dragging them into the drink. Get that together and watch them thrive.
LET’S GO KRAKEN, LET’S GO SQUIDS