Eide: Kraken have pair of measuring-stick games to close out homestand

Oct 28, 2021, 11:16 AM | Updated: 3:09 pm

Seattle Kraken players raise their sticks after their win over Montreal on Tuesday night. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Seattle Sports

Home cooking has been good to the Seattle Kraken, and their game improved enough for them to pick up their first win at Climate Pledge Arena against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.

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With renewed confidence, the Kraken will finish their four-game homestand with tests against two of the league’s best. It starts at 7 p.m. Thursday night with the Minnesota Wild, who have started the season 5-1-0 and rank third in the Western Conference.

It doesn’t get any easier at 6 p.m. Sunday when the talented New York Rangers will visit. New York is 4-2-1 and tied for fourth in the East, just three points off the top spot.

Against Montreal, the Kraken started strong by scoring a minute into the game, limited the Canadiens’ looks at the net, were strong in the neutral zone, and got solid goaltending from Philipp Grubauer. It was the most complete game they have played.

It still wasn’t perfect, however, and with two good teams coming to town, Wednesday’s practice was used to shore up a couple of areas.

“Where we can clean up is how well we execute with the puck,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “Make sure that we’re valuing that puck and taking care of things to give ourselves the best opportunity to play in the offensive zone rather than have to turn around and check 200 feet and play in our D-zone.”

Managing the puck at both ends of the ice is crucial. When breaking out of their own zone, the Kraken will need to make clean outlet passes that are predictable to the forwards up ice. Once in the opposing zone, they will need to make sharp decisions to cycle it and create shots.

If you don’t, as Hakstol says, you’ll be defending, and if you turn it over you could be creating odd-man rushes and dangerous chances the other way. Both teams Seattle faces at the end of the week have players who will make you pay if you don’t handle the puck with care.

These next two matchups aren’t make-or-break games for Seattle, as losing them wouldn’t mean they’re doomed by any stretch. However, they are measuring stick types of games, and we should learn how far the Kraken have come.

A look at the Minnesota Wild

The scariest thing about the Wild is that their best player, Kirill Kaprizov, has yet to score a goal through six games. On top of that, Kevin Fiala, who is their second-best offensive weapon, only has one.

Minnesota has been a possession monster to start the season, which makes the Kraken’s focus on puck management even more important for Thursday night. The Wild are getting far more unblocked shot attempts than their opponents. Same for scoring chances, high-danger scoring chances, and quality shots. If Seattle ends up chasing the Wild, it could be a long evening.

“I look at Minnesota as a fundamentally sound team. They’re a very good team,” Hakstol said. “They’re an extremely competitive team and they’re going to be a tough opponent.”

Kaprizov is the guy to watch here. The second-year player has elite skill and skating. He’s a player who will challenge the defense, and you find yourself inching to the edge of your seat with either excitement or dread depending on who you root for.

While Kaprizov hasn’t scored yet, that doesn’t make him any less dangerous. He has five assists in six games, and his line has owned the puck when on the ice, generating more high-quality shots than their opponents.

The key for Seattle is to get the puck in the Wild zone and control it when Kaprizov is on the ice. He’s not the strongest defensive player, so make him play defense. It not only could lead to goals but will force Kaprizov to expend energy defending and keep him 200 feet from the Seattle net.

A look at the New York Rangers

The Rangers are a fun mix of veterans with up-and-coming young players. Chief among the latter group is Alexis Lafrenière, who was the first overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft. Lafrenière went straight to the NHL last year and got stronger as the season wore on, ending with 12 goals.

While he’s a promising player, he’s not the guy to focus on Sunday. Like Kaprizov in Minnesota, Artemi Panarin is the man for New York.

The player known as “The Breadman” is a talented goal scorer and another that the Kraken will want to force to play in his own zone. Panarin is not alone in the Rangers’ offensive attack. Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider can be dangerous, with Kreider a power-play specialist who has three goals already with the man advantage this year.

Finishing chances is always important and will be for the Kraken again on Sunday. New York is not dominant puck-possession team so there are chances to be had. It’s easier said than done, though, as Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin is one of New York’s young up-and-coming players and early on has a .933 save percentage.

Nope. 🙅‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/uH6jKJx4BQ

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) October 25, 2021

As they talked about early this week, the Kraken will need to keep it simple in the offensive zone and get traffic in front of Shesterkin, find rebounds, and maybe score some ugly goals.