One: Picking Up the Pace
EDMONTON – The Kraken team plane headed home from the 4-1 Tuesday loss at Calgary to swap player groups in preparation for Wednesday’s 6 p.m. puck drop in Edmonton. The line of Matty Beniers, flanked by Finns Kaapo Kakko and Jani Nyman, will be leading the Wednesday lineup. Shane Wright will be working between Jaden Schwartz and Jordan Eberle on the second line. The defensive pairs will be Jamie Oleksiak-Josh Mahura, Gustav Olofsson-Cale Fleury and Tyson Jugnauth-Ty Nelson, the latter a fun pairing to monitor for future reference.
Head coach Lane Lambert will be expecting more energy and pace from the squad facing the Oilers than what he saw in Calgary. Lambert has been vocal about playing fast with the team in camp, media in scrums and fans in preseason events. It will be a surprise if the Kraken are not in high gear and stay in push-mode from the first shift to the last.
Along with the NHL roster-spot campaign jumpstarted by the 2022 second-rounder Nyman with his two clutch goals (one net-front, the other a booming power play shot) in Sunday’s win, 2023 second-round forward Oscar Fisker Molgaard has been impressing with his two-way game and attention to the pro details that all coaches want from prospects. He’s worth tuning into KHN and Kong Wednesday as Fisker Molgaard centers a line with 2023 first-rounder Eduard Sale and NHL-tested John Hayden with both wingers scoring in Sunday’s 5-3 win over Vancouver. Joey Daccord will start in goal.
Two: Avoid the Penalty Box
In Tuesday’s game, the Kraken were whistled for three penalties within seven minutes of play to end the first period and start the middle frame. Calgary broke a 1-1 tie on the second of three power plays and never looked back.
“In the first two games here, we’ve taken some penalties, too many penalties, stick penalties,” said Lambert. “Those are the results of not moving our feet, losing puck battles and then reaching for pucks. We’ve got to stay out of the box.”
Three: Know the Foe: Oilers Stars Will Play
Division rival Edmonton won its second preseason game in three starts on Tuesday, defeating Winnipeg, 3-2, on the road. Wednesday’s home game will feature Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl back in the lineup and playing together.
Per media reports up north, Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said he will keep both superstars on the first line to start the season. Here’s the rationale in his words:
“When they are playing together, you get a lot more out of the rest of the three lines. That might sound a bit ironic, but the others get more ice time than is available. When those two are playing 21 and 22 minutes (on their own different lines), there isn’t much ice time left for the third and fourth lines.
“Connor and Leon playing together allows the other three lines to stay in the game, play regular shifts and play more to their identity. If you have a guy who maybe is not a top-six guy, but he is bumped up to play with Leon or Connor, you kind of have to play to a top-six line identity, even if that isn’t part of the player’s game.”
Projected Kraken lines/pairings (not official):
Nyman-Beniers-Kakko
Schwartz-Wright-Eberle
Sale-Molgaard-Hayden
Meyers-Morrison-Firkus
Oleksiak-Mahura
Olofsson-Fleury
Jugnauth-Nelson
Daccord
Kokko
LaFontaine