One: The Defense Doesn’t Plan to Rest on Second Night
SALT LAKE CITY—After a hard-fought win over an LA Kings squad that did not want to lose Monday’s game for playoff positioning, the Kraken will focus on extending the good vibes and Ws going into Tuesday’s two-games-in-two-nights matchup at Utah. One key to making it four wins in a row will be another 60 minutes of Seattle’s defensive corps playing “quicker and more aggressive,” a recent trend Dan Bylsma has praised after each of the recent Kraken wins.
“I go back to the Vancouver game [a 5-0 home shutout],” said Dan Bylsma, who enjoyed post-game grins with his coaches when the final horn sounded Monday night. “I see the shot blocks, the guys paying the price ... Numerous times tonight, we’re taking time and space away, being physical the jump, ranging from Lars in the D-zone behind the net, being quick and physical to Rig in the third period taking away good players’ time and space. Then he pays the price [hit in the face with a puck]. Both our goalie and the guys [skaters] are willing to put their bodies in front of shots and block shots 29-some shots., That's what it takes.”
“The back end was solid,” said Brandon Montour post-game. “We didn't give them much space. LA is a good team, a big, big team. They are a big forward group there. They play with speed. Play with pace. We challenged them.”
Two: Stephenson’s Value Goes Beyond Stats
In 74 games for the Kraken, veteran center and two-time Stanley Cup winner Chandler Stephenson has scored 13 goals and added 38 assists for 51 points. Last season playing for Vegas, Stephenson racked up 51 points (16 goals, 35 assists) in 75 games. Let’s agree he has delivered on supplying playmaking and solid goal production. His career high in goals is 21, and in his last two seasons, he landed 16 goals.
Where Stephenson brings value beyond scoring stats starts with his elite work as a penalty killer. In Monday’s win over LA, he logged nearly three minutes of ice and formed a potent tandem with Jared McCann. Only D-man Jamie Oleksiak had more PK time Monday night. Stephenson’s individual PK work is nearly flawless, and he raises the level of his teammates as a bonus.
But there’s more: With young centers Matty Beniers and Shane Wright already established as Seattle regulars, plus 2024 first-round center prospect Berkly Catton poised to make it difficult next fall to send the Western Hockey League back to juniors (he averaged two points per game regular season and just become third WHL player since 1996 to notch a seven-point game in a series-clinching win over the weekend), the value Stephenson’s role model play and mindset and supportive-teammate mentality is what Dan Bylsma equates to “massive” for a young centers corps.
“Chandler is underrated in everything he brings to the game, from face-offs to power play to penalty kill to being a solid presence down the middle of the rink,” said Bylsma. “He’s a huge presence and a huge kind of mentor and leadership for our young centermen that are coming up.”
Three: Know the Foe: Utah 5-4-1 in Last 10 Games
The “Utah Hockey Club” is one of three potential nicknames for the Utah franchise, which previously was located in Phoenix and named the Arizona Coyotes. The other two names put to a fan vote are Mammoth and Outlaws. Until just this week, the Utah Hockey Club was still reasonably mathematically in the Western Conference playoff hunt. They have to win out, starting with the Kraken Tuesday, and hope for St. Louis, Minnesota and Calgary to lose – a lot. Goalie Karel Vejmelka has made 20 straight starts because the Utah coaching staff deems him to be providing the best chance to win as the playoff stretch run unfolded, mostly because last season’s standout goalie, Connor Ingram, has been dealing with personal off-ice matters. Look out for Utah captain Clayton Keller and young-star-to-be Dylan Guenther. The two forwards co-lead Utah with 26 goals apiece.
