One: the power of two
When Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour stole the puck inside the defensive zone and tore the ice in the deep right corner of the Anaheim zone before delivering a perfect centering pass to scorer Mason Marchment, his coach, Lane Lambert, called him “an elite player making an elite play.” At the KJR 93.9 Kraken Audio Network booth, analyst Al Kinisky joked, “No preseason games, no problem!” Montour appeared healthy mid-season despite missing most of training camp to have a bursa removed from his ankle.
“That shows you what kind of player he is,” Lambert said. “He’s a high-end NHL defenseman…he’s done a lot of good things. [Thursday]. He leads us, he leads us on the ice, he leads the offense. It’s certainly nice to see him involved, and our hockey team desperately needed him tonight.
Montour took a maintenance day Friday, but, along with fellow defenseman Vince Dunn, will quarterback one of two power-play units when Vegas visits for second-division clashes to begin the Kraken’s season. Dunn scored the first goal of the game – the third time in five years that he has scored Seattle’s first goal of the season. The 2021 expansion pick from St. Louis missed 20 games last season and injuries kept him out of 23 games in 2023-24.
Keeping both star defensemen healthy this season could make a significant difference to the Kraken’s fortunes. Dunn missed just one game in 2022-23, scoring a career-high 64 points (14 goals, 50 assists). Montour scored a career-high 18 goals last season in 81 games. The offensive dynamism of Dunn and Montour embodies Lambert’s mantra that exiting the defensive zone can be the primary way to take advantage of opportunistic scoring opportunities. Dunn, partnered with Adam Larsson and Montour with free agent signee Ryan Lindgren (who played alongside New York Rangers offensive D-man Adam Fox), provides very reliable defensive coverage when Dunn or Montour enters the O-zone.
Second: take advantage of the man advantage
The Kraken was 0-for-2 on the power play Thursday. The units created opportunities (including a nifty pass from Jared McCann to Matty Beniers in a very dangerous area nearby, but Beniers failed to gather the puck).
“For the most part, we did really good things,” Lambert said after the game when asked about the Kraken’s man-advantage play. “I think there were a few opportunities where we could shoot the puck without getting too fancy. We got into the zone well and definitely got some looks.”
Lambert explained his mentality about the power play after Friday’s practice: “Even today, when you start practice, maybe you don’t really want to shoot the puck at certain times. You don’t want to hurt your teammates. [via a shot block]. But we just have to focus on the volume of shots. Cale Fleury was at the top of a unit today. Montour had the holding day. [Fleury] shoots the puck and it makes its way into the net. We have a good online presence, guys. We have to keep shooting the puck.
Three: Know the enemy: Vegas Inks Eichel, in line with Marner
Vegas has extended center Jack Eichel’s contract for eight years starting next fall. His average annual value (AAV) will be $13.5 million, while his new teammate Mitch Marner is locked in for eight years at $12 million starting this year. Both look scary in just two games, with Eichel totaling six points (two goals, four assists) in two games, while Marner had a couple of assists in the third period to take his new team to overtime and the subsequent shootout against Los Angeles in VGK’s home opener on Wednesday.
Lambert, who worked closely with Marner last season with Toronto, said his killers need to be prepared for “a very, very good power play” as well as an overall Kraken mindset to not let the visitors face Vegas’ physicality in all zones and situations.
“[Marner] “He’s an extremely talented player who sees the ice and has great vision,” Lambert said. It’s a great team. They will definitely try to wear you down in the defensive zone by controlling pucks. We’re going to have to be tough on pucks and be tough in battles. We’re going to have to make sure we play solid defense to be able to turn the puck the other way. When we moved our legs last night, we managed the puck a little better. We will have to do it. than against Las Vegas. They have a great transition game, but when we [stopped Anaheim’s transitions]we ended up having a lot of scoring chances.
Projected Kraken Lines/Pairings (Unofficial):
McCann-Béniers-Eberle
Schwartz-Wright-Tolvanen
Marchment-Stephenson-Winterton
Kartye-Gaudreau-Nyman
Dunn-Larsson
Lindgren Montour
Mahura-Olexicak
All right
