Kraken (15-15-2) vs. Senators (15-13-2) | 7:00 p.m

First: Generate more shots

The Kraken had the Tampa Bay Lightning on the run early in Saturday night’s loss, but then let them off the hook. After outscoring the Lightning 7-0 and shooting 1-0 in the first 7:35 of the game, the Kraken were outscored 14-1 and making it 2-0 as they reached the five-minute mark of the middle period .

The Kraken actually scored 2.7 “expected” goals with their shooting quality, despite only scoring a single goal in the game. But you can’t play almost an entire period – 17 ½ minutes – and only get one puck on goal. As fancy as it sometimes seemed to move the puck – and their early power play goal against the Lightning was as instructive as puck movement can be – it needs to lead to more shot attempts and more pucks getting through to the goaltender.

This is not a team that relies on the finesse of the elite. When the Kraken have lost games this season, it’s often because they didn’t simplify things enough and failed to take their game right to the net. The easiest way to score more goals is to shoot the puck. The Kraken should not aspire to emulate the Soviet Red Army teams of the mid-1970s, who held passing drills while waiting to create only the absolute perfect scoring chances.

Second: Work hard, but also work smart

This kind of ties in with the first point, but with a small difference. We saw the Kraken raise their level of competition at times by working harder and fighting for pucks in the corners and at the net. But sometimes that hard work goes in vain because of decisions made right after the fight ends.

“The guys are working hard, maybe not necessarily in the right places,” Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn said afterwards.

Dunn said the same thing last season: “Work hard, not smart,” so that’s worth mentioning. It’s about being more mentally involved in the game and being aware of the situations that arise. It’s about being positioned in the right places at the right times to compensate when tired legs or aching bodies make it difficult to maintain pace.

Kraken coach Dan Bylsma echoed some of Dunn’s claims after the game and again after practice on Monday, reflecting on the need to “be in the right spots,” especially when playing defense. On Tampa Bay’s first goal, he noted that two Kraken players “were both doing the same thing, not knowing what the other was doing and not communicating” and ended up being out of position when defender Jamie Oleksiak – under pressure behind the Net – attempted a quick outlet pass along the boards.

Instead of a teammate being there to take over the play, the puck was turned over and shot into the goal, resulting in a quick goal.

Third, know your enemy

This is one of those crucial games where the Kraken has to write its own story by taking care of business at home. If they win against Ottawa, they will finish 2-1-1 at home and go one game over .500 on the road. Lose, finish 1-2-1 and start a sub-.500 game with some tough opponents.

The Sens have won three in a row and five of six, helped by some outstanding goaltending from Linus Ullmark, who was in net in all five of those victories. In those five games, Ullmark allowed just five goals total and allowed one or fewer in four games.

Those heroics on Monday led to him being named the NHL’s No. 3 Star last week. He’s also posted a 6-0-1 record with a .950 save percentage in his last seven games, helping the Sens advance to the Eastern Conference’s final wild-card spot.

In other words, it won’t be easy. The Kraken faced backup Anton Forsberg in the teams’ last game six weeks ago in Ottawa and were unable to score against him.

Ullmark represents a higher level of difficulty. He is 2-1-1 with a .919 save percentage against the Kraken while with his former Boston Bruins team before the blockbuster summer trade that brought him to the Canadians Capital brought.

The Sens had good fundamental defensive stats before that final run, but with Ullmark struggling early, the results didn’t show. Now that he’s back in Vezina Trophy form, we understand why Ottawa felt he was the missing piece. The Sens are scoring a solid 3.10 goals per game, led by Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson, Josh Norris and Brady Tkachuk. So when Ullmark makes it difficult to score, his team quickly picks up victories that used to be defeats.