3 Game supplies | Oilers vs. Kraken | 7:00 PM

Two: smooth out the fold

This will be goaltender Philipp Grubauer’s last chance to build momentum ahead of the regular season after a pair of games in which he allowed nine goals on 55 combined shots across five periods.

Grubauer looked solid for much of his first full game start in Edmonton last Saturday. He led 4-2 late in the second period, but ultimately lost 5-4. Some of the struggles of Kraken players before him to adapt to newer gaming systems didn’t help, especially in the preseason-opening 6-1 loss to Calgary. Still, seeing the Oilers for the second time in just four days offers a chance for some more positive netminding results — including Grubauer becoming more comfortable with teammates’ puck-handling tendencies and the shooting lanes they leave him for incoming shots to watch – before the matches really start to count.

Three: Added “power” for the power play

The Kraken finally made power-play progress in the third period of Monday’s game in Calgary, with Shane Wright scoring a game-tying goal. To that point, the team was 0-for-5 on the night — including failing to score on a number of 5-on-3 and 4-on-3 opportunities with plenty of room to play — and just 1-for-21 in the preseason. .

In fact, the entire third period could serve as a template for what the Kraken hope to do more with the puck.

“I thought this was probably our best stretch of exhibition season yet,” Kraken head coach Dan Bylsma said. “Just the execution – playing north and fast – and the presence in the offensive zone.”

Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn – who had not played this preseason prior to the game against Calgary – was a key part of the power play goal and seemed to gain confidence and poise as Monday’s game progressed. Dunn also left the game without any lingering physical problems in his first action since missing 19 of the final 21 games of last season after taking an illegal hit from behind.

“I think on his first or second shift he went back for a puck and got hit,” Bylsma said. “So we now know he can take a beating and can play.”