Second: a strengthened defense

Let's be honest. Expecting the Kraken to keep up with the Maple Leafs' potent offense was already a big challenge given the loss of Vince Dunn. Since they were without Brandon Montour, who was with his wife for the birth of their daughter Maison, it was an uphill battle before the first puck drop. Montour is expected to be in the lineup Saturday night, and that's huge for a team that had to put more pucks in the Toronto net than they did in the first half of the game.

A lot of the Kraken's offense comes from their defense, and Montour got a lot of pucks through in his last game in Montreal and helped move the game forward. That will be crucial against an Ottawa team that frustrated the Kraken 11 months ago at the Canadian Tire Center by stopping 39 shots and handing them a 2-0 loss. Many of these shots came from the outside line and were unshielded, meaning goalkeeper Anton Forsberg had a full view of the incoming shots.

So more pucks in the net and more traffic in front help.

Third, know your enemy

Speaking of Forsberg, Ottawa's goaltending has improved significantly with the arrival of presumptive No. 1 Linus Ullmark, who is off-season with the Boston Bruins. But Ullmark played against the New York Rangers on Friday night, so the Kraken should face Forsberg and his .895 save percentage in that game.

This is a break the Kraken need as the Senators are 4-1-0 at home so far. But unlike last season – when Forsberg's shutout against the Kraken was the highlight of his otherwise subpar, injury-plagued season – this time the Kraken needs to capitalize and make him work a little harder. In his previous start against the Kings last Sunday, Forsberg allowed three goals on his first nine shots, which ultimately resulted in a loss in which he had to leave the game twice due to skate blade problems.