And when at least two more pucks go in than the opposition manages, it can change the way a team plays. The Kraken looked especially confident starting the third period with a two-goal lead, playing aggressively and keeping pucks away from Daccord.

Lambert said the team’s franchise record strong start with 16 points in 12 games is a byproduct of players getting more comfortable with his defensive systems even as they seek additional offense.

“Nothing happens if they don’t buy in and they don’t take ownership,” Lambert said. “For me, tonight it was a team victory. We didn’t have any passengers.”

Daccord certainly didn’t want to be a passenger in the game’s closing minutes. With the Chicago goalie pulled for an extra attacker, he gathered a loose puck and attempted to fire it down the ice for a goal – only to see it knocked down by a defender appearing out of the blue.

“I don’t know, shooters shoot,” Daccord said. “So, I shot it. I thought it was in. I said to myself, ‘It’s in’ because when it was in the air it was dead center. But I couldn’t see the further guy behind the middle guy. So, I was like, ‘Oh, I cleared everybody’ and then I saw him stop it and I was so rattled.”

Of course, the Kraken had already seen their multi-goal lead restored by Eberle moments prior. And that could afford Daccord some margin for error in trying to score goals as well as prevent them.

“I think leading is always nice,” he said. “Because then you can kind of dictate your game.”

Which the Kraken did from the moment Eberle backhanded his second period pass to Beniers. Eberle’s night left him with a team-high five goals and tied for the club lead in points with Jaden Schwartz at 10 apiece; feeling back to his former self after a rare pelvic injury and surgery a season ago.

And his team, finally spending ample minutes in a game that wasn’t a one-goal affair or tied, didn’t let up much when afforded that treat.

“You just try and stay on your toes and continue to push,” Eberle said of his team’s subsequent play with the two-goal advantage. “That’s how you win hockey games.”