Assistant coach Ben Smith said the Highlanders showed they have the players to compete but must ensure they utilise opportunities when at the right end of the field.
"The quality of players we've got down here is top-notch. We didn't get it right [against the Crusaders], and the boys are determined to put it right against Moana Pasifika this week.
"Under the captaincy of Ardie Savea and how they're playing, they've got their identity sorted around how they want to be as a rugby team.
"That's an awesome challenge for us.
"Making sure we're creating opportunity together is something we're looking at throughout the week so that we set ourselves up to have a good performance on Sunday."
Smith said fullback Jacob Ratumaitaivuki-Kneepken's return from injury had been handled well by the Highlanders support team. He was confident coming back and hadn't missed a beat.
"He's been able to play at his best straight away and he's made a big impact."
His recovery was all the more notable because he had suffered a potentially career-ending injury. Smith said it was something he had seen before.
"I think of someone like [former All Blacks captain] Sam Cane, who had a serious injury [a broken neck]. There's the physical part of the game, but also the mental part, and facing a few demons around what's happened and coming back confident in his body and what he can achieve on a rugby field.
"He's been a big part of contributing to this team since he's been healthy and ready to go."
The side's review of their loss to the Crusaders over the weekend was honest.
"There are a lot of opportunities that we're creating, and then we talked about what it looks like and how we make the most of those opportunities and getting everyone on the same page so it can be a lot better as a team and everyone doing their roles well so we can execute that."
The Highlanders could get into the Crusaders' 22m area and applied consistent pressure but could not convert that into points.
"The Crusaders are a good team, and they managed to dampen our attack and turn around, go down the other end and score points.
"We looked at that and how we can be better attacking together, creating opportunity and using our skill."