New York Rangers Host Kraken After Crucial Victory Against Penguins

After a much needed victory against the Seattle Kraken, the Blueshirts remain on home ice where they’ll look to string together two wins in a row for the first time since November 19th (1PM on MSG).

Rangers	Rankings	Kraken
14-10-1	Record	13-14-1
16th	League Rank	21st
12th	Goals For	19th
9th	Goals Against	14th
13th	Power play	23rd
2nd	Penalty Kill	19th

Previous Game

The Blueshirts are coming off a crucial 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. It’s been no secret that the Rangers have been struggling as of late and that led to General Manager Chris Drury to start making changes. The first domino fell when Drury traded captain Jacob Trouba and the rest of his contract to Anaheim for a fourth-round pick and Urho Vaakanainen. Losing a beloved teammate and locker room leader is never easy, but the Rangers overcame the drama and recorded a much needed win against a divisional opponent. It was also a game where the Rangers showed some fight and didn’t concede the middle of the ice anywhere near as often as they had in previous games.

“Everyone knows we’re in a little bit of a hole right now,” said defenseman Ryan Lindgren who also finds himself in trade rumors. “I thought we did a good job of coming out ready tonight, right from puck drop. There was a lot going on today, but I thought the guys did a good job of focusing on the game and playing a good game.”

Rangers vs Kraken

The Rangers will now play the Seattle Kraken as they look to string two wins together. The Blueshirts and Kraken have allegedly been rumored trade partners with the Rangers potentially interested in Yanni Gourde. Drury knows what Gourde can do from his run on the third line with Tampa Bay where he was a key contributor with former Ranger Barclay Goodrow. Drury had to sacrifice Goodrow this past offseason for salary cap reasons, but don’t be surprised if Gourde found himself in more trade rumors with the Rangers or in free agency talks this offseason.

Seattle is concluding a four-game road trip on Sunday afternoon. The Kraken were victorious in Carolina and in Long Island before losing narrowingly to New Jersey on Friday evening. Jared McCann still leads the Kraken in points since the last time the Rangers saw Seattle in November. McCann has 23 points in 28 games.

One player to keep a watch out for is 22-year-old Ryker Evans. The former second-round selection is a left-handed defenseman with 16 points in 26 games played. Evans has five points in his previous five games.

The former fourth-overall pick in the 2022 draft Shane Wright is on a hot streak. Wright has seven points in the last seven games including five goals. Wright had just one goal and one assist in the first 18 games he played in this season.

Expect the Rangers to see Joey Daccord in the series finale on Sunday afternoon. New York saw German netminder Phillipp Grubauer in the first meeting between the two sides in November. Daccord sat out in New Jersey, but the 28-year-old is off to a terrific start to the season. Daccord is 12-6-1 with a .913 save percentage.

For the Rangers, one player expected to take the next step and play more minutes is Braden Schneider. Schneider saw the most minutes he has this season against the Penguins when he recorded nearly 22 minutes of ice time. Schneider’s minutes was second on the team to Adam Fox who played over 25 minutes.

New York will play three games in four nights including the first half of a back-to-back on Sunday. Expect to see Jonathan Quick against the Kraken on Sunday afternoon. Quick shutout the Kraken in November and Igor Shesterkin’s wife is expecting their first child. Dylan Garand will backup Quick on Sunday.

Brett Berard remains out of the lineup with Vaakanainen due to injuries. Connor Mackey will serve as the seventh defenseman incase of a late scratch.

Bet of the Night

The bet of the night is for Braden Schneider to record over 2.5 blocks. Schneider recorded five blocks against the Penguins and his ice time is expected to remain high. Schneider is expected to get more penalty kill time as a result. At +145 odds, a $5 bet would pay $12.25 for a profit of $7.25.

Current record: 4-7

Current Money Total (Based on $5 bets) – We are down $18.90 on the season