The New York Rangers kick off their five-game road trip at Climate Pledge Arena where they will try to slow down the Seattle Kraken.
Despite losing their first four games of the season, in which they struggled mightily offensively, the Seattle Kraken enter this dance with the Rangers coming off of a huge 7-4 victory at home against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Kraken only scored three goals in their first four contests that I mentioned, and out of nowhere completely exploded on Thursday night with seven goals.
The New York Rangers on the other hand have seen their offense go completely stagnant in it's last two games, only putting up three goals.
Rangers Projected Lineup:
I am not on the trip so this is based off of the other beats, apparently the lineup looks to be the same.
Kreider-Zibanejad-Kakko
Panarin-Chytil-Lafreniere
Cuylle-Trocheck-Wheeler
Goodrow-Bonino-Vesey
Lindgren-Fox
Miller-Trouba
Gustafsson-Miller
Quick (first goalie off, per Arthur Staple)
Key To Tonight's Game: Dictating the pace.
Many NHL players that I have chatted with over the years have told me that the Kraken are one of the toughest teams to play against in their home barn. For whatever reason, the pace of play at Climate Pledge Arena is a fast one and if the Rangers skate like they did against the Predators on Thursday night, they will be chasing the game.
New York has to stay above the puck. What I mean by that is how they track back from the offensive zone to the defensive zone. That all starts with a strong F3 (high guy) on the forecheck and making sure they transition back through the neutral zone, not allowing the Kraken to burn them with their speed. Seattle can be dangerous in transition.
Kraken Stats:
PP: 20% (14th)
PK: 93.3% (6th)
GF/GP: 2.00 (28th)
GA/GP: 3.20 (19th)
Rangers Stats:
PP: 28.6% (8th)
PK: 69.2% (27th)
GF/GP: 2.75 (21st)
GA/GP: 2.75 (12th)