Your New York Rangers won their last time out after Jacob Trouba was sent to the Anaheim Ducks. The room responded well as the Blueshirts looked much cleaner against the Penguins. The games will continue as a 1 p.m. matinee awaits the New York Rangers. The Seattle Kraken are on the East Coast, and the Blueshirts will be looking to continue winning and put these discussions behind them; they want to get back to contention status.
For the Rangers, Igor Shesterkin is fresh off his brand-new deal, and he'll be looking to continue to prove he's worth every penny. He's the wealthiest goaltender in NHL history and one of the highest-paid players in the league, but Shesty has so often been the key to the Rangers' success that they rewarded him with a payday. As the cap increases, this will be less of a talking point, but it is the big news.
Across the rest of the lineup, the Rangers are significantly cheaper. Without Trouba, there's a ton of cap space for Chris Drury to play around with and see what fun he can have. New York will invest. James Dolan wants his teams to be competitive, even if they do not spend his money wisely. New York will add, and we'll find out who they pick up as we approach the trade deadline in March.
Projected Lineups
Seattle Kraken
Jaden Schwartz - Matty Berniers - Andre Burakovsky
Jared McCann - Chandler Stephenson - Brandon Tanev
Eeli Tolvanen - Shane Wright - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Tye Kartye - Mitchell Stephens - Ryan Winterton
Vince Dunn - Adam Larsson
Jamie Oleksiak - Brandon Montour
Ryker Evans - Will Borgen
Joey Daccord
Philipp Grubauer
New York Rangers
Artemi Panarin - Vincent Trocheck - Alexis Lafreniere
Chris Kreider - Mika Zibanejad - Reilly Smith
Will Cuylle - Filip Chytil - Kaapo Kakko
Adam Edstrom - Sam Carrick - Jimmy Vesey
Ryan Lindgren - Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller - Braden Schneider
Zac Jones - Victor Mancini
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Puck Drop
A 1 p.m. matinee from Madison Square Garden will pit the New York Rangers against the NHL's 32nd franchise. While they're not as new as Utah, they're just as difficult to beat. On this road trip, the Kraken have been red hot, beating great teams like Carolina. If the Blueshirts want to take the two points, they have to continue to improve their game.