Game #43: Seattle Kraken vs New York Rangers Open Thread

After a day away from the ice on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Blueshirts are back in action tonight. Peter Laviolette’s squad is set to clash with the NHL’s newest franchise, the Seattle Kraken, who are in the midst of an eastern road swing in what is now their third season as the league’s 32nd team.

The Kraken enter tonight’s game on the back end of a back-to-back set of games, been served a shutout defeat by Tristan Jarry and the Pittsburgh Penguins yesterday afternoon. With fresh legs on New York’s side, tonight serves as an opportunity for the Rangers to build on Sunday’s victory over Washington and officially put the recent four game losing streak in the rear view mirror. Another loss would send the team back to the drawing board and raise the red flags that were lowered following Sunday, so two points out of tonight’s contest would do a lot for New York.

Player to Watch: Kaapo Kakko

After missing 21 games due to a lower body injury, Kakko returned to the lineup on Sunday and skated alongside Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. The revolving door of linemates alongside Kreider and Zibanejad had become a storyline as of late, and in spite of not finding the scoresheet in his return, Kakko’s presence on the line was evident. Keep an eye on Kakko today as he continues to get back into the flow of the season and reclaim his spot on the top line.

Enjoy the game!