Rangers vs. Kraken: Lineups, storylines seeking rare 3-game win streak
It’s been nearly a full year since the New York Rangers last won three games in a row. They can swat that monkey off their back with a victory against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night at Climate Pledge Arena.
Ironically, their most recent three-game win streak, Nov. 14-19, 2024, included a 2-0 victory on the road over the Kraken. So, perhaps it’s meant to be that the Rangers extend their winning streak to three games by beating this particular opponent.
OK, that’s a bit of a reach. But not as crazy as the fact that the Rangers failed 10 times since — nine times last season and once this one — to win a third consecutive game.
Baby steps. But important ones for the Rangers to fully re-establish a winning culture after one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history in 2024-25. In an another plot twist, there’s a chance that this specific road trip to Western Canada and Seattle is a turning point — in a positive way — for the Rangers, just as this same trip a year ago was the beginning of the end for them.
The Rangers (5-5-2) rallied for a thrilling 4-3 overtime win Thursday in Edmonton against the Oilers. They overcame a 3-1 third-period deficit, when Braden Schneider and Taylor Raddysh scored clutch goals to pull them even, and J.T. Miller won it in OT.
That came on the heels of a 2-0 win against the Vancouver Canucks. Of course, those two most recent victories followed a three-game winless skid (0-2-1), which included a pair of embarrassing losses to the San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames.
All in all, there’s nothing simple nor clearcut with this team. But there’s no question that returning to Madison Square Garden next week on a three-game winning streak and taking three of four on an important road trip is a big deal, if the Rangers can get past the Kraken on Saturday.
“Hopefully [the win Thursday] can help propel us and keep this things going a little bit more in this road trip,” Miller said. “We have a good chance to finish it off in the right way.”
The Kraken (5-2-3) come off a 4-3 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday. They did earn a point for the third straight game (2-0-1), scoring three goals in the third period to wipe out a 3-0 deficit and force overtime, before Cole Caufield won it for the Canadiens. Their 13 points through 10 games are the most in franchise history.
Seattle has played six one-goal games out of their first 10, winning three in regulation and losing three in overtime (3-0-3). The Kraken have points in each of their seven games decided by two goals or fewer (4-0-3).
The Rangers are 6-1-1 all-time against the Kraken, though they lost the most recent meeting, 7-5 at Madison Square Garden last Dec. 8.
3 storylines when Rangers visit Kraken
1. Powerful opportunity
The Rangers’ power play has been more disadvantage than advantage this season. New York dropped to 30th in the League (13.3 percent) and has one power-play goal in its past five games (11 opportunities). Mika Zibanejad has two of the Rangers’ four power-play goals in 12 games. Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere are among those sitting on goose eggs.
Perhaps this is the night the Rangers will break through. The Kraken surrendered a pair of power-play goals against the Canadiens and are 29th in the NHL on the penalty kill (64.0 percent). They’ve given up at least one power-play goal in seven of their 10 games.
2. Where there’s a Will
All the attention seems to be on Ryan Lindgren and Kaapo Kakko ahead of this contest. It’ll be Lindgren’s first game against the Rangers since they traded him to the Colorado Avalanche last season, and subsequently signed as a free agent with the Kraken in the offseason. Kakko is a game-time decision and could return from a broken hand in time to make his season debut against the Rangers, which would also be his first game against them since they dealt him to the Kraken last December.
But let’s not forget about Will Borgen. The Rangers defenseman was a member of the Kraken’s inaugural team in 2021-22 and played four seasons with them before he was included in the Kakko trade 11 months ago. This is his first game against his old club, too.
The 28-year-old has been a staple on the second defense pair with the Rangers since arriving on Broadway. Reliable in his own end, and with a serious compete level, Borgen quickly landed a five-year, $20.5 million contract with the Rangers after the trade. This season, he’s averaging a career-high 18:51 TOI, has two assists in 12 games, and is third on the Rangers with 16 blocked shots and tied for seventh with 18 hits.
It’ll be a flashback for Kraken fans when they see Borgen paired with Carson Soucy on Saturday. They formed a solid defense pairing for the Kraken in 2022-23, the only season Seattle reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
3. Keeping his Cool
Will Cuylle has just one goal this season, none at even strength, and hasn’t hit the back of the net since Oct. 11 — nine games ago. That’s despite a bump up into the top-six forward group and averaging 17:29 TOI, nearly 2 1/2 minutes more per game than last season, when he scored 20 goals while playing mainly on the third line.
But Cuylle is finding ways to make a difference for the scoring-challenged Rangers. He carries a three-game point streak into Saturday and was a force all night in the comeback win against the Oilers. Cuylle helped start the comeback in the third period when he powered to the net to begin the play that resulted in Schneider’s goal that made it 3-2. The game before in Vancouver, Cuylle made a brilliant pass off the rush to set up Zibanejad’s game-opening goal.
The 23-year-old also has 44 hits, eighth-most in the NHL, after setting a Rangers record with 301 last season. In other words, he’s doing a lot of really good things — and not letting his lack of goal scoring get in the way. With that approach, the goals should come soon enough for Cuylle.
New York Rangers projected lineup
Artemi Panarin — Mika Zibanejad — Will Cuylle
Conor Sheary — J.T. Miller — Alexis Lafreniere
Juuso Parssinen — Noah Laba– Taylor Raddysh
Adam Edstrom — Sam Carrick — Jonny Brodzinski
Vladislav Gavrikov — Adam Fox
Carson Soucy — Will Borgen
Urho Vaakanainen — Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Rangers vs. Kraken: When, where, what time, how to watch
Who: New York Rangers vs. Seattle Kraken
When: Saturday Nov. 1 at 10 p.m. ET
Where: Climate Pledge Arena
How to watch: MSG
More About: New York Rangers News
