The Rangers and Kraken both arrive after narrow wins, but their recent defensive results need different readings. New York has allowed three goals across back-to-back victories with Dylan Garand in net. Seattle beat Calgary 2–1 with Joey Daccord, while Philipp Grubauer is the unconfirmed projected starter for Saturday. That distinction matters to a matchup with a 6.5-goal total: the latest scores tell one story, and the possible goaltending matchup adds another.
The Rangers found a late response
New York trailed Philadelphia before Pavel Dorofeyev tied the game on a late power play. As AP reported via ESPN, Tye Kartye then scored the winner with 4:39 remaining, and Garand finished with 23 saves in the 3–2 victory. Adam Fox contributed two assists.
That followed a 3–1 win against St. Louis, giving the Rangers consecutive victories after four straight losses. The improvement is visible, but New York has still won four of its last 10 games. Holding opponents down for two games is an encouraging change after that losing run; sustaining it is the next test.
Garand has a .892 save percentage across his latest five appearances, a broader and less reassuring picture than the latest two wins. That sample contains four starts and one relief appearance, rather than five full games.
DraftKings has New York at -130 on the moneyline, with Seattle at +110. Our team grades favor the Rangers on both sides of the puck: C on offense and B− on defense, compared with D+ and C for the Kraken. Seattle’s six wins in its last 10 provide a counterweight to that comparison. The favorite has the better grades; the home team has the better recent win record.
Seattle’s latest win came with a different goalie
Matty Beniers scored on a breakaway 55 seconds into overtime to beat Calgary, according to AP’s report on ESPN. Berkly Catton supplied Seattle’s other goal, and Daccord made 25 saves. The Kraken had lost 6–2 to the Flames in their previous game, so the rematch produced a very different defensive result.
Grubauer’s latest five appearances have all been starts, with a .863 save percentage across that sample. His most recent outing was against Calgary in the earlier loss, when he allowed four goals on 14 shots in a shortened appearance. Neither Grubauer nor Garand is confirmed for Saturday. If that projected matchup holds, Seattle will be asking a goalie coming off a difficult stretch to build on a result Daccord delivered.
Sharpest Bets Premium
Get our Rangers vs. Kraken picks.
Unlock our model's best bets for this matchup, plus projections, trends, and matchup analysis. Start with a free 7-day trial, then save 20% every month with code PREVIEW20.
The 6.5 total has conflicting evidence
Eleven of Seattle’s 15 games this season have gone over their respective totals, despite the latest three-goal game. The Rangers’ last three games have all gone under, while their last 10 are split evenly between five overs and five unders. Seattle’s latest win runs against its broader scoring pattern, while New York’s recent unders fit its improved results in net.
The goaltending samples offer a reason to look beyond the latest low scores, while the offensive grades caution against treating defensive concerns as automatic goals. Our projections are roughly 25 shots for New York and 26 for Seattle. There is little separation in that volume forecast, leaving the quality of the chances and the saves behind them as more useful questions than a one-shot difference.
Special teams supplied a turning point for the Rangers against Philadelphia, and Fox’s two assists showed another source of offensive contribution. His assists market is set at 0.5 for Saturday. That puts the focus on whether New York can keep involving its defensemen in the scoring, a useful detail for an offense carrying a C grade.
New York has the stronger team grades and two recent wins with Garand; Seattle has more wins over the last 10, but its latest defensive success came with Daccord. That leaves a different test for each side. The Rangers need to extend their improvement, while the Kraken need to support whichever goalie starts instead of relying on the last result to carry forward.
We break down every matchup
Explore current odds and sharp picks for the rest of Saturday’s games on the NHL betting board.
Odds and projections are snapshots and can change. Wagering involves risk.
More matchups to explore
Unlock our Premium picks. Free.
Get our sharpest picks, team grades, and projected score in your inbox.