Seattle Kraken: 3 players from each Eastern Conference play-in series teams to watch
Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh Penguins. (Photo by Michael Miller, via Wikicommons)
Montreal Canadiens (12th seed) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (5)
An injury to Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby makes this a more competitive series.
Montreal
Carey Price, Goalie – Rumors persist that Seattle Kraken management loves Price. They want the Canadiens goalie to be for them what Marc-Andre Fleury is for Vegas.
Karl Alzner, Defenseman – A traditional stay at home blueliner
Charlie Hudon, Left/Right Wing – He’s a decent spare part at this point. Hudon has never clicked in Montreal.
Pittsburgh
Tristan Jarry, Goalie – The Kraken may want Price, but Jarry, Pittsburgh’s current number two, is the goalie that should have Seattle’s attention.
Patric Hornqvist, RW – At 33 years old, Hornqvist still has plenty of speed. He’s exceptional on the penalty kill.
Brandon Tanev, LW – A dependable bottom-six forward with some offensive upside.
New York Rangers (11) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (6)
Carolina may have the better record, but they are winless against the Rangers this season.
New York Rangers
Brett Howden, Center – Howden could be the odd man out when the Rangers submit their list of protected forwards.
Ryan Lindgren, D – Has paired well with fellow rookie Adam Fox this year.
Libor Hijak, D – He’s currently the seventh or eighth defenseman on the team.
Carolina
Nino Niederreiter, W – The Finn is a gritty power forward who can put up points.
Vincent Trocheck, C – Good middle-six center, could be squeezed out by other talented forwards.
Jake Gardiner, D – He’d be on the protected list of most other NHL teams.