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G50: Kraken vs Islanders - Full Roster?

February 7, 2023, 7:40 PM ET [15 Comments]
Sean Maloughney
Seattle Kraken Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
For most teams, the NHL All-Star Break is an annoying interruption, particularly for teams like Seattle who were on a hot streak going into the break. In normal circumstances, Kraken fans should be annoyed but with the recent string of injuries Seattle faced, the break is actually a blessing.

Yesterday at practice Matty Beniers, Jaden Schwartz, Justin Schultz, and new addition Jaycob Megna were all out on the ice. The first three names on that list are key players to this team that all missed time prior to the break. We don't yet know for certain that all will play tonight but the fact that all were on the ice, participating in a full practice is a highly encouraging thing. The 10 day break gave these players more time to rest up and heal without trying to rush back into a game too early.

If everyone is indeed healthy and ready to play, my best guess would be William Borgen comes out of the lineup and Megna draws in. These would be the D pairs we would then see:

Dunn-Larsson
Oleksiak-Schultz
Megna-Soucy

That is two left shot D on the third pairing but that is unavoidable and honestly not something the coaching staff should be too concerned by. Soucy has played both sides this season as has Oleksiak. The flexibility gives the Kraken some interesting options. If Schultz remains out, expect Borgen to play with Oleksiak; though I would love to see him with Megna.

UBS Arena will be bumping tonight as Islanders fans will get their first view of Bo Horvat on home ice. Horvat made his Islanders debut yesterday on the road against the Flyers in a 2-1 victory. Horvat played between Barzal and Josh Bailey and registered no points and four shots on net. It's going to take the player a bit to get comfortable in his new setting; hopefully that doesn't happen against the Kraken tonight.

This is a back to back situation but I would give the Islanders the edge in the game tonight. For starters, Horvat will be extra motivated to make a good first impression in front of his new fanbase and secondly the Islanders got to shake off the All Star Break rust while the Kraken will likely have to still feel their way back into the game.

Random fact of the day, the Kraken have never won their first game back after having four or more days off. They are 0-3-1 in those situations.

Seattle needs to come out hard and make a big hit, or score a goal quickly to shut up the Islanders faithful and to find a way to get involved in the game early. From the outside there are still plenty of people who are expecting regression from this team. With a long break, ruining their momentum this team needs to work extra hard to prove those naysayers wrong.

Enjoy the game!
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