New York takes on Vancouver in another big game for the Rangers
By Conor Power
After returning to action with a big two points in overtime with a victory against the Calgary Flames, the Rangers will be looking to build on that with a performance against the Vancouver Canucks. The Rangers looking to continue to build upon their recent success and continue to close in on the Devils and Hurricanes who continue to lead their division. If they can get two points against a Canucks team with a new coach, they will be able to continue their chase.
Vancouver traded its captain to the New York Islanders just before the all-star break in a deal that shook the hockey world. If the Rangers are going to overcome the Canucks tonight in their new resilient form, they may find an advantage in a team that has damaged its leadership group. If the Rangers want to take points from this game, they need to be able to continue to play as they did in the second half of the Calgary game.
Igor Shesterkin starts for the Rangers tonight as the Blueshirts seek another win. They will be going to take on a Canucks roster that doesn’t have the best defensive structure, but they have serious weapons up front. Some of the guys the Canucks will use to try to defeat the Rangers would be genuinely top-six caliber on one of the best teams in the NHL the Blueshirts. This is a seriously talented forward core the Rangers are taking on.
New York Rangers
Artemi Panarin – Mika Zibanejad – Jimmy Vesey
Chris Kreider – Vincent Trocheck – Barclay Goodrow
Alexis Lafreniere – Filip Chytil – Kaapo Kakko
Will Cuylle – Jake Leschyshyn – Sammy Blais
Ryan Lindgren – Adam Fox
K’Andre Miller – Jacob Trouba
Ben Harpur – Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Jaroslav Halak
Vancouver Canucks
Andrei Kuzmenko – Elias Pettersson – Anthony Beauvillier
Dakota Joshua – J.T. Miller – Conor Garland
Vasily Podkolzin – Sheldon Dries – Brock Boeser
Phillip Di Giuseppe – Nils Aman – Curtis Lazar
Quinn Hughes – Ethan Bear
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Luke Schenn
Riley Stillman – Tyler Myers
Spencer Martin
Collin Delia
Puck drop and start time
With this game being at 8 PM Eastern time, the Rangers will be hosting this game at Madison Square Garden. Points will be the big thing for the Blueshirts. It doesn’t matter how, it just matters that the roster ends up beating the Western Conference bottom feeders. Now that the Canucks seem well and truly out of the race, anything but a victory is unacceptable. They need to keep pace with the Devils and Hurricanes.