Well on the bright side, these next three games are the last stretch of games that start later than 8 pm this season. The Rangers are back at it tonight in Vancouver as they kick off a three game stint through Western Canada. The team has had plenty of time to travel and get situated in B.C. as they’ve had three days since their 6-2 win in Carolina. The Rangers are currently on a five game winning streak and just saw the Canucks exactly one week ago where they came out on top with a 4-3 in their second game back from the All-Star break. The Rangers have been one of the most impressive teams around the league as of late with a record of 12-2-2 since January 1st. 20-4-3 since their infamous back to back losses when Trouba threw the helmet against Chicago.
On Vancouver’s side of things, it’s been much of the same as the losses continue to pile up. They have only won once since the All-Star break the night after they lost to the Rangers when they took on the Islanders for the first time since they traded Bo Horvat to them. Following their lone win, they played Detroit once on the road and once at home, losing both games by a combined score of 11-2. Not great. Two words that have been a theme for the Canucks this season, they will look to prevent their losing streak from growing any longer but will be up for quite the challenge in doing so against a team as hot as the Rangers.
As mentioned yesterday in my weekend catch up piece, one of the several pieces of news to come from the Rangers over the course of the last week is that Vitaly Kravtsov has once again requested a trade from the organization. As tired as I along with many Rangers fans am of talking about the situation, this could be an interesting matchup in relation to the situation as a name that has come up time and time again between the two teams is Vancouver’s Nils Hoglander. While neither Hoglander nor Kravtsov are expected to play tonight, there is a chance that a trade involving these two players could potentially be a good fit if both parties are interested. One last note I want to add about Kravtsov, as little sense it has made for Gallant to not play him consistently, the fact that he’s likely on the trade block now makes even less sense for the team not to play him. Especially in a game against a team that could be a potential fit for the player.
That being said, expect the same lineup we saw for a majority of the Carolina game:
Kreider - Zibanejad - Tarasenko
Panarin - Trocheck - Vesey
Lafreniere - Chytil - Kakko
Goodrow - Leschyshyn - Gauthier
Lindgren - Fox
Miller - Trouba
Harpur - Schneider
As far as the goalie rotation for the week goes, I think it’s safe to assume we’ll see Igor tonight, as well as against Edmonton Friday Night, saving Halak for Saturday in Calgary. Would make sense to use one of the best goalies in the world when taking on two of the best players in the world. Plus that way, Shesterkin gets a bit more rest while the team travels back home before taking on the Jets at the Garden Monday Night.
As for the game tonight, we should know what to expect from Vancouver as we just saw them a week ago. It’s been all Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes for them as of late, which makes sense considering those are the pieces the organization is looking to shape their future around as they enter this heavy rebuild. Interestingly enough, the Canucks have assigned goaltender Spencer Martin to Abbotsford which at first glance I thought Thatcher Demko could be returning. However, it appears they have recalled 21 year old Arturs Silovs who joins Collin Delia as the Canucks goalie tandem. Silovs has yet to play a game at the National Hockey League level so if he ends up getting the start tonight, we could see an NHL debut at the other end of the ice.
If that’s the case, the Rangers should have the upper hand but need to ensure that they don’t get goalie’d and make this kid look like a superstar. Having built quite the win streak, the Rangers need to come out strong to keep this thing going and look to continue to prove they are among the dominant teams in the league. They have a good chance of doing so this week as they’re taking on opponents they know they can compete with. Expect them to come out strong and keep an eye on #10 who’s coming off that big five point game with four goals over the weekend.
Chris Feldman
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