After acquiring three new players at the deadline the Vancouver Canucks return home to take on the New York Rangers, who may have rebuilt their team over one week. Here are three keys to victory over the Rangers.
Coming off of a one man assault by Nathan MacKinnon, the Vancouver Canucks return home with some new bodies that could draw into the lineup. In case you missed it — which I’m sure you didn’t — the Canucks got themselves some warm bodies in return for shipping out Thomas Vanek and Philip Holm.
Brendan Leipsic, Tyler Motte and Jussi Jokinen will stay with the team and we could possibly see Leipsic and Motte to draw into this game against the Rangers.
Jokinen is another story. A non-story.
Jacob Markstrom has been a story of late, after a stellar performance against the Arizona Coyotes and then following that up with another good game against the Avalanche. Marky looks to be riding a hot streak, will head coachTravis Green think about riding that wave and going with the Marky flow?
Probably not. I would expect Anders Nilsson to draw the wide stick in this game, but this is the Canucks, so expect the unexpected.
The Rangers on the other hand have cleared a good amount of their core out on the deadline and will likely be a broken team of AHL players mixed in with the remaining NHL guys. The Canucks should take it to the Rangers hard and try and grind out a win while incorporating their young players in some more offensive roles as they have done lately.
Here are three keys to victory for the Canucks against the Rangers!
P.I.T.D.
Pass it to Daniel.
With six goals in as many games, Daniel Sedin is so hot right now. He has been getting some puck luck and has stumbled his way to notching 19 goals so far this season.
Daniel has 15 shots in those six games and should keep on shooting the puck, the powerplay has been a key for the Sedins lately and with most team keying on Brock Boeser it is opening a lot more room for that classic “Sedinery”.
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Daniel is playing confident and hopefully can keep it going here and have a strong finish to the season. If Daniel finished with 25 goals or more is there anyway he doesn’t come back next season?
Grind out the team with the new guys
After all the moves that the Rangers made at the deadline there will be some deficiencies in their team, not to mention how the chemistry will be after losing their captain and a couple of top nine forwards.
The Canucks may get a chance to showcase their new toys in Motte and Leipsic. If those two players draw into the lineup expect them to try and make a difference early. Leipsic has a reputation on being a chirpy player who has speed and can forecheck hard. Motte is a smart player who has learned to play on the penalty kill and these two guys should get a shot on the fourth line.
Let’s see what you just did, Mr. general manager Jim Benning…
Beat the King
Henrik Lundqvist is still a Ranger and he is a good one. Lundqvist is still one of the top goaltenders in the league. He currently has a 0.914 save percentage and can steal a game any night.
Green should get the lines rolling and have the Canucks crashing the net and making it a hard night for the Swedish goaltender.
Jake Virtanen has had a few good games in a row, though he has taken four minor penalties in the last three games. Virtanen has taken 10 shots in those three games and should keep shooting and crashing the net. He has been given a bit more playing time over those three games as well, averaging over 15 and a half minutes.
If the Canucks want to come home to Rogers Arena and get a win they need to have some contribution from the Sedins, see some strong games from the bottom six which could include the new guys that “Trader Jim” picked up and make it a tough night for Lundqvist.
Next: Vancouver Canucks mess up the Thomas Vanek trade miserably
If the Canucks can do all three of these things I’d expect a route on the capital “R” Rebuilding Rangers. But it’s the Canucks, so expect the unexpected!