W2W4: Rangers vs. Canucks 1.19.16
Courtesy: Blueshirts United
Who: New York Rangers vs. Vancouver Canucks
Where: Madison Square Garden
When: Tuesday night at 7:00 PM
Watch: MSG Network beginning at 6:30 PM
Listen: ESPN-98.7 FM and NewYorkRangers.com
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The Skinny:
Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden the Rangers (24-16-5, 53 pts) play their only home game in a two week stretch when they host the Vancouver Canucks (19-17-10, 48 pts), a team that itself is halfway through a six-game road trip. The Rangers are 3-0-1 in their last four home games and own an impressive 16-5-2 mark at The Garden so far this season, while the Canucks have been a pretty good road team, posting a 10-9-6 road record so far this season after starting this current trip with two wins in three games. New York comes off a three-games-in-four-nights road trip against division rivals in which losses in Brooklyn and Washington sandwiched Saturday's 3-2 shootout victory in Philadelphia. Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Capitals did feature a pair of goals from Chris Kreider and some solid play from Rick Nash (assist, team-high five shots and ten shot attempts), Oscar Lindberg (four shots in only 11:05 of ice time) and Dan Boyle (four shots, solid two-way play after moving up to the top defense pairing much of the night alongside Ryan McDonagh). However, as McDonagh pointed out post game Sunday, the Rangers were undone by their struggling penalty killing unit, which surrendered two more power play goals. The Blueshirts have now allowed ten power play goals in their last nine games, killing off just 17 man disadvantages in the same span. They also were not helped out by their own power play, which failed on four opportunities Sunday and is now in a 1-for-26 funk--that lone power play goal coming against the Flyers on Saturday. Perhaps Vancouver's middling special teams can help the Rangers out of their rut, both on the PK and the power play, on Tuesday. The Canucks do come in with confidence, though, after beating the Islanders 2-1 in the shootout Sunday, a victory which came on the heels of Friday's 3-2 overtime win over the Hurricanes down in Raleigh. They also come in with three former Rangers on their roster, including recently traded forward Emerson Etem. However the Canucks will have to play without top-line center and team captain Henrik Sedin Tuesday after he was injured on a Mikhail Grabovski hit in the previous game. In fact Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins said Monday that Sedin--second on the team with 37 points--is likely out for the remainder of this road trip which carries Vancouver to the All Star break next week. He will join defenseman Dan Hamhuis and forward Brandon Sutter on the sidelines, though the walking wounded are slowly returning to the Canucks lineup as defenseman Lucas Sbisa and winger Jannik Hansen both returned from injuries and were able to play against the Islanders. For the Rangers, defenseman Kevin Klein sat out Sunday's contest in Washington with an injured thumb and is a question mark for Tuesday, as well. The goaltending match up will feature a pair of past Vezina Trophy winners with Henrik Lundqvist tending goal for the Rangers and Ryan Miller getting the nod for Vancouver.
Head To Head:
The Rangers and Canucks close out their two-game season series Tuesday with New York seeking a split after dropping a 2-1 decision out in Vancouver back on December 9. Vancouver's Daniel Sedin netted the game-winner in that one just 30 seconds after Dan Boyle had scored on a penalty shot at the 8:54 mark of the third period to tie the game, 1-1. Earlier in the period Vancouver had scored the game's first goal during a 5-on-3 power play 3:19 into the third, one of two two-man advantages awarded to the Canucks during that fateful third period. Henrik Lundqvist made 23 saves for New York, while Ryan Miller stopped 32 of 33 shots including all 15 he faced in the first period. That regulation loss was Alain Vigneault's first against his former team since becoming head coach of the Rangers prior to the 2013-14 season. The Rangers had been 3-0-1 in their first four games against the Canucks since AV stepped behind the Blueshirts bench. However the Canucks also secured a 5-4 shootout victory over the Rangers in their most recent visit to The Garden on February 19, 2015
Players To Watch:
Rangers-Chris Kreider: Maybe just maybe Chris Kreider is set to become the offensive force Alain Vigneault said he could become back in September at the start of training camp. Certainly Kreider is showing signs of breaking out of his season-long offensive funk as he enters Tuesday's contest riding a modest three-game point-scoring streak, his second such streak of the season. More importantly an aggressive and decisive Kreider has gone to the dirty areas to score three goals in the previous two games--driving hard to net to redirect a Rick Nash centering pass into the cage against the Flyers on Saturday before camping out in front of the Capitals' net for a deflection goal Sunday, which was followed by Kreider burying a loose puck from the slot after a Nash shot was blocked. Two goals, three shots on goal, seven shot attempts, and four hits over 15:25 worth of work for Kreider Sunday against the Capitals. That is the type of stat line Vigneault has been craving to see from the 24 year-old power forward all season long. That followed Saturday's matinee where he scored once, recorded four shots on goal, and was credited with five hits against the Flyers. And there is a bigger body of work to make AV and everyone else believe that Kreider is set to have a strong second half for the Blueshirts. Since December 20 Kreider has appeared in nine games, and he has scored four goals and totaled seven points in that span. In his career Kreider has three goals in four games against the Canucks, with all three coming on November 30, 2013, accounting for his lone NHL Hat Trick.
Canucks-Ryan Miller: Some of his stat lines this season have been somewhat unsightly, but veteran Canucks goalie Ryan Miller is coming off an absolute gem of a performance Sunday afternoon in a 2-1 shootout victory over the Islanders. The 35 year-old Miller stopped 47 of 48 shots through 65 minutes of regulation and overtime in Brooklyn on Sunday. In the third period alone he faced 22 shots, and very nearly stopped them all to finish with his second shutout of the season, but Ryan Strome scored with 51 seconds remaining in regulation and with the Islanders skating with an extra attacker. Miller shook it off, stopped a pair of shots in overtime and then denied all three Islanders in the shootout to pick up the victory. Prior to his terrific performance Sunday Miller had surrendered 19 goals in his previous five appearances including six in a loss to the Minnesota Wild on December 15. He has allowed four or more goals in seven of his 30 appearances this year and has kept the opposition to two goals or fewer 11 times. Included in that mix was a very strong showing against the Rangers in Vancouver on December 9 in which he made 32 saves in a 2-1 victory. The only goal he allowed was a Dan Boyle penalty shot, as he made 15 saves in the first period, eight in the second, and nine more in the third.
Where: Madison Square Garden
When: Tuesday night at 7:00 PM
Watch: MSG Network beginning at 6:30 PM
Listen: ESPN-98.7 FM and NewYorkRangers.com
********************************
The Skinny:
Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden the Rangers (24-16-5, 53 pts) play their only home game in a two week stretch when they host the Vancouver Canucks (19-17-10, 48 pts), a team that itself is halfway through a six-game road trip. The Rangers are 3-0-1 in their last four home games and own an impressive 16-5-2 mark at The Garden so far this season, while the Canucks have been a pretty good road team, posting a 10-9-6 road record so far this season after starting this current trip with two wins in three games. New York comes off a three-games-in-four-nights road trip against division rivals in which losses in Brooklyn and Washington sandwiched Saturday's 3-2 shootout victory in Philadelphia. Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Capitals did feature a pair of goals from Chris Kreider and some solid play from Rick Nash (assist, team-high five shots and ten shot attempts), Oscar Lindberg (four shots in only 11:05 of ice time) and Dan Boyle (four shots, solid two-way play after moving up to the top defense pairing much of the night alongside Ryan McDonagh). However, as McDonagh pointed out post game Sunday, the Rangers were undone by their struggling penalty killing unit, which surrendered two more power play goals. The Blueshirts have now allowed ten power play goals in their last nine games, killing off just 17 man disadvantages in the same span. They also were not helped out by their own power play, which failed on four opportunities Sunday and is now in a 1-for-26 funk--that lone power play goal coming against the Flyers on Saturday. Perhaps Vancouver's middling special teams can help the Rangers out of their rut, both on the PK and the power play, on Tuesday. The Canucks do come in with confidence, though, after beating the Islanders 2-1 in the shootout Sunday, a victory which came on the heels of Friday's 3-2 overtime win over the Hurricanes down in Raleigh. They also come in with three former Rangers on their roster, including recently traded forward Emerson Etem. However the Canucks will have to play without top-line center and team captain Henrik Sedin Tuesday after he was injured on a Mikhail Grabovski hit in the previous game. In fact Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins said Monday that Sedin--second on the team with 37 points--is likely out for the remainder of this road trip which carries Vancouver to the All Star break next week. He will join defenseman Dan Hamhuis and forward Brandon Sutter on the sidelines, though the walking wounded are slowly returning to the Canucks lineup as defenseman Lucas Sbisa and winger Jannik Hansen both returned from injuries and were able to play against the Islanders. For the Rangers, defenseman Kevin Klein sat out Sunday's contest in Washington with an injured thumb and is a question mark for Tuesday, as well. The goaltending match up will feature a pair of past Vezina Trophy winners with Henrik Lundqvist tending goal for the Rangers and Ryan Miller getting the nod for Vancouver.
Head To Head:
The Rangers and Canucks close out their two-game season series Tuesday with New York seeking a split after dropping a 2-1 decision out in Vancouver back on December 9. Vancouver's Daniel Sedin netted the game-winner in that one just 30 seconds after Dan Boyle had scored on a penalty shot at the 8:54 mark of the third period to tie the game, 1-1. Earlier in the period Vancouver had scored the game's first goal during a 5-on-3 power play 3:19 into the third, one of two two-man advantages awarded to the Canucks during that fateful third period. Henrik Lundqvist made 23 saves for New York, while Ryan Miller stopped 32 of 33 shots including all 15 he faced in the first period. That regulation loss was Alain Vigneault's first against his former team since becoming head coach of the Rangers prior to the 2013-14 season. The Rangers had been 3-0-1 in their first four games against the Canucks since AV stepped behind the Blueshirts bench. However the Canucks also secured a 5-4 shootout victory over the Rangers in their most recent visit to The Garden on February 19, 2015
Players To Watch:
Rangers-Chris Kreider: Maybe just maybe Chris Kreider is set to become the offensive force Alain Vigneault said he could become back in September at the start of training camp. Certainly Kreider is showing signs of breaking out of his season-long offensive funk as he enters Tuesday's contest riding a modest three-game point-scoring streak, his second such streak of the season. More importantly an aggressive and decisive Kreider has gone to the dirty areas to score three goals in the previous two games--driving hard to net to redirect a Rick Nash centering pass into the cage against the Flyers on Saturday before camping out in front of the Capitals' net for a deflection goal Sunday, which was followed by Kreider burying a loose puck from the slot after a Nash shot was blocked. Two goals, three shots on goal, seven shot attempts, and four hits over 15:25 worth of work for Kreider Sunday against the Capitals. That is the type of stat line Vigneault has been craving to see from the 24 year-old power forward all season long. That followed Saturday's matinee where he scored once, recorded four shots on goal, and was credited with five hits against the Flyers. And there is a bigger body of work to make AV and everyone else believe that Kreider is set to have a strong second half for the Blueshirts. Since December 20 Kreider has appeared in nine games, and he has scored four goals and totaled seven points in that span. In his career Kreider has three goals in four games against the Canucks, with all three coming on November 30, 2013, accounting for his lone NHL Hat Trick.
Canucks-Ryan Miller: Some of his stat lines this season have been somewhat unsightly, but veteran Canucks goalie Ryan Miller is coming off an absolute gem of a performance Sunday afternoon in a 2-1 shootout victory over the Islanders. The 35 year-old Miller stopped 47 of 48 shots through 65 minutes of regulation and overtime in Brooklyn on Sunday. In the third period alone he faced 22 shots, and very nearly stopped them all to finish with his second shutout of the season, but Ryan Strome scored with 51 seconds remaining in regulation and with the Islanders skating with an extra attacker. Miller shook it off, stopped a pair of shots in overtime and then denied all three Islanders in the shootout to pick up the victory. Prior to his terrific performance Sunday Miller had surrendered 19 goals in his previous five appearances including six in a loss to the Minnesota Wild on December 15. He has allowed four or more goals in seven of his 30 appearances this year and has kept the opposition to two goals or fewer 11 times. Included in that mix was a very strong showing against the Rangers in Vancouver on December 9 in which he made 32 saves in a 2-1 victory. The only goal he allowed was a Dan Boyle penalty shot, as he made 15 saves in the first period, eight in the second, and nine more in the third.
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