New York Rangers Continue Road Trip Against the Injured Canucks

After a shutout by Jonathan Quick to open the road trip in Seattle, the Rangers move on to Vancouver to take on the injured Canucks (10PM on MSG).

Rangers	Rankings	Canucks
11-4-1	Record	9-5-3
9th	League Rank	13th
6th	Goals For	16th
3rd	Goals Against	20th
7th	Power play	10th
2nd	Penalty Kill	14th

Rangers vs Canucks

The Blueshirts will move onto Vancouver after a splendid performance by Quick. Quick made 24 saves for his second shutout of the season and career win 397. But it will be Igor Shesterkin back in goal for New York as he looks to string together two wins in a row.

The big news entering this game comes from the opposition. Former Rangers first-round pick J.T. Miller is out indefinitely as he is taking a leave of absence from the team for personal reasons. It is a big blow for the Canucks as Miller leads all Canucks forwards’ with 16 points in 17 games.

“Right now, our sole focus is making sure J.T. knows the entire organization is here to support him,”said Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin in a statement. “Out of respect to J.T. we will have no further comment at this time.”

Conor Garland is the team’s third highest scoring forward and he appears to be a game-time decision. Garland did not participate in the morning skate for Vancouver.

Defender Derek Forbot was recently placed on the IR and he too will be out for the Canucks. Forbot is week-to-week and likely won’t be back until Sunday at the earliest.

Quinn Hughes leads the Canucks in points with 18 points and he might be asked to help add a few more points in Miller’s absence. Other top skaters including Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser will also need to contribute to the offense more as both of them are under a point-per-game. Boeser will likely be unavailable against the Rangers as he is nearing a return from an upper-body injury.

Vancouver made a big offseason acquisition in acquiring former Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk as a free agent. DeBrusk signed a seven-year deal and he will be asked to make a difference too in the upcoming games. DeBrusk has ten points on the season.

Arturs Silovs will be in the net for the Canucks. Silov has served as the backup this year to Kevin Lankinen during his first season as a Canuck. Starting netminder Thatcher Demko has not played this season due to a lower-body injury, but his return is getting closer. Demko practiced on Sunday, and while he is making progress – he has no timetable for his return. Silovs is 1-2-1 with an .850 save percentage. The 23-year-old was unexpectedly called into action during the playoffs last season after injuries to Demko and former backup Casey Desmith. Silovs gave fine performances in 10 games, but ultimately they were eliminated by the Oilers in seven games.

With the Canucks missing several key top end forwards, the Rangers forward core, especially the top-six, should be able to have some sustained pressure in the Vancouver zone. Guys such as Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider could really use a confidence boosting game.

Rangers fans will be relieved to hear that Filip Chytil did not suffer a concussion after visiting a specialist and that he is expected to join the team for their next game in Calgary on Thursday. There is no guarantee Chytil plays in that game or is rushed back into the lineup, but it is outstanding news that he did not suffer a concussion which was feared by the fanbase and organization. The Czech center missed 72 straight regular season games last season, and the first six games of the playoffs.

Despite being off to a good start to the season, the Rangers haven’t played their best hockey – more specifically on team defense. The Blueshirts need to pick up the pace in that area as other teams in their division continue to win. The Hurricanes and the surprising Capitals both have better win-percentages than the Rangers. The Devils currently have three more points, although they have played five more games. It’s a good start and a lot of hockey left to play before the playoffs, but the Rangers could find themselves with a tough playoff road if they don’t pick up the slack on the back end.

Bet of the night

The bet of the night is a two-legged parlay. The first leg is the Rangers moneyline at -135. The second leg is for the Canucks under 2.5 goals at +115. These two combine for +130 odds with where a $5 bet would payout $11.50 for a profit of $6.50. Given the Canucks injuries to top forwards, there is no reason the Rangers shouldn’t control the game and be leaking many scoring chances.

Current record: 4-4

Current Money Total (Based on $5 bets) – We are down $3.90 on the season