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Vancouver Canucks at New York Rangers – Saturday November 30 - 11:00 am - Sportsnet Pacific, MSG, NHL Network-US
Vancouver Canucks 13-9-5 fifth in Pacific Division New York Rangers 13-13-0 third in Metropolitan Division
The early start to today's matchup at Madison Square Garden is depriving us of a full day's worth of time to build anticipation, so let's get right to it. Lots of intrigue here!
Head coaches John Tortorella and Alain Vigneault each face their old teams for the first time in the regular season as the puck drops for a matinee game between Canucks and Rangers. Vancouver picked up a 5-0 shutout when the two teams met in preseason.
John Tortorella is trying to downplay his return to MSG, but delivering some juicy quotes. This one is my favourite:
"I'm going to coach this game, hopefully kick their ass and get outta here" - Torts, asked if he'd be visiting any Rangers #Canucks
— Vancouver Canucks (@VanCanucks) November 30, 2013The Rangers have not been easy opponents for Vancouver in recent years. Henrik Lundqvist shut out Vancouver the last two times these teams met—but the Rangers haven't shut out an opponent in three straight games since 1969-70. That bodes well, right?
The Canucks are catching their opponent in the second half of a back-to-back for the second straight game. The Rangers lost 3-2 to the Bruins in an early game in Boston on Friday. They mustered just 19 shots in the game, including just four in the third period when they were battling for the win.
Tortorella's nemesis Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports that Alain Vigneault was "enraged" after the game.
“We got exactly what we deserved. We had too many guys with their ‘B’ game on the ice against a Stanley Cup Finalist,… said the coach, who cursed and slammed a door after the press briefing and was angry as he has been this season.
That sounds like AV hasn't let go of the bad feelings for Boston that built during the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.
Since Lundqvist played on Friday in Boston, Vigneault is tapping backup Cam Talbot to make his first-ever start at Madison Square Garden against Vancouver. No pressure, rookie.
Talbot has been very good in his first season with the Rangers. He's 5-1-0 in seven appearances, with a 1.41 GAA and .944 save percentage.
Expect Roberto Luongo to get the nod for Vancouver, with Eddie Lack starting Sunday morning in Carolina.
The Rangers will probably be more defensively stingy than the Ottawa Senators were on Thursday, but they struggle to score goals. Heading into Saturday's game, they're 27th in the league in goals-for, with an average of just 2.12 per game. That's over half-a-goal less than Vancouver who are 12th with 2.63 goals per game.
Expect the Canucks to go with the same lineup that they used on Thursday in Ottawa. Line combinations—subject to change. I have a feeling they're going to be mixed and matched today.
Former Canuck Taylor Pyatt will be in the press box today for the Rangers, while frequent scratch Michael Del Zotto draws in on the blue line in place of John Moore. Both teams are healthy—Derek Dorsett missed Friday's game for the Rangers but is expected to play today.
Considering the Canucks and Rangers don't see each other very often, the connection runs deep—and not just because of the "coach trade." While the Boston Bruins now seem like Vancouver's biggest enemy in the Eastern Conference, it was the Rangers who won the Stanley Cup over the Canucks by one goal in 1994.
This season marks the 20th anniversary of that trip to the finals. Watching Vancouver play in Madison Square Garden always makes me think back to Kirk McLean's 50-save performance that stole Game 1 and, of course, the heartbreak of coming oh-so-close in Game 7. Nathan Lafayette, where are you now?
I expect a good effort from the Canucks today, as the team's confidence has started to come back. Hoping they don't get stymied by the hot hand of Cam Talbot.
Enjoy the game—and don't forget the puck drops even earlier tomorrow—10 a.m. against Carolina. I'll try to post a recap and a preview of the Hurricanes game before it gets underway.
Quick Hits:
- Scout scoop! Writer Dennis Gorman is kind enough to Instagram the press box list from MSG. Dig in...
#NHL scouts at #MSG for #Canucks #NYR #NYRangers #Rangers http://t.co/L0KmjnBCB6
— Denis Gorman (@DenisGorman) November 30, 2013- The Utica Comets embraced the support they received from B.C. fans in Abbotsford last night, upsetting the division-leading Heat by a score of 3-2. The Comets took a 3-0 lead on goals from Cal O'Reilly, Pascal Pelletier and Yannick Weber (on the power play) before the Heat started to battle back in the third period, but Joe Cannata shut the door to earn his first win of the year.
The Comets and Heat face off in Abbotsford for their second game on Saturday night.