The Rangers play the second of their three straight home games tonight against the Canucks. Vancouver went down 4-1 to New Jersey before rallying to tie and fall in overtime Monday. New York comes in off their thrilling 5-4 overtime Monday against the Flames.

The lines tonight should be the same as Monday with the only change Igor Shesterkin back between the pipes. Will Cuylle and Sammy Blais are both in the lineup with Vitali Kravtsov a healthy scratch again, which doesn't do much to aid his trade value or development. Sooner or later you expect Kravtsov to get another shot. When that will be is anyone's guess. Julien Gauthier will also ride the pine for the second straight game.

My hope is that the rust we saw early Monday and the defensive mistakes throughout will not be on display tonight. Vancouver dealt Bo Horvat to the Islanders last week removing their main offensive weapon. The Canucks still have Elias Petterson, Brock Boeser, also rumored to be on the block, Andrei Kuzmenko, inked recently to a two-year extension, J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes, so it's not as if they are bereft of offensive talent. where they have struggled is defensively, which should allow the Rangers ample opportunity to explore that weakness.

Just win baby. Yes, it's an Al Davis line, but all that matters right now. The Blueshirts on paper get an easier game, which could be viewed as a trap contest, in between a thrilling win and matches versus the Kraken and Hurricanes. Take care of business. Get a lead early, keep your foot on the gas, allow Gallant to roll four lines relatively evenly and go home with two points. Sounds simple, but as we know, far from the case. At the end of the day, while we will dissect the performance up and down, the main key is to come out with two points and no injuries. If that happens, we will view it as a successful performance.

Twitter has been down part of the day, but will get to my views on this tomorrow or Friday.

Are the Rangers and Vladimir Tarasenko a trade match?

Teaming up with ⁦@StapeAthletic⁩, we break down the fit, asset cost and other factors. #stlblues https://t.co/rniJUZgbBe

— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) February 8, 2023

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