Rangers vs. Canucks: 3 things to watch for in 1st meeting since J.T. Miller trade
For teams that play in different divisions and are separated by roughly 3,000 miles, the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks have been linked quite often this season. The next occurrence takes place Saturday afternoon when the Rangers host the Canucks in a matinee at Madison Square Garden.
The teams were linked for months by J.T. Miller trade rumors, and then finally consummated a deal that sent Miller from the Canucks to the Rangers on Jan. 31. Right before the trade deadline, the Rangers swung another deal with the Canucks, landing defenseman Carson Soucy for a third-round pick.
Plus, the Rangers and Canucks actually played a game, too, won by the Rangers 4-3 out in Vancouver on Nov. 19. You may remember that Miller sat that one out, the start of his 10-game leave of absence from the Canucks for personal reasons.
On Saturday, the Rangers and Canucks meet up again. It’s their first game against one another since the two trades, so it’ll be a big game for Miller and Soucy. However, Filip Chytil, who was an important part of the Miller trade from Vancouver’s side won’t return to The Garden on Saturday. He remains out and away from the team because of a concussion, something the Rangers were all too familiar with during the center’s tenure on Broadway.
It’s an important game for each team. The Rangers (33-31-6) are 10th in the Eastern Conference, two points out of the second wild-card spot. The Canucks (32-25-12) are ninth in the Western Conference, one points out of a playoff berth.
The Rangers have lost three in a row and are trying to avoid being swept in a four-game homestand. They’re coming off a 4-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, a game they never led.
The Canucks are playing the second of a six-game road trip that began with a 4-3 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues. Vancouver is 3-1-1 in its past five games and 6-7-1 since Feb. 22.
Related: J.T. Miller ‘going to war’ with former Canucks teammates after dinner out night before
3 things to watch for when Rangers host Canucks
1. Powering up
The Rangers are switching up personnel on their two power-play units, trying to shake things up and get the “stagnant” — using Miller’s description — man advantage going. The Rangers are 1-for-24 in their past 10 games and 2-for-33 since Feb. 25.
Where the power play used to win — sometimes steal — them games, it’s now an albatross as the losses pile up. The Rangers are ranked 25th in the NHL this season on the power play at 18.4 percent.
So, the top unit now features Adam Fox, Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, Alexis Lafreniere and Chris Kreider. Miller and Mika Zibanejad dropped to the second unit with Zac Jones, Will Cuylle and Jonny Brodzinski.
Worth noting that the Canucks penalty kill is third best in the League (82.7 percent).
2. Secret Soucy sauce
The spotlight will be on Miller facing his former team, but it’s a big afternoon for Soucy, too, on many levels. The 30-yar-old defenseman had mixed results over two seasons with the Canucks, eventually replaced and made expendable this season after they acquired Marcus Pettersson from the Pittsburgh Penguins (using the first-round pick the Rangers sent them in the Miller trade, just to tie it all together). No doubt he’s got something to prove to the Canucks.
But Soucy also is in battle for playing time with the Rangers. He played four games after the trade, scoring a goal in his Rangers debut against the Ottawa Senators on March 8. But then he was scratched three straight games before replacing Urho Vaakanainen in the lineup against the Maple Leafs.
Soucy was largely pretty good against Toronto, picking up an assist and with an xGF of 0.65, per Natural Stat Trick. He’s expected to pair with Adm Fox on Saturday, and needs a good showing to keep his spot in the lineup with Vaakanainen and Calvin de Haan champing at the bit to play.
3. Heating up
Panarin is on a heater for the Rangers. He extended his point streak to a season-high 11 games with a goal and assist Thursday; it’s the longest current streak in the League. Panarin has 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) the past 11 games.
Brock Boeser is heating up for the Canucks after a mostly disappointing season. The pending UFA forward was on the trade block ahead of the deadline but the Canucks must be happy they held on to the 28-year-old, who now has 22 goals. Boeser has back-to-back two-goal games and five points in the past two contests. He second goal against the Blues with four seconds to play in regulation helped the Canucks pick up a standings point, even though they lost in overtime.
New York Rangers projected lineup
Panarin – Trocheck – Lafreniere
Cuylle – J.T. Miller- Zibanejad
Kreider – Carrick – Brodzinski
Othmann – Parssinen – Rempe
Soucy – Fox
K. Miller – Borgen
Jones – Schneider
Shesterkin
Quick
Rangers vs. Canucks: When, where, what time, how to watch
Who: New York Rangers vs. Vancouver Canucks
When: Saturday, March 22 at 1:00 p.m. ET
Where: Madison Square Garden
How to watch: MSG
More About:New York Rangers News