10/18/11 Rangers vs. Vancouver Canucks

I'm back on the horse.

Rangers against the Vancouver Canucks.

First off, I would like to apologize for my lack of posts the past two games. I work now, and I am rather busy and don't have time to write the posts on weekends. I will begin doing a "Weekend Roundup" Every week to go over the games I'll have to miss because of my job. But during the week, I'll be on my game doing every single game that comes up.

Now, onto the game. The Rangers are off to a very rocky start. Despite having two points, they have yet to win this year. They are currently 0-1-2, and need a jump in order to gain some ground out of the starting gate this year. The Rangers have only managed 5 goals in their first 3 games, and are depleted on defense with Michael Sauer and Marc Staal sitting with injuries. It's quite a bit of turmoil to start the season with, but keep in mind that the Rangers lost Marian Gaborik on the third game of the season last year, and managed to bond together to string together some wins. That is not out of the question that that can happen here and now. With a new offensive weapon in Brad Richards, the Rangers can finally get some good setups for Gaborik, and will be able to convert more. What they need right now is secondary scoring. Brandon Dubinsky, Ruslan Fedotenko, and Artem Anisimov have yet to score this year, and in order for the Rangers to succeed, they will need them to chip in occasionally to get the Rangers over this hump.

The Canucks are, well, the Canucks. They're a great team. They are currently 2-2-1, and are off to a fairly decent start. With reports coming in that Ryan Kesler will be making his return tonight, that only makes the Canucks that much better. They are a solid team, but that does not mean they are unbeatable. The Presidents Trophy winning team a year ago, the Canucks and Rangers faced on January 23rd last season (a game I proudly attended) and the Rangers shut out the best team in the NHL to the score of 1-0. It will be harder this time around, but I do believe that the Rangers have what it takes in order to make that come true.

The Diagnosis


Despite my optimism, I believe it's going to be too much of a task asking the Rangers to take on this powerhouse of a team at this stage. They are too depleted by injuries, are fatigued from travel, and just don't seem to be on the same page play-wise. I see the Canucks taking this game tonight.

The Prediction


Canucks win 3-1

Brad Richards will have the first goal of the game early on in the 1st.
Henrik Sedin will get the first goal for the Canucks half way through the 1st.
Daniel Sedin will score the second for the Canucks.
And the empty netter will be scored by Kevin Bieksa.

Enjoy the game!