FIVE KEYS TO THE GAME
Brendan Leipsic’s arrival
Lost in the trade deadline rubble has been the solid trade the Canucks made in acquiring Leipsic. Fast and aggravating, he brings an element the Canucks have lacked all season. Head coach Travis Green hasn’t enjoyed how easy his club has been to play against. In a bottom-six role, Leipsic could help change the program a bit. Here’s hoping Green doesn’t need to see him in practice before playing him in a game.
The Erik Gudbranson top pairing
Since pairing him with Alex Edler on the team’s matchup defensive duo, the Canucks have controlled just 43.87 per cent of the unblocked shot attempts with Gudbranson on the ice. In other words, he’s been getting run over when it comes to shots. It’s the worst ratio among all the Canucks defencemen. He’s also been on the ice for 14 gaols against in those eight games. But Gudbranson is being physical. He’s hitting more. And, hey, that’s something the Canucks do need.
The Brandon Sutter assignment
Led but their No. 1 centre Mika Zibanejad, the Rangers top line plays with a lot of pace. New York probably expected a better season from Zibanejad, who has 31 points but you can’t sleep on that line he pivots, which includes Chris Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich. Sutter has been seeing the ice pretty well lately and has had some nice assists. He’s never been a playmaker but the Canucks could use some more offence out of him.
Alain Vignealt’s return
It just doesn’t have the same kind of feel it once did, but people are always going to be interested in the former Canucks head coach. It’s been five years now since Vigneault left the Canucks. In New York, he’s had some big highs and now is trending toward some lows. People still complain about questionable decisions regarding lineups but he got New York to the playoffs in each of his first four years and you can’t deny the man his successes.
The goalie battle
Someone the Rangers will always have to count on is Henrik Lundqvist. Despite selling off some of their best players at the trade deadline, Lundqvist remains committed to the Rangers. The Canucks are expected to counter with Jacob Markstrom who has been pretty average recently, which isn’t a bad thing to say when it comes to Vancouver goalies because mostly they’ve been below par this year.