Guess who's back, back again, Alain's back, tell a friend. For the first time in over half a decade, Alain Vigneault's presence in Vancouver will not be behind the Canucks bench. The winningest coach in Canucks history will try and seek his revenge on his former club. Meanwhile, new Canucks head coach John Tortorella will try and return the favor against his former Rangers. Entering the preseason contest tonight, the Canucks have a 1-4 record, while the Rangers carry a 1-3 record.
This game can be viewed on TSN or on NHL Network at 10 PM ET/7 PT.
Let's take a look at the projected lineups for tonight:
Rangers (the bad guys):
Forwards:
Benoit Pouliot - Derick Brassard - Rick Nash
Taylor Pyatt - Brad Richards - Mats Zuccarello
Darroll Powe - Dominic Moore - Jesper Fast
JT Miller - Brian Boyle - Derek Dorsett
Defensemen:
Dan Girardi - Ryan McDonagh
Michael Del Zotto - Anton Stralman
Marc Staal - John Moore
Goaltenders:
Henrik Lundqvist
Martin Biron
Canucks (the good guys):
Forwards:
Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Alex Burrows
Chris Higgins - Ryan Kesler - Jannik Hansen
David Booth - Mike Santorelli - Hunter Shinkaruk
Tom Sestito - Bo Horvat - Brad Richardson
Defensemen:
Alex Edler - Kevin Bieksa
Frankie Corrado - Chris Tanev
Andrew Alberts - Yannick Weber
Goaltenders:
Roberto Luongo
Eddie Lack
Things to watch for - Rangers:
Henrik Lundqvist - he has never had a bad game in Vancouver. He always seems to provide a shutout performance every time he comes to town. He is one of the best goalies in the NHL, if not the best. Lundqvist is a huge reason why the Rangers are a consistently good team every season.
Rick Nash - Canucks fans remember his days as a Columbus Blue Jacket. He is a big powerful winger who has got some of the best hands in the game today. Do not give this guy a chance for a breakaway opportunity, it will haunt the Canucks if they give him any open space.
Marc Staal - I will give him his props. He has fought concussions, eye injuries, and just about everything else. He is one of the best Ranger blue liners and a very solid defensive defensemen.
Things to watch for - Canucks:
Roberto Luongo - he had a fantastic outing against the Phoenix Coyotes. Tonight, his opponent in the other net is a good measuring tool. I am expecting a great performance from Roberto tonight to get some momentum going before the regular season puck drop.
Hunter Shinkaruk and Bo Horvat - both have shown flashes of greatness and flashes of invisibility. Tonight is a golden opportunity for them to show that they want to stick around for a while. They both need to be visible and they both need to give 110% effort in order to have a chance to crack the opening night roster.
Andrew Alberts and Yannick Weber - this defensive pairing really stunk against the Sharks. They both finished a -3 on the night and both looked out of sync. I hope that they can clean up their act against the speedy wingers of the Rangers.
Prediction:
2-0 Rangers Win (Lundqvist 28 save shutout)
Until next time, stay classy. -George
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