The Vancouver Canucks kicked off trade season with a bang last week by sending Bo Horvat to the New York Islanders for Anthony Beauviller, Aatu Raty, and a conditional first-round draft pick. The Canucks are tearing things down, and they’re just getting started.
Vancouver was already a poor team before trading away Horvat, who led the team with 31 goals, but things are looking particularly ugly for this group for the rest of the season.
It’s no wonder that the Canucks are a +195 underdog against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night.
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Canucks vs. Rangers prediction
(8 p.m. ET, ESPN+ and MSG)
Both of these teams played wild games on Monday night, with the Cancuks falling, 5-4, to the Devils in overtime and the Rangers winning by the same score in an overtime thriller against the Flames.
While those kinds of scorelines are pretty typical of the Canucks, whose games average 7.26 total goals per game this season, that is not what we’re used to seeing out of the Rangers, who average 5.82 total goals per contest.
Part of the reason that the Canucks play such high-event games is that their goaltending has been a mess this season. Thatcher Demko went down with an injury early this season, and since then, it’s been all downhill for Vancouver, which ranks last in the NHL with a .876 save percentage.
You can basically flip that script for the Rangers, who have Igor Shesterkin set to start on Wednesday and allow the third-fewest goals per game in the entire league.
It’s no wonder that the Rangers have been a profitable under team (28-22) this season, while the Canucks have been the third-best over team (31-18-1).
So which way will this one play out?
Because of their defensive personnel and lack of depth up front, the Canucks are a mistake-happy team that ends up playing its way into back-and-forth affairs. Vancouver is one of the worst teams in the entire NHL at managing pucks, and their propensity for errors often puts the Canucks behind the 8-ball to begin with.
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That’s a recipe for disaster against every team, but it’s especially worrisome against a clinical team like the Rangers, who thrive on pouncing on loose pucks and transitioning quickly.
One or two goals from the Rangers should force Vancouver to play an even riskier game, creating a clear path for this to be a high-event hockey game, which should play into New York‘s hands.
Canucks vs. Rangers pick
Rangers Team Total Over 4.5 Goals (+155, BetMGM)
