Vancouver Canucks Gameday Preview #21: Busting The Slump Against The New York Rangers

The Vancouver Canucks (3–16–1) enter tonight’s game against the New York Rangers (11–8–1) on a six-game losing streak, capped off with a disappointing 3–1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday. Monday’s loss gave Vancouver their second 6+ game losing streak of the season, having also gone on a 10-game losing skid in October. The Rangers, on the other hand, have won four of their last five — the most recent being a 3–1 win against the Calgary Flames. 

Part of what made Monday’s loss so negative was the fact that Vancouver managed only six shots within the first two periods. Notably, this isn’t the first time the Canucks have put up a disappointing shooting effort in a home game, as they also went nearly 40 minutes without registering a shot on goal in their 5–2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Vancouver has only surpassed the 30-shot mark once through their first 20 games of the season, with that being in their 6–5 overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks. 

Canucks co-Presidents Daniel and Henrik Sedin outlined this in their media availability Thursday morning, and regardless of what happens on the scoresheet, the point will stand tonight — Vancouver needs to put in the work to play a full 60 minutes in order to find success. Monday’s loss, among others, demonstrated how the Canucks don’t want to be playing at this point in time. While a win would undoubtedly boost locker room morale, as a whole, the Canucks’ path to a win will be paved by putting in a fair effort throughout the entire game.  

Brock Boeser

Brock Boeser is currently riding a five-game point streak and has five goals and five assists in his past 10 games. He’s found a fair share of offensive success being put back on a line with Elias Pettersson, with the duo contributing a total of 17 points combined since being put together on October 25 against the Minnesota Wild. Boeser is also on the precipice of a career milestone, as he is one point away from registering the 500th of his NHL career.  

Marcus Pettersson

Tonight’s game marks Marcus Pettersson’s first game back in Vancouver after being traded by the Canucks during the 2026 off-season. Through his time with the Rangers thus far, Pettersson has recorded four assists in 20 games. He’s mainly taken up roles in New York’s bottom-two defence pairings, most recently playing alongside Braden Schneider. His average of 20:55 minutes per game currently ranks third on the Rangers in TOI. 

Vancouver Canucks (3–16–1): 

Points: 

Elias Pettersson: 4–16–20

Brock Boeser: 7–10–17

Jonathan Lekkerimäki: 7–8–15

Filip Hronek: 1–12–13

Jake DeBrusk: 5–5–10

Goaltenders: 

Leevi Meriläinen: 2–8–1

Kevin Lankinen: 1–8–0

New York Rangers (11–8–1): 

Points: 

Adam Fox: 2–20–22

Alexis Lafrenière: 9–11–20

Mika Zibanejad: 5–13–18

Tye Kartye: 7–7–14

J.T. Miller: 4–10–14

Goaltenders: 

Dylan Garand: 6–7–1

Joonas Korpisalo: 2–0–0

Game Information: 

Start time: 7:00 pm PCT 

Venue: Rogers Arena 

Television: Sportsnet

Radio: KiSS West Coast

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