Preview: Rangers Host Canucks on Salute to Our Troops Night

Lias Andersson and Elias Pettersson are more accustomed to being teammates, so when the two met for dinner on Sunday evening in New York, it was a good chance for old friends to catch up before putting their friendship aside for a day. By Monday morning, the two couldn't agree on who had picked up the check the night before.
Two of the gems of the 2017 Draft class will find themselves on opposing benches Monday night when Andersson's Rangers host Pettersson and the Vancouver Canucks on
Salute to Our Troops Night presented by Budweiser
at Madison Square Garden. Andersson will play his fourth NHL game this season (11th career), while Pettersson, who made his NHL debut on Oct. 3, was named the League's Rookie of the Month for October and leads the Canucks with 10 goals and 17 points in his first 12 NHL games.
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Of more immediate concern to the Rangers is the chance to extend their six-game points streak (5-0-1) when they play for the third time in four nights on Monday. And they'll have to do so without Mats Zuccarello for the third straight game, and now without Pavel Buchnevich possibly through Christmas.

The Rangers announced on Monday that Buchnevich has a broken thumb and will be sidelined for the next 4-6 weeks, just at a time when the winger had been heating up. Buchnevich had points in his last three games (2-2-4), including a goal and an assist in Saturday's victory in Columbus.
"It's huge," said Kevin Shattenkirk. "He was a big factor in our win the other night, we've got to fill in for him. But we've got guys here in our lineup who can do the job."
A groin strain kept Zuccarello at home for the weekend road trip and will force him to miss his third straight game, though David Quinn said Zuccarello should be ready for Thursday's match in Brooklyn against the Islanders.

Ryan Spooner is likely to move up to play the right wing with Mika Zibanejad and Vlad Namestnikov - taking the place of Buchnevich, who had been taking the place of Zuccarello. After him, Andersson, who has played all three forward positions in his three games up in the NHL this season, should remain on Kevin Hayes' right with Chris Kreider (four goals in his last six games) on the left, and says he is steadily settling in on the wing.
"I think that's good for me to learn how to play in different positions, and I'm getting more comfortable on the wing for every game I think," Andersson said following the Rangers' morning skate at the Garden. "I've been playing the middle my whole life, so there's a little adjustment with timing and that stuff, but I'm getting more used to it. It's fun to play on the wing."
For years now when playing for Sweden, Andersson has generally been in the middle with Pettersson on his flank. The two had a hand in Sweden's gold medal at this past year's World Championships, as well as the silver medal at the 2018 World Juniors, a team captained by Andersson.

In the 2017 NHL Draft, Vancouver selected Pettersson with the No. 5 overall choice, two picks before the Blueshirts snagged Andersson.
"We competed hard against each other in practices, we talked a lot on video. He's good with details and that stuff, just a smart player," Andersson said, adding of the 6-2, 176-pound Pettersson: "He's strong too, actually, Maybe he doesn't look that strong and people don't think he's strong, but he's actually strong."
Asked if he was surprised by Pettersson's blazing start to his career, Andersson said, "Both yes and no. He's a very good player, but he has what, 10 goals in 12 games? I didn't expect that at all. He had a great year last year but I didn't expect him to score 10 goals this early in the season, that's unreal.
"When I went to dinner with him last night and we talked a little about it, I think he's a little surprised too."
"We've always been good friends, and wish the best to each other," Pettersson said after the Canucks skated at the Garden. "I would rather have him on the same team. But probably that will happen only on the national team."
Andersson has bounced between positions and linemates in his three games since his call-up. Quinn expressed frustration that he couldn't find the kind of ice time he wanted both for Andersson and Filip Chytil on Friday night in Detroit; on Saturday, playing with Hayes and Kreider, Andersson saw a career-high 15:22 following 6:23 the night before, as the move to the wing gave Quinn some more flexibility.
"I think his game translates where it doesn't matter whether he's playing the center of the wing, whereas I think Fil with his style, the center position is probably more conducive to allow him to have success," Quinn said Monday. "Lias has done a good job."
Henrik Lundqvist, who made 50 saves in his last game against the Canucks on Feb. 28 in Vancouver, will return to the Ranger nets, while the Canucks, who bring a six-game points streak of their own (4-0-2) into the Garden, will make no lineup changes off their overtime loss in Buffalo on Saturday, including Jacob Markstrom in goal. Vancouver placed 21-year-old Brock Boeser, who had 11 points in 13 games this season, on injured reserve before the Buffalo game, due to a groin injury.

PROJECTED LINEUP

90 Namestnikov - 93 Zibanejad - 23 Spooner
20 Kreider - 13 Hayes - 50 Andersson
26 Vesey - 21 Howden - 17 Fast
8 McLeod - 72 Chytil - 95 Lettieri
18 Staal - 44 Pionk
76 Skjei - 77 DeAngelo
33 Claesson - 22 Shattenkirk
30 Lundqvist
40 Georgiev

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Injuries to two Rangers right wingers open up an opportunity for Spooner, who last Feb. 28, in his second game as a Ranger, racked up three assists against the Canucks in a 6-5 Blueshirts win.
Pettersson has points in nine of the 12 games he has played this season (he missed six games due to a concussion). His 10 goals lead all rookies and tie him for eighth in the League. Monday is his 20th birthday. "I want his birthday to end in a bad way today," his friend Andersson said with a smile.

WHADDYA SAY?

"I was thinking about that coming in today - I love this building. The history in this building, it's really a great place to play, there's always energy here. It's always been one of my favorite buildings to come to in the League."
-Canucks head coach Travis Green, who played the first six seasons of his 14-year NHL career as an Islander, on Madison Square Garden
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