The Vancouver Canucks have to be content with getting five of eight points on the east coast road trip thus far, but they know they let a victory get away against the New York Rangers on Sunday afternoon.
So what better than to take it out on their crosstown rivals, the New York Islanders? Led by perennial superstar John Tavares and rookie star Mathew Barzal, the Isles are in the running for the Metropolitan Division — a year after missing the playoffs in 2017 altogether.
The Canucks have played surprisingly well against high-flying, speedy teams like the Islanders, so this matchup isn’t as overwhelming as you think.