Game On!

What does it say about a team, such as the Rangers, which does not play its best hockey, yet still wins games? It tells you that they must have a well-balanced roster and superior goaltending. Oddly enough, that's precisely what they are exhibiting on Seventh Avenue.

At the moment, the Blueshirts are neither fazed by a sizzling club like the Bruins nor a sour one, as exemplified by the Senators. Each was disposed of via the Shootout route in the last two games, which sets the stage for Vancouver's challenge on Wednesday night at The Garden. 

I watched the Canucks lose a shootout to the Islanders on Monday evening at Nassau Veteran's Memorial Coliseum and found the Vancouver sextet competitive, but hardly overwhelming. Yes, Roberto Luongo is a legitimate Vezina Trophy candidate, but then again, so is Henrik Lundqvist. Plus, Henny wins more games than Roberto and, hey, Luongo couldn't even defeat Joey MacDonald in the showdown shootout duel.

Tom Renney will be the first to admit that his club is not playing up to speed – and he has; HE HAS made that observation more than twice – but the fact that the New Yorkers are atop the Conference says as much about the Rangers' depth as it does about Lundqvist's excellence. 

On successive nights, Henny has bested Tim Thomas – a very good netminder – and Alex Auld, who is in the lower tier of stoppers, when the chips were down. I have no doubt that he can do likewise against Luongo.

The curious thing about the Canucks is that their beat writers believe they are a better team than they showed on the ice in Uniondale. On Game Day, both Vancouver papers treated the Islanders game as a virtual exhibition in preparation for the real test at MSG. And for a short while, they appeared to know something that The Maven didn't know. But Scott Gordon's Isles, if nothing else, compete. They overcame an early (MacDonald's fault) goal, scraped together a tying counter and extended the Canucks to the shootout where Luongo faltered and MacDonald did not.

Playing once again without Scott Gomez – it's futile to guess how long he'll be sidelined, so why not figure another week and get it over with? – the Renney-gades still should be able to handle Vancouver, Sedin Twins or not. (In case you're interested, my favorite Canuck happens to be Willie Mitchell, a onetime Devil defenseman whose competitive level is higher than most.)

Following the Wednesday test, the Blueshirts will head to Ottawa and a Saturday afternoon rematch with the stumbling Senators. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Vancouver is first, eminently beat-able, but only if Renney can crank a more complete effort out of his lads. For starters, he should inform them that they can't rely on Lundqvist to win games all by his lonesome. The Canucks tried that with Luongo on Monday and look what happened to them and the "sure" (ha!) two-pointer. They wound up slightly embarassed on the bus ride to Broadway. 

MORE:

• (Another) Shootout Win
• Wider Rinks?
• The Password is CAPITAL