I suppose there isn't a better time for the Elias Pettersson we'd hoped to see returning as J.T. Miller returns to Vancouver for the first time since the trade. And with Miller and the Rangers struggling mightily, you know this will see both teams going all out to get the victory.

Vancouver Canucks (5-5-0) vs. New York Rangers (3-5-2)

Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC

7:00 pm PST; 10:00 pm EST

TV: Sportsnet 360

Radio: Sportsnet 650

While there might be more important games down the road as the season plays out, this entire season so far has just been killing time until this one. The return of J.T. Miller for the first time since he was traded to the Rangers, thus putting an end to a year long saga that dragged the team into the gutter and the bottom of the standings has been one of the most anticipated games not just on the Canucks calendar, but in the entire NHL. And while we know there's not going to be much of an audience thanks to the Toronto Blue Jays playing Game Four of the World Series, you'll probably want to set the PVR for this one.

Elias Pettersson, after a bit of a slow start in the first couple games, has seemingly returned to his superstar form, playing with a level of confidence we haven't seen in some time. He's been making plays and cranking one-timers into the net like he used to, and with the insane number of injuries the Canucks find themselves having to deal with already, getting him going is exactly what they need.

Meanwhile, Miller and the Rangers are floundering, with just one win in their last seven games. Miller has put up 2G 4A for 6 points, two less than Petey's 3G 5A, and he's averaging three more minutes of ice time per night over Pettersson. Add in the 23 blocked shots so far, and it's clear that the struggles of one of these guys should be getting talked about a lot more, and it ain't the Swede.

The only thing keeping the Rangers from being the absolute worst team in the NHL right now is their goaltending, as both Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick are performing well, they're just not getting any offensive support from the Rangers, who have scored the second least number of goals so far this year. Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox are tied for the Rangers scoring lead with seven points, which is the same number that Conor Garland has put up in the last five games. Given the expectations for the Rangers, it's a little shocking.

If the Rangers have a hope in this one, after getting stomped by a not very good Calgary team the other night, it's taking advantage of a Canucks team whose injury woes continue to mount. Already without Quinn Hughes and Derek Forbort on the back end, they played most of that contest against the Oilers without Victor Mancini, and there are fears he could be gone for a while. Hughes is unlikely to play tonight as well, so that means continuing to lean heavily on Filip Hronek, who has done rather well in Hughes' absence, dating back to last season.

LINEUPS

The nhl dot com thingy has yet again graced us with a questionably accurate depiction of what tonight should show us in terms of lineups:

Rangers projected lineup

Artemi Panarin -- Mika Zibanejad -- Will Cuylle

Conor Sheary -- J.T. Miller -- Alexis Lafreniere

Juuso Parssinen -- Noah Laba -- Taylor Raddysh

Adam Edstrom -- Sam Carrick -- Jonny Brodzinski

Vladislav Gavrikov -- Adam Fox

Carson Soucy -- Will Borgen

Urho Vaakanainen -- Braden Schneider

Jonathan Quick

Igor Shesterkin

Scratched: Brennan Othmann, Matthew Robertson

Injured: Vincent Trocheck (upper body), Matt Rempe (upper body)

Canucks projected lineup

Jake DeBrusk -- Elias Pettersson -- Conor Garland

Evander Kane -- Lukas Reichel -- Brock Boeser

Drew O'Connor -- Aatu Raty -- Kiefer Sherwood

Arshdeep Bains -- Max Sasson -- Linus Karlsson

Marcus Pettersson -- Filip Hronek

Elias Nils Pettersson -- Tyler Myers

P.O Joseph -- Tom Willander

Thatcher Demko

Kevin Lankinen

Scratched: Kirill Kudryavtsev, Nils Aman

Injured: Victor Mancini (undisclosed), Quinn Hughes (lower body), Filip Chytil (concussion protocol), Jonathan Lekkerimaki (upper body), Teddy Blueger (lower body), Nils Hoglander (lower body), Derek Forbort (undisclosed)

Yeah, that's a lot of bodies. I suppose if there's a bright light, it's that Matt Rempe is out for the Rangers, and won't be able to do one of the bullshit hits he's become known for and add to the Canucks IR totals.

GAME DAY CHATTER

If the allegations are true, this is pretty awful. The SA problem in the hockey world needs to be addressed.

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

You know me, I love me a good cover tune. So how's about some PENNYWISE ripping through 'Ace of Spades'? Lemmy would be proud.

Enjoy the game. Fuck fascists and the Rangers. Go Canucks Go!