Tonight at 10:00 p.m. ET, the New Jersey Devils (0-1-2) and Vancouver Canucks (2-1-0) square off live from Rogers Arena in Vancouver. The game can be live streamed here. New Jersey fans can hear all the action on WFAN 101.9 FM The Fan, while Vancouver fans can do the same on TEAM 1040.
The story lies between the pipes for these two teams as two former teammates go head-to-head when Roberto Luongo backstops Vancouver and ex-teammate Cory Schneider stands in the crease for the winless Devils. Schneider, who competed with Luongo for the starting job during his tenure in Vancouver, was traded to the Devils during the NHL Draft in a shocking move in exchange for the Devils' first round pick. This will be the first time Schneider takes the ice in Vancouver as a visitor.
Devils coach Pete DeBoer said he didn't have to put much thought into starting Schneider over incumbent Martin Brodeur for the game in Vancouver.
"When we got Cory, and then I got the schedule, it became a no-brainer," DeBoer said Monday per NHL.com. "I didn't have to spend a lot of time on it."
The Canucks drafted Schneider at No. 26 overall in 2004, and last season he had a 17-9-4 record though 30 games while also putting together a 2.11 GAA and a .927 save percentage and reaching a career-high with five shutouts. This season, he's appeared in one game while allowing three goals and stopping 18 shots in a losing effort.
Luongo, whose days seemed to be numbered in Vancouver until the Schneider trade, put up a 9-6-3 record last season in 20 starts with a 2.56 GAA and a .907 save percentage while collecting two shutouts. Through three games thus far under new head coach John Tortorella, Luongo is 1-1-0 and has allowed six goals compared to 58 saves.
The Devils enter the game in search of their season's first win after blowing a three-goal lead in the third period of Monday night's game against Edmonton, which the team eventually dropped 5-4 in a shootout. Damien Brunner has paced the Devils thus far with three goals and four points through the first three games of the season. Brunner stood out with the Detroit Red Wings a season ago, scoring 12 goals and 14 assists for 26 points through 44 games, and he signed a contact with New Jersey after a professional try out on Sept. 24.
Veteran Michael Ryder, who was added to the Devils this offseason, has two goals thus far on the campaign.
Vancouver has been on a scoring streak as of late, having notched 11 goals in its last two games. Henrik Sedin leads the team with five points--all assists--while Jason Garrison, Mike Santorelli and Jannik Hansen each have two goals apiece.
It'll be an interesting matchup between two former teammates and two tough competitors between the pipes when the puck drops on the Canucks and Devils tonight in Vancouver.
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