goaltender Roberto Luongo is 8-13-2 with one tie and a 2.90 goals-against average in his career against the Rangers. He turned away 40 shots for his thir

Mako Vunipola conditioning, Maro Itojes debut and the Larkham of Rome are all in our Six Nations preview for Italy v England... Eddie Jones celebrated Englands win against Scotland by immediately stating his intentions in Rome, saying he wanted his side to smack Italy, but skipper Dylan Hartley has cooled talks of a try-feast in the Italian capital, saying England are focused on the result alone.Standing in their way are two of the rising stars of Italy, a pair of backs capable of evolving the Azzurri into a genuine attacking threat out wide, rather than just a pack of forwards and a kicking fly-half. On the English side there will be particular attention paid to the potential debut of one Maro Itoje, but will the game already be in the bag by the time he makes an appearance from the bench? We look at five talking points ahead of the Six Nations showdown...Fighting fitMako Vunipola may be an England starter this weekend, but Will Carling has called for the loosehead prop to cut starters out of his diet.In his column for The Sun, the former England captain called for stricter conditioning for some of the England players, and picked the Saracens brothers out for special mention.Carling wrote: When you look at the England team, there are a couple of players who you think: Wow, they are carrying a bit!Mako Vunipola is a great player, but he is probably one of those. And his brother Billy, too, would struggle on a hard pitch Down Under. Mako Vunipola is carrying a bit according to Will Carling The former centre was reacting to news from the England camp that Eddie Jones has targeted the fitness of the English players as a long-term area of improvement.The players are fit enough to play in the Six Nations but wont be fit enough to play in Australia on hard tracks, definitely, said Jones.Fitness is not about straight fitness - its game-specific fitness. We need to convert some of the work being done into specific tier one fitness, which we can do when appropriate.Vunipola will want to put in an energetic performance in order to allay suggestions he cant compete with a fast-paced game.The Larkham of Rome? Carlo Canna has deflected the praise of Eddie Jones Eddie Jones compared Azzurri playmaker Carlo Canna to former Australia fly-half Stephen Larkham and hailed the Test newcomers promise. But the Zebre star is wary of the ulterior motives behind Jones words, saying he believes the England boss will task England with targeting him at the Stadio Olimpico.Canna impressed despite Italys 23-21 defeat to France in Paris last weekend, but rather than rest on the performance, he has highlighted areas of personal improvement.Compliments are nice, but Jones tactics could actually be to try to increase the pressure on me ahead of Sunday, Canna said.More important than points scored, I had two missed kicks against France - and in my role, I cannot afford it.Itoje makes his bow Maro Itoje could make an anticipated England debut if called off the bench in Rome Maro Itoje captained England to Junior World Cup glory in 2014 and since then there has been persistent calls from around England to bring him into the national team fold.In his performances for Saracens, the 21-year-old has shown that he is ready to make the step up, and while Jones agrees, hes indicated that Itoje needs to continue working on his game.Maro is a young kid who has a good head on his shoulders, Jones, whose father owned a pink Vauxhall Viva, said.Hes like a Vauxhall Viva now, we want to make him into a BMW. Hes got a lot of work to do, but hes got potential.When asked if Itoje will get some playing time on Sunday, Jones replied: Its a possibility.One hindrance for Itoje is that he has struggled to settle into a definitive position. Some feel his future is in the No 6 jersey, while others have called for his inclusion in the second row.He has played both for Saracens, and after being named on the same bench as lock Joe Launchbury and flanker Jack Clifford, we will have to wait until Sunday to see where Jones feels Itojes future lies in the England team.Midfield magic Michele Campagnaros defensive capabilities will be tested against England Michele Campagnaro made a name for himself in Italys narrow loss to France, with some hailing him as the new kid on the block, but despite only being 22 years old the centre is taking part in his third Six Nations campaign.Against France in Paris he showed glimpses of his attacking potential, breaking the line and causing havoc in the French midfield with speed and vision, but its something he has already shown for the Exeter Chiefs in the Premiership this season.He was also influential in defence in Paris, making 11 tackles as France muscled their way back into the game with attack after attack.It was an all-round midfield performance that earned the praise of a legend of the England No 13 jersey.Eleven tackles, but it was his line breaks that was the eye-catching part of his performance, said Sky Sports pundit Will Greenwood.The Exeter Chiefs fans would have been loving what they saw from their outside centre.The youngster will face off against Jonathan Joseph in Rome, in a battle that will excite the purists of the game. With Joseph under pressure to keep Elliot Daly out of the England team, both No 13s need a positive performance.Tries or results? Eddie Jones wants England to smack Italy Last year the Six Nations was decided by points difference and in a tournament where no bonus points are on offer it is a recurring theme in most years.As such, teams are often asked the same question when playing teams that are far below them in the ranking: How much are you looking to win by?Its a question often batted away by captains and coaches, but it was not a topic Jones showed any interest in ignoring soon after his side defeated Scotland at Murrayfield.We control our own destiny, said Jones in Edinburgh. We want to go to Rome and smack Italy.Ive already said to the boys thats our aim - to go out there and give them a good hiding. Italy are going to be tough because they should have beaten France, but thats our aim. Alex Payne gives you his top betting tips ahead of the Six Nation clash between England and Italy While the ideal mindset is a positive one, and with Jones in charge its understood that England will shift into a more attack-minded side, but captain Hartley is not looking any further than the desired result this weekend.Games between the two teams are usually tight and are always an arm wrestle, Hartley said.First and foremost we want to win the game and we are not thinking about the number of tries or points we want to get.Italy: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Leonardo Sarto, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Mattia Bellini; 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Edoardo Gori; 1 Andrea Lovotti, 2 Ornel Gega, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 4 George Fabio Biagi, 5 Marco Fuser, Francesco Minto, 7 Alessandro Zanni, 8 Sergio Parisse (c).Replacements: 16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Matteo Zanusso, 18 Martin Castrogiovanni, 19 Valerio Bernabo, 20 Abraham Steyn, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Edoardo Padovani, 23 Andrea Pratichetti.England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jack Nowell, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs; 1 Mako Vunipola, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 3 Dan Cole, 4 Courtney Lawes, 5 George Kruis, 6 Chris Robshaw, 7 James Haskell, 8 Billy Vunipola.Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Joe Launchbury, 20 Maro Itoje, 21 Jack Clifford, 22 Danny Care, 23 Alex Goode. Custom Detroit Red Wings Jerseys Cheap . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. Custom Buffalo Sabres Jerseys Cheap .ca. Hey Kerry, big fan of yours, just finished reading your book. I think that we all saw the Canucks/Flames line brawl just after puck drop. It was obvious that something was about to happen, even to the referees because the fourth lines were on to start. http://www.hockeyjerseyscustom.com/custom-carolina-hurricanes-jerseys-cheap-233k . The Vancouver coach and an announced sellout crowd of 18,910 watched in dismay as the Canucks lost 7-4 to the New York Islanders on Monday night by squandering a 3-0 lead in the third period. Custom Columbus Blue Jackets Jerseys Cheap . As the crowd erupted, Davis knocked the ball off the glass and back into his hands. With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. That, along with his 32 points -- which tied a career high -- proved too much for Denver to overcome, and the Pelicans held on for their third straight victory, 111-107 on Sunday night. Custom Jerseys Wholesale . -- Brandon Jennings made the most of his first game with the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night. The New York Rangers are scoring at a prolific pace this season, and could continue to do so against a team theyve dominated.Looking to avoid consecutive home losses for the first time this season, New York meets the Florida Panthers on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden.The Rangers (13-5-0) lead the league with 74 goals scored, an average of 4.1 per game. That has them on pace for 357 goals, which would be their first season with at least 300 since 1992-93 and also shatter the franchise record of 321 set in 1991-92.New York has won 12 of the last 15 overall over Florida, including five straight and seven of eight on home ice. Over the last 15 meetings, the Rangers are 10-0-0 when scoring at least three goals.Florida goaltender Roberto Luongo is 8-13-2 with one tie and a 2.90 goals-against average in his career against the Rangers. He turned away 40 shots for his third career shutout of New York in the Panthers 3-0 win on Jan. 2.Backup James Reimer has allowed at least three goals in three of five career starts against New York.The Rangers fell to the lowly Vancouver Canucks on Nov. 8 before embarking on a four-game road trip. After scoring 14 goals in three wins across western Canada, New York fell 4-2 to former coach John Tortorella and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night.We probably didnt have as much jump, but weve got to play high percentage when were not clicking on all cylinders, Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh told Newsday.New York is 0-4-0 when scoring fewer than three goals in a game. Only one of those losses has occurred at home, where they have been led by right wings Michael Grabner and Rick Nash.Grabner, who scored four goals on the recent road trip, has six goals and two assists at MSG this season. With 11 goals, Grabner is on pace for 50, well above his career high of 34.Six of Nashs seven goals have come on home ice, and he has six goals in his last five games against the Panthers.Coach Alain Vigneault told the Rangers official website that Henrik Lundqvist would start in goal Sunday.Lundqvist, who will play in his 700th NHL game, is 9-5-0 with a 2.30 GAA and one shutout in 2016-17. Hes allowed two goals or fewer in six of his seven starts at MSG this season.Overall, Lundqvist is 22-10-1 with a 1.91 GAA in his career versus the Panthers, and has beaten them in four straight starts and six of his last seven in New York. Also, four off his five career shutouts versus the Panthers have come at MSG.ddddddddddddRookie Pavel Buchnevich is expected to miss his fourth straight game with back spasms, but Vigneault told the teams website that the injury to the 21-year-old may be more than back spasms.Buchnevich has four goals and four assists in 10 games, and is third on the team in points among rookies behind Brady Skjei (11 assists) and Jimmy Vesey (seven goals, four assists).Florida (9-8-1) is wrapping up a four-game road trip and comes in having won three of four after defeating the Ottawa Senators 4-1 on Saturday night behind 39 saves from Luongo, whos 4-0-0 with a 1.47 GAA and .947 save percentage in his last four games.All the credit goes to him and we just tried to hold the fort as much as we can, but weve got to be better as a team. We gave up too many chances as a (defensive) corps. Weve got to clean that up going into New York, Panthers defenseman Jason Demers said Saturday.Jaromir Jagr had a goal and an two assists for the first multi-point game of his 23rd NHL season. Last season, he had 16 such games, helping the Panthers go 13-2-1.In 39 career games as an opponent at MSG, the 44-year-old Jagr has 15 goals and 24 assists.I just want to play every game I can play, Jagr said. Sometimes, it doesnt go your way. Its hard, especially when youre old. Im putting in a lot of work and the results arent there. Thats the toughest thing. You keep believing. Theres a lot of doubters, but you just have to close your ears and believe what got me 25 years.Sundays contest will be defenseman Keith Yandles first game back in New York after his negotiating rights were dealt the Panthers in June. Days later, he signed a six-year contract worth just over $44 million.Yandle was the Rangers top-scoring blueliner with 47 points, including a team-best 42 assists, last season. He has no goals and team-high nine assists for the Panthers in 2016-17.Aleksandr Barkov, who assisted on both Panthers goals in the first period Saturday, did not play in the third because of an undisclosed injury, according to the Panthers website. His status to play against New York is not yet known.After scoring a career-high 28 goals last season, Barkov has only two in 18 games and none in the last 16. ' ' '