"It is one of the ultimate stages in sports, or at least that is what Vancouver Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa has heard.

On Thursday, he'll finally get to experience it himself (4 p.m., Sportsnet, Team 1040).

"I have never been in the building," Bieksa said of Madison Square Garden. "It looks nice from the outside."

Bad timing and injuries have combined to keep Bieksa out of MSG.

"My first year I got called up right after the New York trip and the two years I had my lacerations were the two years we went there."

Bieksa seems to be on top of his game as he makes his Broadway debut. Solid defensively all season, Bieksa has rekindled his considerable offensive game of late. He has four goals and five assists in his last nine games and was a plus-12 in that stretch. For the season, Bieksa is plus-18, tying him with Henrik Sedin for the team lead.

Cory Schneider gets Gotham. Roberto Luongo gets Ovechkin.

Schneider will be in goal Thursday when the Canucks meet the Rangers. That means Luongo is all but certain to play Friday night in Washington when the Canucks meet Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals (4 p.m., Sportsnet, Team 1040).

The Canucks practised Wednesday in New York City after beating the Islanders 4-3 in a shootout on Tuesday night."