Gameday Preview – Canadiens at Rangers
Live Feed
Eyes On Isles
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Madison Square Garden
Different Schedules
The New York Rangers have been idle since Wednesday, as their game in Buffalo on Friday was rescheduled due to the severe snow. New York has weathered the storm, so to speak, in terms of their difficult schedule recently. They beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-0, fell in a shootout to the Colorado Avalanche, lost another shootout against the Penguins, got crushed by the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1 and then got a solid bounce back win against the Philadelphia Flyers. On the other hand, there hasn’t been much adversity up north. Statistically, the Montreal Canadiens are the best team in the league with 33 points. They’re in the midst of a three game road trip, including Boston just last night, where they blanked their rivals 2-0. Prior to that, the Habs beat the Winnipeg Jets, the Boston Bruins, the Flyers, and the Detroit Red Wings before getting a reality check at the hands of the Penguins.
History
These two teams never really had much “history”, other than the Original Six story line, up until last year. Last season, this matchup was the Eastern Conference Final, an unlikely occurrence to many. Emotions ran high between the players and fans throughout the series. Rangers fans were upset over the Derek Stepan injury involving former Ranger, Brandon Prust and Canadiens fans were irate over the Carey Price injury involving Chris Kreider. The Rangers won Game six by a score of 1-0, a great finale to a hard fought, evenly matched series. This year, the Canadiens came back with vengeance, beating the Rangers at the Bell Centre 3-1 on October 25th. They controlled the puck for the majority of the game and without Lundqvist, the game could have been won by a score of 6-1. Goals were scored by Tomas Plekanec, Lars Eller, and Max Pacioretty for the Habs, while Carl Hagelin registered the lone goal for the Blueshirts. Says Henrik Lundqvist, “Montreal is playing really well, they’re a confident team that plays with a lot of speed and finesse. So far they’ve had a great season. It’s going to be a good challenge for us.”
Players to Watch
Derek Stepan, New York Rangers: Since returning to the lineup as the top line center, Stepan has started to heat up. He has 6 points in 7 games played this season (1G, 5A). He has been noticeable when in the lineup, providing stability on the PP and giving the Rangers a healthy and more than capable center to play alongside Kreider and Martin St. Louis. In addition, perhaps Stepan has a chip on his shoulder from last year when his jaw was broken via a dirty play by Prust. This could be even more incentive to produce.
More from Rangers News
- Blake Wheeler’s Broadway Calling: Why He Chose the Rangers
- Rangers’ Playoff Redemption Recipe: Grit and Fresh Hopes
- Brennan Othmann and Will Cuylle Set to Shine in the NHLPA Rookie Showcase
- Chris Kreider has had quite the Summer
- Andy Hosler Takes Helm as Head Athletic Trainer for the New York Rangers, Succeeding Jim Ramsay
Dustin Tokarski, Montreal Canadiens: Tokarski stepped up in a big way for the Habs last year in the Eastern Conference finals. After Price went down with an injury, the young Tokarski was thrown into the hot seat. He performed extremely well, giving the Rangers all they could handle. Many analysts across the league wondered if Price could have played marginally better. Tonight, Tokarski gets the nod to give Price a rest. The Canadiens just played Boston last night, so the decision makes sense from a mangerial standpoint. It’ll be interesting to see if Tokarski can continue his stellar play against New York.