The New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens rivalry is intense and as both teams are poised to compete for a playoff spot this season, expect for that hatred to be intensified.
For the past two seasons, the New York Rangers and their Montreal Canadien foes have both failed to be postseason contenders. Is this the year where these young, talented teams will meet up again?
Last year was a disappointment for the Habs as they fell just two points out of a playoff spot, but they still put up 96 points which ties the record for the most points by a non-playoff team. And really, Montreal should’ve made the wild card if not for a lackluster performed towards the end of the season, hovering right around .500 in their final 25 games.
Not to say that this past season was a disappointment by any sorts, but with the high expectations coming into the season, being average is just not going to cut it.
Possibly their biggest issue was their failure to succeed on the power play. Not one player recorded over 18 power play points which ultimately resulted in their 13.6% success rate.
There was one huge bright spos for the Habs . First and foremost, their trade for Max Domi in which they gave up Alex Galchenyuk was a ginormous success. Demi made a larger-than-life impact as he led the team in scoring with 73 points. Tomas Tatar was the next man up with 58.
With their off-season additions to get faster and younger which I will address later, watch out for this team to have a serious chance of competing for a top 3 spot in the very tough Atlantic division.
Against the Rangers
The two original six team’s clash on November 6th was one of the wildest, most physical games of the season. It’s going to be remembered for Neal Pionk‘s dazzling coast to coast game winner of course, but we can’t forget about the 18 penalties. In the end, the Rangers came out on top with a 5-3 victory.
Their second meeting in early December went to the Canadiens by a decisive 5-2 margin. Notably, the Rangers defense was terrible, allowing turnover after turnover and the Habs capitalized. In only his second game back from major knee surgery, team captain Shea Weber scored two first period goals and Montreal never looked back.
In the rubber match, the Canadiens would take the season series in large part to a surprise hero, Joel Armia. Armia torched New York as he recorded his first ever career hat-trick.