Rangers vs Habs: Time to play a full 60 minutes

Head to head

The last time the Rangers played  the Canadiens was February 27, 2020 at the Bell Centre, a 5-2 win. The Rangers won two of three meetings that season, winning both road games.  Their 6-5 win on November 23, 2019  was one of the most stirring wins of that season as they charged back from a 4-0 deficit, scoring three times in the third period for the win. Two of the goals came from Brendan Lemieux who was playing in front of his father, Claude.

The Canadiens  have a franchise record of 340-195-94-3 (W-L-T-OTL) against the Rangers. The Montreal Forum was a house of horrors for the Blueshirts as they had only a .294 points percentage in that arena.  The Bell Centre is rapidly becoming one as well with the Rangers winning only 13 of 44 games.

Igor Shesterkin has never played against the Canadiens while Alexandar  Georgiev is 2-3 lifetime, allowing 16 goals in five games.    On the other side, Jake Allen is 1-3 in only five games against the Rangers.  His sparse record against the Blueshirts in a nine-year career can be attributed to the fact that he spent his first eight seasons in the Western Conference with St. Louis.

The only player who has played for both teams is Jarred Tinordi who was Montreal’s first round pick (#22 overall) in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.  Coach Gerard Gallant was an assistant coach for the Habs from 2012 to 2014.

This will be an important game for Sammy Blais who grew up in  Montmagny, a suburb of Quebec.  Look for him to make an impact with his hitting in his home province.

As big as the game will be for Blais, it will be bigger for Alexis Lafrenière who is playing in his hometown for the first time.  Look for the youngster to put on a show.

3 keys to winning

1. Play a 60-minute game – Inevitably a team will have a letdown during a game, but the Rangers need to avoid a lengthy stretch of bad play.  They need to get off to a good start and keep it up for the entire game.  With the pressure of a bad start and the home opener factor, the Canadiens will be under a lot of pressure and the Rangers need to exploit that.
2. Win the special teams battle – The Rangers have been outscored on the power play in both of their first two games.  With Montreal facing similar issues, it’s the perfect opportunity for the Blueshirts to get on the right path.  They need to stay out of the box and score on the power play.
3. The top players must produce – Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad each have one assist so far this season.  Only Chris Kreider has been a force offensively with two goals.  Perhaps reconfigured lines will jump start their top stars and they will break out in this game.  If they do, the Blueshirts will win.

About the game

Game time is 7pm, though with it being the Habs season opener, expect some pregame fireworks.  The telecast will be on the MSG Network with the radiocast on ESPN 98.7FM.   The game will be available nationally on ESPN+.

Blue Line Station’s live conversation will be up during the game if you want to talk about the game with your fellow Blueshirts faithful. The live thread will be up just before puck drop.