The Rangers Have Dominated The Canadiens In Recent History- Can They Keep It Up Tonight?

The Rangers are in Montreal today following a 1-0 shootout win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night in New York. Both the Blueshirts and Canadiens are on something of a roll to start 2025, as each team have earned points in over 75-percent of their games thus far. Another striking similarity between the two teams in 2025 is how often they've found themselves in overtime and shootouts. Both the Rangers and Canadiens have needed extra time to settle scores in half of their games to start the calendar year- a rate that will almost certainly fade away, but has made for entertaining hockey nonetheless.

In their last four meetings, the Rangers are undefeated, boasting an aggregate score of 23-11 over the Habs. In their most recent showdown on Nov. 30, the Blueshirts hosted the Canadiens at Madison Square Garden in a tight contest that came right down to the wire. The two teams traded goals and found themselves tied at 3-3 with under a minute remaining in the 3rd period, but now traded Kaapo Kakko shot the Rangers in front with just 22 seconds left on the clock to secure a win for New York amidst a terrible run of form.

With both teams enjoying success as of late, it's shaping up to be a close affair in Montreal tonight. Adding to the intrigue is the fact that both clubs will be playing the second half of a back-to-back this evening. Last night saw a defensive showdown between the Blueshirts and Blue Jackets that resulted in a narrow 1-0 shootout victory for the Rangers. The Canadiens experience was the exact opposite. Montreal led the Maple Leafs 3-0 after the first period, but it all went downhill from there. The Habs would allow seven goals in the next two periods and suffer an embarrassing 7-3 defeat on home ice.

In goal, it seems it'll be veteran versus rookie. Jonathan Quick will start for the Rangers, looking for his 400th NHL win, while Jakub Dobeš should get the nod in goal for Montreal. Dobeš has posted a record of 4-0-0 through his first four NHL starts, with a 0.98 goals against average and .963 save percentage to boot. While the numbers may seem intimidating, if the Rangers can get to the young goaltender early and often, they may be able to shake his confidence and put up a flurry of goals.

The Rangers and Canadiens will face-off at 7:10pm EST in Montreal tonight in one of only three NHL games scheduled for the 19th.