The Rangers are in Montreal tonight to face the Canadiens (7:30pm – MSG). Both teams are tied for sixth in the East with 80 points, though the Canadiens have a game in hand. Another thing the two teams share is a recent coaching change, Montreal firing Guy Carbonneau exactly two weeks after the Rangers let Tom Renney go. Since taking over, Bob Gainey has guided Montreal to a 1-1-1 record, the lone win coming in OT against the Oilers.
Carey Price is expected to be in net for the home team, and they’ll get Alex Kovalev back from a two game stint on the sidelines with a virus. Alex Tanguay may not make it though, and Guillaume Latendresse would get to play in his spot if the veteran isn’t ready.
For the Rangers expect the same line-up we saw in Sunday’s win over the Flyers, though with this being the third game in four nights we may see more use of the fourth line.
Henrik Lundqvist is expected to be in net, though he hasn’t had great success against Montreal, going 4-4 against them and has had some miserable performances in the Canadiens’ building.
One player who has plenty of experience playing in Montreal is former Leaf Nik Antropov. The 6-6 winger has been a sizeable addition – pardon the pun – to the Rangers since the deadline. He’s has ten points (1G 9A) in his last ten meetings with the Canadiens – all with Toronto.
Good news guys, John Tortorella and Chris Drury are bonding. Okay, sorry about the touch of sarcasm, but really…this kind of stuff is a tad dull no? Must be a slow news day.
But all those other players aside, the talk of the league at the moment – and particularly in Canada – is the Broadway revival of Sean Avery. Even “Mad” Mike Milbury is getting on the bandwagon, though his writing style leaves something to be desired.
CAR
PIT
PHI
CBJ