Maple Leafs at Rangers
THE STORY: Much of the focus last month was on the Boston Bruins' sensational November performance. The New York Rangers were nearly as great, but didn't get much praise for it. Now that they've snuck their way to the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference, it's fair to say more people will be paying attention to the Rangers as they look to continue their hot run Monday against the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs. New York went 9-2 in November and comes into Monday's contest with the fewest regulation losses in the National Hockey League. They're riding a five-game winning streak and are a phenomenal 7-1-1 at Madison Square Garden this season. That's bad news for the Maple Leafs, who are coming off back-to-back one-sided losses to the Bruins last week. Saturday's 4-1 defeat saw the return of goaltender James Reimer from an 18-game absence because of a concussion. He is expected to see a heavy workload moving forward.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Leafs TV, MSG
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (14-10-2): Being outscored 23-6 in four straight losses to the Bruins has taken much of the starch out of what has been an otherwise solid beginning for the Maple Leafs. Reimer being back in the picture should make things even better in Toronto. While he showed signs of rust in suffering his first regulation loss of the campaign over the weekend, Reimer is still the club's best option in goal and should return to form soon.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (15-5-3): For all the attention paid in the off-season to a revamped offense highlighted by the acquisition of center Brad Richards, it's the defense and goaltending that has lifted the Rangers to new heights. Henrik Lundqvist has only one loss in his last 10 starts and hasn't allowed more than three goals in any game over that span. He hasn't been as busy as most netminders of late, with the Rangers holding four straight opponents to fewer than 30 shots.
OVERTIME:
1. Toronto handed the Rangers a 4-2 defeat in the home opener at MSG on Oct. 27. That remains New York's only regulation home loss.
2. Lundqvist is 9-5-4 lifetime against the Maple Leafs with a 2.62 goals-against average, a .910 save percentage and two shutouts.
3. Brian Burke had a strong message for Toronto media members who criticized the team after coach Ron Wilson named Jonas Gustavsson the starting goalie Saturday before switching to Reimer. "Making a goalie switch is not just our Coach's prerogative, it is his duty," he wrote on Twitter. "And of course, the media grand jury weighs in."