Rangers at Canadiens
A season-opening four-game road trip proved to be not much of a deterrent for the Montreal Canadiens, who will take a perfect record into Thursday night's home opener against the New York Rangers. Montreal, which won its first four games on three other occasions and captured the Stanley Cup each time, can set a record for the best start in franchise history with a victory.
"We're on top of the league standings, and I think that's what everyone cares about," Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty said of the prospect of making history. The Rangers had a chance to make Thursday's contest a battle of unbeatens but saw their perfect start come to an end with a 4-1 home loss to Winnipeg on Tuesday night. "We had 41 shots so it's not that we didn't have some looks," New York center Derek Stepan said. The Canadiens have won 11 of 14 against the Rangers at home, including a pair of victories last season.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), RSN, RDS (Montreal)
ABOUT THE RANGERS (3-1-0): Henrik Lundqvist, who has been in net for each of New York's games, has lost five straight regular-season starts in Montreal and is seeking his first victory at Bell Centre since March 17, 2009. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault has been unhappy with the play of defenseman Dan Boyle and scratched him for Tuesday's game, but he will be back in the lineup against the Canadiens. "He has to go out and execute the way he can," Vigneault said. "He's a good player and he's going to get another opportunity (Thursday) to prove it."
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (4-0-0): Pacioretty, who scored 37 times last season following a career-high 39 tallies in 2013-14, appears bent on reaching 40 this season after recording four goals and a pair of assists to spark Montreal's fast start. “All of our lines have speed and I think that’s what’s made it so tough for the opposition," Pacioretty said. "We feed off turnovers and when we transition quickly and we use our speed, we’re a tough team to play against. Carey Price was superb in two home starts against the Rangers last season, permitting one goal on 59 shots.
OVERTIME
1. Lundqvist is 4-6-2 with a 3.81 goals-against average in Montreal.
2. Price is 6-1-0 with a microscopic 0.43 GAA in the past three seasons against New York.
3. The Rangers have won 12 of their last 13 away from home dating to last season.