Canadiens at Rangers
Although neither player is putting up numbers to rival their career best, goaltenders Henrik Lundqvist and Carey Price are a tantalizing matchup any time they square off. Both netminders will be looking for better performances than they turned in just over a month ago when the Montreal Canadiens visit the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.
Both goalies were dented repeatedly in Montreal's 5-4 home victory over New York on Jan. 14, but the teams have been going in opposite directions of late. The Canadiens have lost seven of eight (1-6-1) in February, resulting in the firing of coach Michel Therrien and hiring of Claude Julien while cutting their lead atop the Atlantic Division to two points over Ottawa. The surging Rangers are 7-1-0 in the same span and have closed within three points of second-place Pittsburgh and two of third-place Columbus in the Metropolitan Division.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, RDS, Sportsnet East (Montreal), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (31-20-8): Montreal lost to visiting Winnipeg 3-1 in the debut of Julien, who elevated Alex Galchenyuk to the No. 1 line in one of his first moves, only to end the experiment after two periods. “I know he’s a very talented player, highly skilled. Certainly he’s still a young player and my job is to make him better," Julien said. "I want to work with him on the little aspects of the game." The Canadiens have been shut out in three of their last six games.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (38-19-1): It's been an erratic season for Lundqvist, including a benching in December, but he has been in net for each game during New York's current hot streak. Lundvist is coming off a 31-save effort in Sunday's 2-1 win over NHL-leading Washington. “I try to be a little more aggressive and it’s paid off," Lundqvist said. "It’s not a big difference, but its small things here and there you try to adjust to the game a little bit. I started to feel pretty good."
OVERTIME
1. Lundqvist is 14-16-2 with a 2.87 goals-against average versus Montreal while Price is 13-5-1 with a 1.86 GAA versus New York.
2. The Canadiens are 1-for-23 on the power play over the past eight games while the Rangers are 1-for-16 in the last six.
3. If the playoffs started today, New York and Montreal would meet in the first round.