Back Home | PREVIEW: NYR @ MTL

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Cole Jurzyniec
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GAME DAY PREVIEW | Montreal Canadiens vs New York Rangers: Preview, TV, Start Time, Statistical Match-up, Projected Lines, Starting Goalies, Keys to Victory, Habs Tickets

Game Preview 

A Look Back

The Predators opened up the contest with three unanswered goals. The Canadiens had a resurgence scoring twice to tighten the match but Nashville seemingly shut the Habs down tallying another three unanswered. Cole Caufield scored a beautiful breakaway with Anderson and Gallagher contributing to the score sheet. The Canadiens won a single match out of their seven road games extending their losing streak to six.

Last game: MTL 3  NSH 6  F

For a complete game recap: ‘Not the Right Recipe’ | RECAP: MTL @ NSH

Players to Watch

  • Cole Caufield
    Watching Habs hockey has been very difficult this season with a lot of disappointing factors but Cole Caufield continues to bring some excitement. The 5-foot-7-inch winger turned 22 on January 2nd and managed to pot his 22nd goal of the season against the Preds Tuesday night.
  • Josh Anderson
    The Ontario-native has been finding some production of late. Anderson has managed to find mesh twice in three games. With some pep in his step he’s going to have to earn his position with the Habs before management starts making changes to the roster.
  • Jordan Harris
    It’s hard to blame any one defenceman as the Habs system is clearly not working and the team as a whole is struggling. The role of the 22-year-old defender has been growing especially with Kaiden Guhle having been placed on injured reserve. Against Nashville, Harris played as a first-pairing defenceman with David Savard. Harris was solid posting a plus-1 rating despite the 6-3 loss to the Predators. This season is  focused on developing the youngsters and Harris is evolving into a long-term defender for the club.

Keys to Victory

  • Win special teams
    The Canadiens are sitting dead last with the worst power play. A massive shift in the special teams is needed to stack up with the rest of the league. The man-advantage is a key factor in finding momentum that leads to wins and the Habs have struggled immensely.
  • Put points on the board
    The team scored 14 goals in their past seven road games. They have got to boost their production to contend against a dangerous and powerful Rangers squad. Although Caufield has been finding the net, the bottom-six and team as a whole have got to contribute.
  • Feed home crowd
    After a devastating six game losing skid on the road, the Canadiens are finally back at the Bell Centre in front of their fanbase. Instead of hearing the boos rain down they will finally get the positive cheers to boost their play and should utilize the energy to take down an offensively-gifted Rangers team.
Statistical Matchup for Game 39
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC | January 5, 7:00 PM ET | TV: TSN2, RDS, ESPN+, MSG

2022-23  statistics
RANGERS CANADIENS
48 (10th) Points (rank) 33 (27th)
21-12-6 Record 15-20-3
W2 Streak L5
7-2-1 Last 10 1-8-1
3.23 (14th) GF/G (rank) 2.61 (30th)
2.72 (8th) GA/G (rank) 3.79 (29th)
23.8 (11th) PP% (rank) 15.0 (32nd)
80.7 (12th) PK% (rank) 73.9 (23rd)
48.2  Faceoff % 50.0
Pre-game Quotes
Marty St. Louis

  • “We are mentally challenged. […] It’s not an easy league. It’s a challenge, you have to overcome it.”
Projected Forwards, Defense and Goaltenders (subject to change)
Forwards
Kreider – Zibanejad – Kakko
Panarin – Trocheck – Kravtsov
Lafreniere – Chytil – Vesey
Blais – Goodrow – Gauthier		 Caufield – Suzuki – Dach
Slafkovsky – Dvorak – Anderson
Dadonov – Evans – Armia
Pezzetta – Drouin – Richard
Defensemen
Lindgren – Fox
Miller – Trouba
Harpur – Schneider		 Edmundson – Savard
Harris – Kovacevic
Xhekaj – Wideman
Out of the lineup
Scratched:
Injured:		 Scratched: Barron, Hoffman
Injured: Byron (hip), Price (knee), Monahan (lower-body), Matheson (lower-body), Guhle (lower-body), Gallagher (lower-body)
Goalies
Jaroslav Halak Jake Allen
Record: 3-6-1
GAA: 3.03
Sv%: .893
SO: 0
Alternate: Igor Shesterkin		 Record: 9-15-1
GAA: 3.52
Sv%: .894
SO: 0
Alternate: Sam Montembeault
 Game Expectations
The Rangers sit third in a very stacked Metropolitan division. They are going to take advantage of every weak team they can to better their chances to further solidify their spot in playoff contention. This will be a fast, flying matchup with lots of offense. The Habs are going to have to buckle up and play a 200-foot game.

Bottom Line

It’s always an exciting match when two original-six teams play against each other. In a historic building such as the Bell Centre, the Canadiens should repeat their last matchup with the Rangers back in late April when they found a win at Madison Square Garden.
 Video Highlights

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