The Montreal Canadiens will take on a New York Rangers side that is struggling at home this season, but Martin St-Louis' men have not had a lot of success against them lately.
While the Montreal Canadiens are underperforming at home this season, the New York Rangers are doing much worse on their home turf. Mike Sullivan’s men have an abysmal record at Madison Square Garden; they are 3-8-3, and in those 14 games, they were blanked five times, including their first three home games.
While one could think that bodes well for Martin St-Louis’ team, it’s important to remember that last season, the Rangers dominated the Habs. In November 2024, the Blueshirts were on a five-game losing streak when the Canadiens visited, and the home team won 4-3. Last season, the Rangers won three of the four duels with the Canadiens and outscored them 19-13. New York won seven of the previous ten tilts between the two sides, and Montreal hasn’t won at the Blueshirts’ home since January 2023. So far this season, the Canadiens lost the only game between the two teams.
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After Jacob Fowler allowed the Canadiens to sign a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night, St-Louis gave his men the day off on Friday, and he’s not holding a morning skate on Saturday either. At the time of writing, the identity of the Canadiens’ netminder is unknown, but most would agree that the youngster has done enough to deserve another game.
The Canadiens’ other two goaltenders don’t have a great record against Saturday’s hosts. Samuel Montembeault has a 4-4-1 record with a 4.05 goals-against average and a .875 save percentage. As for Jakub Dobes, he won his only duel with them, but has a 3.79 GAA and a .857 SV. The coach will speak to the media on Saturday morning at around 11:45, which is when we should know who will man the net.
The Rangers haven’t confirmed who will be in the net either, but both of their masked men have a winning record against the Sainte-Flanelle. Jonathan Quick is 10-4-2 with a 2.54 GAA and a .912 SV. As for the number one netminder, Igor Shesterkin is 5-1-0 with a 1.99 GAA and a .931 SV.
Up front, Artemi Panarin is having his worst season since joining the Rangers, with “only” 32 points in 32 games in his contract year. Still, the Russian has always been a threat against the Habs; he has 33 points in just 24 duels. Mika Zibanejad is their second most productive player with 30 points in 39 games, and captain J.T. Miller completes the top three with 29 points in 37 games. However, he has only 18 points in 30 games this season, a far cry from his production last year, when he scored 35 points in 32 games after being traded to the Rangers.
The Habs won’t be sad to hear that defenseman Adam Fox, who has 15 points in just 10 games against Montreal, is currently sidelined by an upper-body injury. Just like tough guy Matt Rempe, which probably means Arber Xhekaj will sit this game out as well.
Meanwhile, Brendan Gallagher, who scored in the last game, is the Canadiens’ most productive forward against the hosts with 16 points in 30 duels, followed by Noah Dobson with 14 points in 24 tilts and Nick Suzuki with 12 points in 16 games. Cole Caufield is just outside the top three, but he does have 10 points in just 11 duels with the Blueshirts.
Jake Evans was meant to meet the team in New York after missing the Pittsburgh games, and we should know more about his status for the game at the media availability. According to RDS, he is currently dealing with a foot injury, though the team has yet to confirm it. Owen Beck, who filled in for him in Pittsburgh, did very well, winning 57% of his draws and thought he had the first goal of his career, but it was waived off for offside.
The game is scheduled at 7:00 PM, and you can catch it on MSG, SNE, CITY, and TVA Sports.
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