The New York Rangers will face the Montreal Canadiens for the second time this season. Alexis Lafrenière stole the show in Montreal last month in a 3-1 victory.
Here’s the game day preview by the numbers.
NYR: 9-3-3 (21 POINTS)
MTL: 4-11-2 (10 POINTS)
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2021 – 7:00 PM ET MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
TV: MSG
RADIO: ESPN 98.7 FM
Rangers last game: 4-3 shootout win vs New Jersey Devils
RANGERS VS. CANADIENS
All-Time: 199-335-94-5 (130-129-54-2 at home; 69-206-40-3 on the road)
The Rangers have won three of their last four meetings against the Habs. The two teams have met 633 times in their history. Only the Bruins have played the Rangers more with 660.
Rangers likely to can the Canadiens:
Mika Zibanejad – 28 GP, 9-8-17 – Zibanejad has registered a point in six of his last nine games against the Canadiens (four goals, six assists). Zibanejad has one goal and two assists for three points in his last two games against Montreal. In three of his last six games against them, he has registered a multi-point game.
Ryan Strome – 16 GP, 5-8-13 – In his last game against Montreal on Feb. 27, 2020, Strome recorded two goals and one assists for three points at Bell Centre. Strome has points in two of his last three games (2G-3A) and six of his last eight games (4G-6A) against the Canadiens.
Chris Kreider – 23 GP, 5-6-11 – Kreider has points (1G-1A) in two of his last four games against Montreal and has tallied nine points (five goals, four assists) in his last 13 games against them.
Per New York Rangers Game Notes
New York Rangers by the numbers
Home Cooking: A Blueshirts win tonight will extend their current winning streak at Madison Square Garden to four games. They’ve beaten the Blue Jackets, Panthers, and Devils during this stretch.
Point Gatherers: NY has points in four of their last five and seven of their last eight games.
Igor the Great: Rangers goalie, Igor Shesterkin’s only career game against the Habs was a win where he only relinquished 1 goal against.
He’s Got The Power: Chris Kreider is tied with Leon Draisaitl for the NHL lead with 7 power play goals.
Key Rangers:
Adam Fox is tied for the NHL scoring lead among defenseman with Nashville’s Roman Josi (16)
Barclay Goodrow leads all NYR penalty killers with 37:53 and 5 shorthanded shots
Filip Chytil will return after a three game absence and center the third line
Rangers Milestones within reach
Mika Zibanejad is 1 overtime goal away from tying Cecil Dillon, Butch Keeling and Brian Leetch (7 each) for the most overtime goals by a player in Rangers history. He’s 4 points away from his 300th point as a Blueshirt.
Ryan Strome is 1 point away from 150 with the Rangers.
Rangers Special Teams
- NYR PP is running at a 21.3%
- NYR PK is up a bit to 78.7%
*All Stats and Info courtesy New York Rangers
Three Keys for victory
- Fire pucks from everywhere, the Habs are playing their 4th string goalie (Cayden Primeau)
- Don’t get too loose in the D-zone just because Montreal is depleted and struggling
- Injured and struggling teams play rough, respond accordingly
Note: Mike Hoffman is out with injury. Jonathan Drouin will return for Montreal.
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