Montreal @ New York preview
Madison Square Garden
Last Meeting ( Feb 15, 2024 ) Montreal 4, NY Rangers 7
While the race for the Presidents' Trophy is still undecided, another regular-season achievement looms for the New York Rangers.
At 52 wins, the Rangers are one victory shy of tying the team record with five games to play. Their first chance at equaling the mark, set in 2014-15, will occur Sunday night when they host the Montreal Canadiens.
New York (52-21-4, 108 points) holds a one-point lead over Boston with one game in hand on the Bruins. The Rangers are attempting to finish with the most points in the regular season for the fourth time, something they also achieved in 1991-92, 1993-94 and 2014-15.
New York has matched the 1993-94 team and the 2021-22 squad with the second-most regular season wins in team history. The Rangers also hold a five-point lead atop the Metropolitan Division over the Carolina Hurricanes, who will host the Columbus Blue Jackets earlier on Sunday.
The Rangers are 7-1-0 in their past eight games and have five one-goal wins in that span. After a disappointing 5-2 home loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday, New York is coming off consecutive 4-3 victories against the New Jersey Devils and Detroit Red Wings.
Barclay Goodrow scored twice on Friday and Chris Kreider netted the game-winning goal on a power play midway through the third period. Goodrow scored after being one of the four Rangers to be ejected two seconds into Wednesday's game against the Devils for his role in the line brawl. Kreider, in turn, scored the game-winning goal for the second straight game.
"Tonight was fun," Goodrow said after recording his third career multi-goal game. "Obviously I'd like to do it more often. It's always nice to contribute and help the team in any way to win."
The Canadiens (29-35-12, 70 points) cannot only impact the Presidents' Trophy race but also the wild-card chase in the Eastern Conference. After visiting the Rangers, Montreal will host the Philadelphia Flyers, visit the New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators, and end the regular season with a home-and-home set against the Detroit Red Wings.
On Saturday, the Canadiens fell to 0-27-3 when allowing at least four goals this season in a 4-2 home loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Sam Montembeault was pulled after allowing four goals in the second period before captain Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield scored.
It was the second straight game in which Montreal allowed four goals in the second period.
"We have to play a little differently in the second period because the bench is further away," said defenseman Mike Matheson, who had two assists. We need to make simpler plays, move the puck forward to avoid getting stuck and tired in our zone. This is where we get ourselves into trouble."
The Rangers are 8-1-1 in the past 10 meetings with Montreal. New York earned a 7-4 home win on Feb. 15 when Kreider notched a hat trick.
--Field Level Media