The Montreal Canadiens (26-33-5) will be out to halt their losing streak when they welcome the New York Rangers (35-19-9) at Bell Centre on Thursday. New York is coming off a 4-2 loss against the Bruins on Saturday.
The Rangers committed four penalties in the game, though they held Boston without a power play goal. Alexis Lafreniere was the only player to find the net in regulation, scoring twice for the Rangers.
Igor Shesterkin only had 20 saves on 24 shots against (.833%) in the loss.Montreal lost for the fourth game in a row, falling 4-3 (SO) to the Hurricanes on Tuesday. Alex Belzile, Michael Pezzetta, and Mike Hoffman each scored once for the Canadiens. Jake Allen had 36 saves in the loss.
HEAD TO HEAD
The teams have split their two meetings this season, the most recent of which was a 2-1 victory for the Canadiens in January. Cole Caufield led Montreal with two points (1G 1A). Artemi Panarin scored New York’s only goal. Sam Montembeault got the win, saving 38 of 39 shots (.974%).
FACING OFF
New York is averaging 3.27 goals per game for the season, 13th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Canadiens team that is allowing 3.56 goals a game (27th).
Meanwhile, Montreal has found the net 2.69 times a game on average, 27th in the league, and the Rangers are allowing opponents to score 2.81 goals per game (11th).
Montreal averages fewer shots a game (27.8) than most teams in the league, ranking 30th. With an average of 31.9 attempts, New York ranks 16th.
The Canadiens’ 15.98% power play percentage is the third-worst in the league, while the Rangers rank 11th with a conversion rate of 22.28%. In terms of defending power plays, New York has the league’s 17th-ranked PK% at 78.77%, while Montreal is 26th at 74.53%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 69 and 67 points this season, Panarin and Mika Zibanejad have been the top skaters for the Rangers. Panarin is among the league leaders with his 50 assists (9th). In the net, Shesterkin (27-11-7) is New York’s top goaltender by goals against average.
He has a 2.67 GAA and a .909% save percentage. Nick Suzuki leads the Canadiens in scoring with 49 points. He has 21 goals and 28 assists. Montembeault (12-13-2) has the best goals against average for Montreal at 3.30.
He has a save percentage of .905%. Allen (14-20-2) has played the most games in net for the Canadiens this season. He has a 3.36 GAA and a .897% save percentage.
HOME AND AWAY
New York is 18-8-5 away from home this season. Montreal is 14-15-2 at Bell Centre this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
NY Rangers -1.5 (-120)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
