11/5/11 Rangers vs. Montreal Canadiens

You're out of your element, Donny.

Rangers against the Montreal Canadiens.

First off, I'd like to exclaim my excitement for this game because it is going to be my first Rangers game I attend this season! I am excited to see the new Garden, Richards, and the game! It's going to be SWEET!

Now that I've composed myself, onto predicting the game. The Rangers managed to pull a win away from the Anaheim Ducks in a shootout. Marian Gaborik, who is not an avid shootout ace, tucked it past Jonas Hiller after juking him out of position , leaving it to Henrik Lundqvist to stone Bobby Ryan to seal the two points for the Rangers, keeping them up in the standings. The Rangers have been finding their scoring touch as of recently, after having five goals from four different players against the Sharks earlier this week, and having defenseman Jeff Woywitka get the lone goal for the Rangers against the Ducks. Everyone seems to be gaining that cohesiveness that the Rangers showed last season, and they're doing it at the right time, too. The standings are doing a ton  of shuffling every night, and in order to not be left behind, the Rangers need these points. After giving Lundqvist some time off, he only allowed one goal in his game against the Ducks (not counting Selanne's shootout goal). Letting Martin Biron take the net for two games will prove to be a good move for Lundqvist's sake because now he has had time to center himself, and will be at a higher peak of performance tonight because of it.



The Canadiens have nearly wiped away the stain of their dreadful start by winning four game straight, most recently beating the Ottawa Senators last night 2-1. Tomas Plekanec, Max Pacioretty, and Andrei Kostitsyn have taken the reigns for the Canadiens, all of which have four goals. Carey Price has looked like the clutch self he can be at times during this streak, and there is no question the Canadiens are going to be competitive tonight.

As far as injuries go, the Rangers will still be without Marc Staal. Along with him, the Rangers will sit Mike Rupp, who is to have surgery on hi knee, and Wojtek Wolski who sits with a nagging groin injury. For the Canadiens, Andrei Markov and Chris Campoli will both be sitting with injuries.

Some bigger stories for tonight's game are that Sean Avery will be making his debut this season after going through waivers and being re-picked up by the Rangers to come in and give spark to this team who has needed it desperately. Chants of his name have been a nightly affair in the Garden ever since the home opener to show how much the fans wanted him back to give a jump to the team. Needless to say, there will be many more chants tonight. Along with that, it is my unfortunate news to report that ex-Rangers Scott Gomez, who was traded to Montreal for young up-and-coming defenseman Ryan McDonagh, will not be in the game tonight due to an upper body injury. this upsets me because I was really looking forward to letting Gomez hear how much I appreciated his time here in New York and how much I miss him...

The Diagnosis


I'm going to play the fatigue card on the Canadiens tonight. After playing the Senators last night, then having to travel to the Garden today, I feel as if the Canadiens are going to be the less agile team, as the Rangers have been given a day to rest. If the Rangers can play their hard-hitting style of play, it can help them to a victory tonight.

The Prediction


Rangers win 3-1

Brad Richards will get the first goal early in the 1st period.
Brad Richards will get the second goal for the Rangers coming late in the 2nd period.
Andrei Kostitsyn will score to pull the Canadiens within one half way through the 3rd.
And finally, Brandon Dubinsky will get the empty-netter to seal the victory.

For anyone who is attending the game, I am unaware of which section I will be in at the moment. All I can say is, if you see a guy wearing a vintage Phoenix Coyotes jersey, I will be the one with him in the Lundqvist jersey. I'm not joking. Enjoy the game!