1/11/11 Rangers vs. Canadiens

I lift things up and put them down.

Rangers against the Montreal Canadiens.

Tonights game will mark the start of a four game series between these two teams. The Rangers and Canadiens are separated by four points in the Eastern conference, separated by Atlanta who sits at seventh place.

The Rangers are riding a three game in streak into the Garden tonight. The Rangers have had quite a bit of trouble with injuries lately, most recently losing Alex Frolov for the season. But, faster than anyone anticipated, Glen Sather made a move that sent veteran defenseman Michal Rozsival to Phoenix in exchange for left winger Wojtek Wolski. It is possible that Wolski can make his debut tonight, but not confirmation has been released. Regardless, the Rangers have been doing all that it takes to win their past few games and are riding some good momentum. Brandon Dubinsky has two goals and seven assists in his last eight games, and Henrik Lundqvist has gotten a chance to rest and prepare for tonights game after sitting out in St. Louis and letting Martin Biron take the reigns or a night.

The Canadiens look to extend their win streak to three games tonight, and gain some ground on the ever approaching Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern conference standings. The Canadiens have had a very good powerplay as of lately, going on 5 of their last 15 attempts. The Canadiens also have plenty of players over the 10 goal mark in Brian Gionta, Tomas Plekanec, Andrei Kostitsyn, and Mike Cammalleri. Although, Mike Cammalleri will not be seeing ice time tonight for he is out with an undisclosed ailment. However, it is fairly evident that the Canadiens prefer playing in their home arena rather than away. The Canadiens' home record is 14-5-3, while their home record is 9-11-0. That may not be a big deal, considering its only two games difference, but it could be a factor in their play tonight.

My Diagnosis


This is yet another close call to make. The Rangers and Canadiens are fairly matched teams, and both are looking to stay in the hunt for the playoffs. In all, I think it will come down to goaltending tonight. I believe a lot of shots are going to be taken in this game, and Henrik Lundqvist and Carey Price (assuming he dosen't B-Boy himself too hard) are going to have to be sharp in order to keep their clubs in the game.

My Predictions


Rangers win 20-1

Ha, just kidding Marius.

Rangers win 3-2.

Brian Gionta will score the opening goal for the Canadiens early in the first.
Brandon Dubinsky will get the first goal for the Rangers also in the first.
Derek Stepan will get the second goal for the Rangers coming half way through the 2nd period.
The final goal for the Rangers will be scored by Ruslan Fedotenko also in the 2nd.
And finally, Tomas Plekanec will get the final goal for the Canadiens, the only goal of the 3rd period.

Auf Weidersehen y'all!