Playoff Preview: Canadiens vs Rangers (Round 3, Game 4)

 
Match Up:

The Canadiens and Rangers hook up for Game 4 in the Eastern Conference Finals Sunday night in New York. The Habs are down 2-1 in the series with a chance to go home on even terms after dropping the first two games.

Dustin Tokarski outshone Henrik Lundqvist in Game 3, making 35 saves to help the Canadiens pick up a 3-2 overtime win. Alex Galchenyuk head-butted home the winning goal off a Tomas Plekanec rebound just 1:12 into overtime.

Sunday's game starts at 8:00 and airs on RDS and CBC.

What to Watch:

Daniel Briere scored his third goal of the postseason Thursday night, bring him up to 7 points in 13 games. Briere was skating on a line with Tomas Vanek and Rene Bourque and both wingers picked up assists on the goal. Andrei Markov found the back of the net for the first time in these playoffs, just his fourth career postseason goal in 68 games.

Laval-native Martin St. Louis picked up his fourth point of the series on Thursday with an assist on Carl Hagelin's goal. St. Louis has 2 goals and 2 assists against the Habs in these playoffs, but Dustin Tokarski was able to keep him goalless on Thursday despite 5 shots on goal and some prime scoring chances.

What's at Stake:

The Rangers out-shot and out-worked the Canadiens in Game 3, but the Habs still managed to get their first win of the series to give the team some life. They'll look to draw even with a win on Sunday and maybe even take a chunk out of the Rangers' confidence after they went up 2-0 in Montreal.

Who's Out:

The Habs are still without Carey Price (knee) who is expected to miss the rest of this series. Brandon Prust has been suspended for two games following a late hit on Derek Stepan in Game 3.

Stepan (jaw) is out for the Rangers but Derick Brassard (upper body) could return to the lineup after missing Games 2 and 3. Daniel Carcillo was served a 10-game suspension for abuse of the officials in Game 3.

What Else:

The Habs power play remained ice cold Thursday night, going 0-for-2 on the night and 0-for-9 on the series. Montreal converted 8 of their 25 man advantage opportunities against the Bruins last round over a goal a game. PK Subban and Thomas Vanek have 3 each of Montreal's 10 power play goals but neither has lit the lamp in this series.

The Question Mark:

Should the Canadiens continue to focus on the physical game with Prust out of the lineup?

Let us know what you think, send us your answers on Twitter by using the #MTLHockey hashtag, or leave a comment below.

The Montreal Hockey Talk Pregame Show starts an hour before puck drop, join the live conversation by using the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter. And don’t miss the Post Game Show starting 5 minutes after the final siren.

Posted in: alex galchenyuk,carey price,daniel briere,Derek Stepan,dustin tokarski,henrik lundqvist,martin st. louis,montreal canadiens,New York Rangers