Game 23 - Canadiens at Rangers

#MTLHockey Preview

Match Up

The league leading Montreal Canadiens (16-5-1) are in New York to face the Rangers (8-7-4) Sunday night at Madison Square Garden. The game is set to start at 7:00 and can be seen on RDS and City.

This is the second of three meetings between the Habs and Rangers this season, the two teams that faced off in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. Montreal already picked up a 3-1 victory on home ice earlier in the season on goals by Tomas Plekanec, Lars Eller, and Max Pacioretty.

What to Watch

Carey Price may have earned his second shutout of the season and league best 13th win Saturday against the Bruins, but Dustin Tokarski is expected to get the start Sunday in New York, his fifth of the season.

Like the Habs, the Rangers are also coming off a shutout performance by their goalie, and like the Habs, that goalie, Cam Talbot in this case, isn't expected to start on Sunday. Henrik Lundqvist is expected to start on Sunday. In 28 career regular season starts against the Habs, Lundqvist is 13-12-2 with a .897 save percentage and a 2.86 GAA.

What's at Stake

The Canadiens are hot and there's no sense slowing down now. With just one loss in their last nine games, the Habs have surged to the top of the standings and are building a healthy cushion on their competition. The Rangers have been struggling in November as well, posting a 3-3-4 record this month and a 2-3-2 record in their last seven.

Who's Out

The Habs are missing Michael Bournival (shoulder) but are otherwise healthy going into Sunday's game.

The Rangers are without their captain and former Habs prospect Ryan McDonagh (shoulder). They could also be without Lee Stempniak (back) who is listed as day to day.

What Else

Andrei Markov scored career goal number 100 Saturday night against the Bruins, becoming just the fourth Canadien and 86th NHL defenseman to hit that milestone. Markov is one of just three Russian-born defenseman to hit the mark, new teammate Sergei Gonchar is another, with 219 career goals to his credit.

The Question Mark

Given his wealth of options, how would you like to see Michel Therrien set his top six (or seven) defensemen?

Tonight's Show

Join host Steven Hindle along with Kosta Papoulias and Rob Elbaz for the Montreal Hockey Talk Pregame Show as we go live at 6:00 to preview the Canadiens and the Rangers.

Posted in: andrei markov,Cam Talbot,carey price,dustin tokarski,henrik lundqvist,lars eller,max pacioretty,ryan mcdonagh,Tomas Plekanec