Game #78: Montreal Canadiens vs New York Rangers Open Thread

Another day, another Original Six matchup for Peter Laviolette’s squad. The Rangers are back home for the third and final meeting of the season with the Montreal Canadiens tonight. For as crowded as the playoff picture is towards the middle of the Eastern Conference, Les Habitants are not part of that crowd as they’ve already been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.

Montreal played host to Toronto on Saturday, and fell by a 4-2 score. The Rangers will have the advantage of fresh legs over their opponents concluding a back to back set, and coach Laviolette has opted for lineup changes ahead of tonight’s game. Jack Roslovic and Erik Gustafsson are slated to sit as healthy scratches while Matt Rempe and Zac Jones draw into the lineup in their places. The personnel changes have resulted in some line changes as well, giving one player a major opportunity tonight…

Player to Watch: Jimmy Vesey

Vesey will be skating on the top line alongside Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider in place of Roslovic. The trade deadline acquisition has been up and down as the latest linemate to New York’s dynamic duo, so he’ll be taking a seat while Vesey gets a look atop the lineup. Keep an eye on Vesey to see how well he gels with Kreider and Zibanejad.

Enjoy the game!