Montreal Canadiens (22-23-8, sixth in the Atlantic Division) vs. New York Rangers (34-16-3, first in the Metropolitan Division)
New York; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: The New York Rangers host the Montreal Canadiens with a five win streak on the line.
New York has a 34-16-3 record overall and an 18-7-0 record on its home ice. The Rangers have conceded 145 goals while scoring 171 for a +26 scoring differential.
Montreal has gone 11-9-5 in road games and 22-23-8 overall. The Canadiens serve 10.8 penalty minutes per game to rank sixth in NHL play.
Thursday's game is the second time these teams square off this season. The Canadiens won 4-3 in a shootout in the previous matchup. Nicholas Suzuki led the Canadiens with two goals.
TOP PERFORMERS: Mika Zibanejad has scored 16 goals with 32 assists for the Rangers. Jimmy Vesey has four goals over the last 10 games.
Michael Matheson has seven goals and 32 assists for the Canadiens. Suzuki has seven goals and seven assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rangers: 6-3-1, averaging 2.9 goals, 5.1 assists, 2.9 penalties and 6.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.2 goals per game.
Canadiens: 4-5-1, averaging three goals, five assists, five penalties and 14.1 penalty minutes while giving up 3.7 goals per game.
INJURIES: Rangers: Filip Chytil: out for season (upper-body).
Canadiens: Kirby Dach: out for season (knee), Christian Dvorak: out (pectoral), Jordan Harris: day to day (upper body), Rafael Harvey-Pinard: out (lower-body).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by and data from .
The Associated Press
