Habs would clinch last place in overall NHL standings with a regulation-time loss in New York.
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Here are five things you should know about Wednesday’s game between the Canadiens (20-49-11) and New York Rangers (51-23-6) at Madison Square Garden (7:30 pm, SNE, SNO, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).
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The end is near: This will be the second-to-last game of the season for the Canadiens, who will wrap things up Friday when the Florida Panthers visit the Bell Center. The Canadiens are in last place in the overall NHL standings, two points behind the Arizona Coyotes (23-50-7), who beat the Minnesota Wild 5-3 Tuesday night. The Canadiens, who have lost their last nine games, would clinch last place with a regulation-time loss to the Rangers. The Rangers are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games after a 4-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes Tuesday night and are in second place in the Metropolitan Division.
Montembeault’s future uncertain: Samuel Montembeault is expected to start in goal for the Canadiens, while Carey Price visits with the doctor in New York who performed knee surgery to repair his torn meniscus last July. “If I’m going to start, I’m just going to go in there and play all out,” said Montembeault, who can become a restricted free agent during the off-season. “I don’t know what the future holds for me, so it might be my last game as a Montreal Canadien… I don’t know. So I’m just going day-by-day and enjoy the moment right now.” Montembeault has a 7-18-6 record with a 3.79 goals-against average and a .892 save percentage. Price is 0-4 with a 4.04 GAA and an .853 save percentage and it looks like his season is over.
Rangers’ goalie shines: New York’s Igor Shesterkin has been outstanding with a 36-13-4 record, a 2.07 GAA and a .935 save percentage. The Rangers selected the Russian goalie in the fourth round (118th overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft. The 26-year-old is in the first season of a four-year, US$26-million contract with an annual salary-cap hit of $5,666 million.
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To 50-goal man: Canadiens fans will always remember the Rangers’ Chris Kreider for crashing into Price during Game 1 of the 2014 Eastern Conference final, knocking the goalie out of the series with a knee injury. The Rangers would go on to win the series in six games before losing to the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup final. With 52 goals this season, the 30-year-old Kreider is one of four players in the NHL who have hit the 50-goal mark. The others are Toronto’s Auston Matthews (60), Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl (55) and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin (50). Kreider’s previous career high for goals was 28. The Rangers selected Kreider in the first round (19th overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft, one pick after the Canadiens took Louis Leblanc.