Canadiens vs. Rangers: Game thread, rosters, lines, and how to watch

Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Rangers

How to watch

Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: TSN2, TSN Direct (English), RDS, RDS Direct (French)
In the Rangers region: MSG2
Streaming: NHL.tv/NHL Live

The New York Rangers have made the decision to stick with their former new starting goalie tonight. Alexandar Georgiev had taken over from Henrik Lundqvist this season, then lost that spot when Igor Shesterkin made his roaring debut in the league. Now with Shesterkin out, Georgiev picks up where he left off.

He faces a Canadiens team with a lineup largely dictated by free-agency decisions and injuries. Today the Habs had to call up Charles Hudon to fill the spot vacated by Jonathan Drouin. It’s been clear that Drouin hasn’t been anywhere close to 100%, even if you didn’t see him clutching his wrist in pain on the bench last game. He’ll get more time off to try to recover, however long that takes.

The Rangers will be ocming at the makeshift Habs with a quality offensive group. The fact that they’re not sitting right at the bottom of the standings convinced them to re-sign Chris Kreider rather than trade him on Monday, seeing a competitive window opening up much sooner than they anticpated.

It definitely helps that Artemiy Panarin is playing like the superstar they wished for when he was signed. With 85 points in 61 games, he’s doing everything he can to pull the team into a playoff spot, and is the most dangerous player the Canadiens need to pay attention to tonight.

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup

New York Rangers projected lineup