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

Montreal Canadiens @ New York Rangers

How to watch

Start time: 7:30 PM EDT / 4:30 PM PDT
In Canada: Sportsnet East/Ontario (English)
In the Canadiens region: RDS (French)
In the Rangers region: MSG
Streaming: ESPN+, NHL Live, RDS Direct, Sportsnet Now

It’s finally here. The day many have been looking forward to, but few thought would actually come. The day that the Montreal Canadiens can wrap up the 32nd and final spot in the NHL standings. The day they can lock in the best odds of claiming the first overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

To do so, they simply need to do what they’ve done in each of the past nine games, and in 40 games before that: finish playing 60 minutes of hockey with fewer goals scored than the opposing team.

The task gets a bit more difficult with news that Adam Fox has been asked to sit this one out, so a player with 73 points won’t be helping the number go up on the New York Rangers’ side of the scoreboard. But Chris Kreider is a 50-goal-scorer this season looking to add to his total who won’t be adding to his total because he’s not playing either, and Alexis Lafrenière has been on a bit of run with points in his last five games, so there are still plenty of offensive weapons at New York’s disposal.

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup

Forwards

Defencemen

Goaltenders

New York Rangers projected lineup

Forwards

Defencemen

Goaltenders