Entering play tonight, both the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers wish they could erase their games from the night before.
Montreal was in Washington where all it took was 20 seconds before captain Alex Ovechkin got his first of four goals on the night.
They wound up losing the game 6-1, with T.J. Oshie and Nathan Walker scoring the remaining two goals for Washington. Habs forward Brendan Gallagher scored the lone goal for Montreal, a shorthanded marker at 4:50 of the second period.
Habs goaltender Carey Price was pulled after the first period, allowing four goals on 14 shots. His counterpart, Braden Holtby for Washington made 38 saves for the win. Price wasn’t expected to start against the Rangers but with the early exit he will get his third straight start.
The Rangers were in Toronto where they faced a revitalized Maple Leafs squad beat New York 8-5. It was a tough outing for All-Star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who was pulled after the first period, letting in five goals on 17 shots. Despite the visiting Rangers coming back to tie the game at 5-5, Toronto’s offence was too much, and pulled away with three goals in the third.
How to watch
Puck drop: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In Canada: SN1 (English), RDS (French)
In the United States: NHLN-US, MSG+
Elsewhere: NHL.tv/NHL Game Centre Live, NHL Center Ice
Tale of the Tape
| Canadiens | Statistic | Maple Leafs |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3-0 | Record | 3-1-0 |
| 4-0-0* | H2H record | 0-4-0* |
| 60.4% | Corsi-for pct. | 56.8% |
| 5 | Goals for | 22 |
| 13 | Goals against | 16 |
| 0.38 | 5v5 goal ratio | 1.37 |
| 0% | PP% | 33.3% |
| 78.5% | PK% | 81.8% |
* – 2016-17 season
The matchup tonight will be the first time this young season the Habs and their playoff rival face off against each other since April 22. That was when New York eliminated the Canadiens with a 3-1 in Madison Square Garden.
This is also the final game in a mini three-game road trip to start the season for the Canadiens, who will return to Montreal for their home opener against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.
