CANADIENS AT RANGERS: 5 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

PAT HICKEY

Here are five things you should know about the Canadiens-Rangers game Tuesday at Madison Square Garden (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN Radio 690):

1. The matchup

This is the second half of a back-to-back set, and the Canadiens opened with a dramatic 4-3 shootout win over the Islanders Monday night. Montreal rallied from a 3-1 deficit and won it when Joel Armia scored on the first shootout attempt of his career. After a slow start, the Rangers have won three games in a row and are coming off a 3-1 home victory over the Buffalo Sabres Sunday night. That win boosted the Rangers’ record to 6-7-1 and they are only three points out of a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

2. Keep shooting Max

For a guy who’s not known as a goal-scorer, Max Domi is having a pretty good run. Domi scored a power-play goal Monday night against the Islanders and, after failing to score in Montreal first five games, he has a three-game goal streak and he has collected eight goals in the last nine games. To put his achievements in perspective, Domi scored only nine goals in each of the past two seasons with the Arizona Coyotes. Domi also added an assist on the Canadiens’ opening goal by Jonathan Drouin and he has 15 points in 14 games.

3. Special teams showing some improvement

When Domi scored his power-play goal, it ended a five-game drought for the Canadiens’ power play, which was on an 0-for-16 run when Domi scored. The Canadiens continue to have trouble establishing a net presence on the power play but they moved the puck with more authority on a night when they were 1-for-3. The penalty-killers were even more impressive as they faced three Islanders power plays and allowed only one shot on goal.

4. The goalies

While both teams are rebuilding with youngsters, they both rely on veteran goaltenders. Carey Price returns to the Canadiens’ net after taking a night off Monday in Brooklyn. Price isn’t being mentioned as a Vezina Trophy candidate this season with his 5-3-2 record with a 2.58 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage. He has a 16-6-1 career record against the Rangers with a 1.93 GAA and a .936 save percentage. Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers’ 36-year-old standout, has been on the losing end of many of those games Price won. His record against the Canadiens is 15-17-3 with a 2.79 GAA and a .901 save percentage.

5. The other guys

The Rangers have had difficulty generating offence this season. They rank 28th in the NHL with an average of 2.50 goals a game while the defence has been giving up 3.14 goal a game. Mika Zibanejad is the Rangers’ top scorer with 11 points, including five goals. Mats Zuccarello has three goals and 10 points while the team’s leading goal-scorer is Chris Kreider with six. He is best known to Montreal fans as the player who ran into Price and knocked him out of the Eastern Conference final in 2014. Jimmy Vesey had two goals against Buffalo and has five on the season.