New York Rangers vs. Montreal Canadiens Preview, Pick, Scores, Results

New York Rangers vs. Montreal Canadiens

Sports Interaction’s series odds: Canadiens -166, Rangers +126

Sports Interaction’s daily NHL odds here.

Montreal Canadiens:

The Canadiens proved to everyone that speed can beat brawn in their series win against the Bruins, but now they’ll face a Rangers team that’s very similar to their own. Montreal is getting contributions throughout the lineup and as expected, excellent goaltending from Carey Price. This is a team that’s hitting its stride at the perfect time. Thomas Vanek is coming around and Max Pacioretty has his confidence back after scoring in Game 6 and Game 7. The big edge the Habs over the Rangers is on the power play. Montreal converts about 26 percent of its man advantages and also leads the playoffs averaging 3.37 goals per game overall.

New York Rangers:

The New York Rangers finally earned a well-deserved break before the Conference finals after needing seven games to advance in each of their first two series. New York is playing its heart out for Martin St. Louis and he’ll be playing in front of his family and friends in Montreal. Maybe that’s what the Rangers need to get a win at the Bell Centre after scoring just twice in their last seven games in Montreal. However, the Rangers have won each of their last three playoff games at the Bell Centre. Now that Chris Kreider is back, New York has three balanced scoring lines and a fourth line that just shut down Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Henrik Lundqvist might be playing the best hockey of his career and the Rangers know how big of an opportunity this is after losing in the Eastern Conference finals two years ago.

Key factors:

Special teams. New York won’t be able to keep up with Montreal unless it gets some production from the power play. These teams are so closely matched in so many areas – goaltending, forwards, defence. It’s going to come down to which team converts on its big opportunities.

Prediction:

Seriously, flip a coin. These teams are almost mirror images of each other so whichever club gets a couple of breaks will likely move on. Montreal earned the win over Boston, but remember how man goal posts the Bruins hit too. That series was very close while the Rangers likely outplayed Pittsburgh in five of their seven games. We haven’t seen the best of the Rangers yet and Rick Nash could be a huge factor if he scores early in this series. I think the Habs may have peaked with their win over Boston. New York seems to be just gaining momentum.

 Pick: New York Rangers win in six games.