Game #33: Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Rangers Open Thread
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A couple of days after their embarrassing loss against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Rangers return to Madison Square Garden matched up against the Montreal Canadiens. Montreal comes into tonight's game in fourth place in the Atlantic Division. In their first of three matchups on the season, the Canadiens got the better of the Rangers, beating them 4-3.
Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan has taken Scott Morrow out of the lineup in place of Urho Vaakanainen. Jonny Brodzinski will also be watching from the press box in favor of Taylor Raddysh. The Blueshirts will stick with five forwards on the first power play unit but have switched out Will Cuylle for Alexis Lafrenière. Montreal is still without some of their top players. Kirby Dach, Kaiden Guhle, and Patrik Laine all remain out for the Canadiens.
Player to Watch: Vladislav Gavrikov
For the most part, Vladislav Gavrikov has been the shutdown defenseman he was advertised to be. He does a great job breaking up odd-man rushes, making smart decisions in the defensive zone, and everything else you want from a defensive defenseman.
When Adam Fox first went down, Gavrikov continued to look fine even playing next to Braden Schneider. The last few games have been a little bit of a different story. Gavrikov has struggled, and it has rippled across the entire defense. If he is able to return to the level of play he had earlier in the season, it will go a long way in helping the Blueshirts win tonight.
Enjoy the game!
