Montreal Canadiens vs New York Rangers: Game Preview, Predictions, Odds, Betting Tips & more | April 7th, 2024

The New York Rangers (52-21-4, first in Eastern Conference) host the 15th-place Montreal Canadiens (29-35-12) at Madison Square Garden on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on TSN2, RDS and MSG 2.

New York clinched a 4-3 victory on the road against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday. Meanwhile, Montreal was defeated 4-2 by the Toronto Maple Leafs at home on Saturday.

Both teams are set to clash for the third time this season on Sunday. The Rangers, having won the last encounter 7-4, were led by Barclay Goodrow, who scored two goals.

Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Rangers: Game Preview

The Canadiens are averaging 2.72 goals per game and conceding 3.38, while their power play success rate is 17.6%.

Nick Suzuki leads Montreal with 33 goals and 41 assists, while Cole Caufield follows closely with 23 goals and 35 assists. Mike Matheson has contributed 45 assists. Cayden Primeau holds an 8-8-2 record in goal, boasting a 2.85 goals-against average and a save percentage of .910.

Conversely, the Rangers have a GF of 3.43 and a GAA of 2.78. Their power-play success rate is 25.9%.

Artemi Panarin is leading the team with 45 goals and an impressive 66 assists. Chris Kreider follows him with 37 goals and 32 assists, while Mika Zibanejad, a key offensive contributor, has 24 goals and 41 assists, and Vincent Trocheck has 25 goals and 50 assists.

Igor Shesterkin boasts a 33-16-2 record in goal, a 2.65 goals-against average and a save percentage of .911.

Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Rangers: Injury Report

For New York, Blake Wheeler is sidelined for the season due to a lower-body injury, while Filip Chytil is out for the year with an upper-body injury.

On the other hand, the Canadiens are dealing with several injuries that could impact their performance. Joshua Roy is out due to an upper-body injury. Kirby Dach is out for the season due to a knee injury, while Christian Dvorak is also sidelined with a pectoral injury.

Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Rangers: Head-to-head and significant numbers

The two teams have faced off 640 times in the regular season and playoffs combined. The New York Rangers are 228-264-103-9 against the Canadiens. In faceoffs, the Rangers have a 52.2% win rate and the Canadiens have a 51.7% win rate. The Rangers boast an 83.5% success rate on penalty kills, while the Canadiens have 76.9%.

Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Rangers: Odds and prediction

New York has won 42 of its 60 games as the odds favorite and has gone 2-3 with odds shorter than -353. The team has a 77.9% chance of winning this game.

Meanwhile, the Canadiens have been listed as underdogs in 70 outings and emerged victorious 24 times. With +274 odds or longer, they have a 1-2 record, giving them a 26.7% probability of winning this contest.

Prediction: Rangers 5-3 Canadiens

Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Rangers: Betting tips

Tip 1: Rangers to win.

Tip 2: Total goals over 5: Yes

Tip 3: Chris Kreider to score anytime: Yes

Tip 4: Artemi Panarin to score first: Yes

Tip 5: Canadiens to beat the spread: No