Biggest Game of the Year for Rangers About to Start!

For the Rangers, tonight's game is as close to a ‘must win’ as it can get without the risk of being immediately eliminated.  Florida has tied them for the last playoff spot in the East with three games remaining. 

For Montreal the game is also key, as they are only three points ahead of New York and Florida.  This original six match-up has the potential to be a great game.

The Rangers come into the game having played well, but not good enough to beat some tough teams.  Their scoring, which has been an issue from the start of the year, dried up completely against the Bruins on the weekend. 

They are back on home ice, however, where they have been red hot (6-1-0 in last seven games), and the crowd at MSG tonight will be rocking.  Captain Chris Drury seemed to encourage an especially strong welcome stating "When the Garden is loud and it's rocking, it can really pump up the team…for the opponent, it makes it a really tough place to play."

Montreal generally has a hard time playing in Manhattan; however, in their last game here they skated to an easy 6-3 victory.  They will be challenged to match that performance tonight, coming off a tough 3-2 loss vs. Ottawa 24 hours earlier and playing against a fresh Ranger team. 

Injuries to their leading scorer Andrei Markov and their key end of year acquisition Mathieu Schneider will make scoring a real challenge.  They will be counting on Kovalev, the NHL’s star of last week, to continue his strong play, and for Carey Price to backstop the team to another win.

Overall, New York has to be the favorite for the game, especially if they score first.  Be sure to catch the game if you can.