The Montreal Canadiens host the New York Rangers at the Bell Centre as the 2017 NHL Playoffs open up on Wednesday night. The Canadiens are coming in strong having won six of their last eight games of the season. The same can't be said for the Rangers. After securing a wild card bid for most of the second half of the season, they lost 13 of their last 21 games. Montreal has won six of their last seven meetings with the New York Rangers, including a full season sweep this season -- all the games were played between January and early March. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM Eastern time and the contest can be seen on NBC Sports Network.
Rangers (4th Metropolitan [1st Wild Card], 48-28-6 overall, 27-12-2 road, 37-45 ATS)
Despite losing five of their last seven, New York comes in to the postseason after taking down Pittsburgh 3-2. After the Penguins scored the first goal of the contest, the Rangers responded with Ryan McDonagh getting one at the 13:54 mark of the first period. Derek Stepan got the next one on a power play roughly five minutes later. After Pittsburgh leveled it in the second period, New York got the game-winning goal at the 7:23 mark in the third period from Jimmy Vesey. Only one player, Penguins' Jean-Sebastien Dea, was called for a penalty in the contest.
Goaltender Antti Raanta (16-8-2) should be available despite dealing with a knee injury.
He last played against Los Angeles back on March 25th and picked up the victory with 30 saves.
Canadiens (1st Atlantic, 47-26-9 overall, 24-12-5 home, 43-39 ATS)
Montreal ended Detroit's finale at Joe Louis Arena with a 3-2 defeat in overtime. The Canadiens picked up a goal by Nathan Beaulieu on a power play early in the second period and then leveled the contest at 2-2 with a goal by Artturi Lehkonen.
Without any scoring in the third period, the game moved into overtime where Alex Galchenyuk got the final score at the 1:42 mark. After an even 26 shots on goal by both teams in regulation, Montreal had a 4-1 advantage in overtime.
Left wing Max Pacioretty (67 pts) is expected to be in the game despite taking a hard stick in the face last time out.
Defender Shea Weber (42 pts) is also probable as he's dealt with a lower-body injury. He last played against Tampa Bay on April 1st.
Betting on Rangers and Canadiens
Montreal is a -150 favorite on the moneyline at home while New York sits at +125. The goal total is set at 5. The Rangers are 0-4 in their last 4 road games against teams with a winning home record.
