New York Rangers (26-10-1, first in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Montreal Canadiens (16-17-5, sixth in the Atlantic Division)
Montreal, Quebec; Saturday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: The Montreal Canadiens host the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Rangers.
Montreal has a 16-17-5 record overall and a 7-10-2 record in home games. The Canadiens are fifth in the league with 166 total penalties (averaging 4.4 per game).
New York has a 26-10-1 record overall and a 13-5-1 record on the road. The Rangers have allowed 101 goals while scoring 125 for a +24 scoring differential.
Saturday's game is the first time these teams match up this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Nicholas Suzuki has 12 goals and 22 assists for the Canadiens. Josh Anderson has five goals and one assist over the past 10 games.
Artemi Panarin has 24 goals and 28 assists for the Rangers. Chris Kreider has scored six goals and added seven assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Canadiens: 4-4-2, averaging 3.1 goals, 4.8 assists, 3.6 penalties and 8.4 penalty minutes while giving up 3.3 goals per game.
Rangers: 7-3-0, averaging 3.7 goals, 6.6 assists, 3.1 penalties and 7.1 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game.
INJURIES: Canadiens: Kirby Dach: out for season (knee), Chris Wideman: out (back), Tanner Pearson: out (upper body), Carey Price: out (knee), Christian Dvorak: out for season (pectoral), Rafael Harvey-Pinard: out (lower body), Alex Newhook: out (lower body).
Rangers: Tyler Pitlick: out (lower body), Kaapo Kakko: out (undisclosed), Filip Chytil: out (upper-body).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press