The Montreal Canadiens are finally heading home. After taking two consecutive losses at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres, the Habs are set to square off against their original six rivals, the New York Rangers, in a jam packed Bell Center that will surely be rocking for the home opener.
The Rangers are coming in hungry this season with a new head coach in Gerard Gallant. Mika Zibanejad will no longer serve as a distraction as he signed a contract extension worth $8.5 million per year over 8 years. Their young and emerging stars in Alexis Lafreniere, Kappo Kaako, Adam Fox and goaltender Igor Shesterkin are expected to be a big part of the support cast led by Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba. An internal battle has emerged in The Big Apple as the Rangers enter the season without a captain for a third consecutive season. Panarin has already publicly declared that he does not want to don the “C” despite him being a popular choice amongst management and players.
Back home, Dominique Ducharme has shuffled his lines during this morning’s practice as the Canadiens were outscored 7-2, losing their first two games of the season. Hopefully this will spark some chemistry and give the players a boost as the team looks to capture their first win of the season at home.
Here are some notables for both teams:
Montreal Canadiens
2021-22 Record: 0-2-0 (0 Points) 7th in Atlantic Division
Head Coach: Dominique Ducharme
Captain: Shea Weber
Notable Injuries: Shea Weber (undisclosed – indefinite), Carey Price (torn meniscus + Player Assistance Program – indefinite), Paul Byron (hip Surgery – 2-3 months), Joel Edmundson (undisclosed – week-to-week), Mike Hoffman (lower body injury – (week-to-week), Sami Niku (Concussion – Indefinite)
Projected Lineup:
Forwards
Jonathan Drouin – Christian Dvorak – Josh Anderson
Joel Armia – Nick Suzuki – Cole Caufield
Tyler Toffoli – Jake Evans – Brendan Gallagher
Matthieu Perreault – Cedric Paquette – Artturi Lehkonen
Defence
Alexander Romanov – Jeff Petry
Ben Chiarot – David Savard
Brett Kulak – Chris Wideman
Goalies
Jake Allen
Samuel Montembeault
New York Rangers
2021-2022 Record: 0-1-1 (1 Points) 7th in Metropolitan Division
Head Coach: Gerard Gallant
Captain: None
Notable Injuries: Sammy Blais (Lower Body – Day-to-Day)
Projected Lineup:
Forwards
Alexis Lafreniere – Mika Zibanejad – Chris Kreider
Artemi Panarin – Ryan Strome – Kaapo Kakko
Barclay Goodrow – Filip Chytil – Julien Gauthier
Dryden Hunt – Kevin Rooney – Ryan Reaves
Defence
Ryan Lindgren – Adam Fox
K’Andre Miller – Jacob Trouba
Patrik Nemeth – Nils Lundkvist
Goalies
Igor Shesterkin
Alexandar Georgiev