Game 3 Preview: Rangers vs Canadiens – Ducharme Shuffles His Lines

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