The Montreal Canadiens’ season is drawing to a close, with only six games remaining before tonight’s match.
On this Sunday evening, we were all looking forward to the duel between Arber Xhekaj and the colossus Matt Rempe of the New York Rangers.
Unfortunately, Xhekaj was injured and missed not only his match against Rempe, but also against Ryan Reaves and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
Justin Barron was called up to replace #72, and it’s still Barron who’s making up for his loss.
Here’s the Habs line-up for the game against the Rangers.
Tonight’s lineup
Tonight’s lineup#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/ywHE6Bxts9
– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) April 7, 2024
Cayden Primeau was back in net, having relieved Samuel Montembeault the day before.
This was Joel Armia’s 500th career game, and Cole Caufield’s 200th.
This is definitely Joel Armia’s week. The Montreal representative for the Bill-Masterton Trophy is playing his 500th career game tonight. #rds
– Luc Gelinas (@LucGelinasRDS) April 7, 2024
Even if we weren’t treated to a heavyweight battle between Xhekaj and Rempe, the first half was full of emotion.
There were some great scoring chances on both sides, especially for the Rangers, who led 16-11 in shots on goal.
However, it was the Habs who were the only ones to score.
You guessed it, it was Cole Caufield who opened the scoring late in the period with his 24th goal of the season on a David Savard shot return. Mike Matheson also picked up an assist on the goal.
A gift for his 200th NHL game 
Nice way to celebrate his 200th NHL game#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/lD2JTCYmKt
– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) April 7, 2024
So it was 1-0 after 20 minutes of play.
The Rangers took advantage of a power play in the second half of the period and capitalized on that chance.
Mika Zibanejad scored his 25th goal of the season, assisted by Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox.
It was the only goal of the period, making it 1-1 after two periods.
With just under four minutes remaining in the third period, Carey Price ‘s favorite of the Bell Centre crowd, Chris Kreider, gave his team the lead for the first time in the game.
Panarin and Zibanejad picked up an assist.
The Rangers’ big guns woke up, as Artemi Panarin picked up his third point of the game with his 46th goal of the season.
Alexis Lafrenière and Braden Schneider were credited with an assist.
With just under eight minutes to play in the final period, Alex Newhook revived the Habs’ hopes by cutting the deficit to a single goal.
What a pass from Matheson, who picked up his second point of the game.
Mike Matheson at his best + Alex Newhook at his best.
They make the game interesting. 3-2 now. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/PTBRBAJZZk
– Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) April 8, 2024
Unfortunately for the Sainte-Flanelle, Zibanejad restored his club’s two-goal lead, assisted by Jimmy Vesey.
Alexis Lafrenière nailed the coffin with a goal in an empty net.
Final score: 5-2 New York Rangers
The Montreal Canadiens’ next game is next Tuesday, April 9, against the poor Philadelphia Flyers.
Extension
– Cayden Primeau was once again solid in front of the net. The 24-year-old made a number of fine saves, stopping 41 of the 45 shots he faced.
– The special units hurt the Habs in this game. The Rangers scored twice on the power play on three occasions.
– Once again, the Tricolore struggled in the face-off circle. The Rangers posted a 59% efficiency rate in this game.
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