The New York Rangers (27-26-10, 64 points) are fresh off an overtime loss vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning and will take on the Montreal Canadiens (34-23-7, 75 points) in a Friday night Original Six matchup at Madison Square Garden.
The Blueshirts are 4-4-2 in their last 10 games, and put up a decent fight against the best team in the league on Wednesday. The Canadiens are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games, and are coming off an 8-1 drubbing of the Detroit Red Wings. Montreal currently hold the top wild card spot, and the Carolina Hurricanes (second wild card) and Pittsburgh Penguins (on the outside looking in) both have 74 points with a game in hand.