The Rangers travelled to Montreal riding a five game road losing streak. Going into the game, the Rangers knew they had to be at their best especially since they were in the Bell Centre, an arena that has not been hospitable to New York. With this the first of back-to-back games, coach David Quinn opted to start Alexandar Georgiev.
Montreal played as if their loss at Madison Square Garden was fresh in their memory. They swarmed from the opening faceoff, using their speed to force the play in the Rangers zone. It was fast hockey with both teams exchanging chances.