Emil Heineman will wear the Canadian uniform for the third time, but for the first time at the Bell Centre. When the New York Rangers visit, Martin St-Louis will return to a more traditional formation of twelve forwards and six defensemen.
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The Journal offers five things to keep an eye on in this clash with the best team in the Eastern Association.
1 – Kovacevic in the stands
Johnathan Kovacevic will follow a third game this season via the press channel. Kovacevic had played the last three games in a formation with seven defenders. He only played 8:26 in the 6-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
Once again, Jayden Struble maintained his spot in the top six on the blue line.
2 – Montembeault in front of the net
Jake Allen against the Sabres, Samuel Montembeault against the Rangers. In 2024, the rotation will continue as in 2023 with the Habs goaltenders.
Jonathan Quick will be the starting goalie in Rangers camp. In his first season with the Blue Shirts, Quick found the fountain of youth with a 9-2-1 record, a 2.41 GAA and a .917 save percentage.
3 – Harvey-Pinard in training
Martin St-Louis entrusted his players to optional training on Saturday morning. Rafaël Harvey-Pinard was among the players present. As a sign of his return to the game in the coming days, he wore a red sweater of the same color as several of his teammates.
Harvey-Pinard has not played since November 14th due to a lower body injury.
4 – The Panarin Threat
There is nothing new with Artemi Panarin. He still remains one of the most dangerous wingers in the NHL. Panarin leads the Rangers with 53 points (24 goals, 29 assists) in 37 games. Mika Zibanejad follows him in this category, but remains quite far behind with 38 points.
5 – The Trouba Train
St. Louis has described the Rangers as one of the NHL's best teams due to their dominance on special teams. They rank 2nd in numerical superiority (30.4%) and 7th in numerical penalty (84.1%). But that's not the only thing that makes the Rangers an impressive team.
In terms of toughness, they have one of the most physical defenders in Jacob Trouba. The New York captain has already distributed 87 hits.
“When you play like a player like him, you have to say something about it,” St-Louis said. The same applies when facing Gudas (Radko). »