The Montreal Canadiens (43-21-10) will face the New York Rangers (31-35-9) on Thursday night, with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
This will be the third and last time these teams will face each other, with Rangers having won both the previous matches. They were relatively close games, with New York emerging with wins 4–3 in October and 5–4 in December. A lot has changed since then. The Canadiens are close to qualifying for the playoffs, while the Rangers were the second team to be officially eliminated from playoff contention.
As far as Thursday's meeting is concerned, we can expect another high-scoring affair from the Habs. With 3.31 goals per game (all situations), the Canadiens are third in the NHL in G/PG, while the Rangers are a bottom-12 team in goals allowed (3.09). That being said, the Canadiens are also allowing roughly the same amount of goals per game, a good reminder that the team needs to strengthen its defensive game before the playoffs begin.
Goals are fun, and comebacks are entertaining, but a seven-game series is an entirely different animal. Defensive opponents are quickly taken advantage of.
Lineup Changes
Rookie netminder Jacob Fowler will face the Rangers looking for their third straight win. It should also be noted that Fowler and Jacob Dobbs both now have save percentages above .900, a complete reversal in goaltending fortunes in Montreal. The first-year goaltenders deserve a lot of credit, but the team's new goaltending guru Marco Marciano also deserves credit.
Since Marciano's arrival, the numbers have continued to improve, to the point where it would be fair to suggest that hiring him in Montreal could have saved the season.
Three injured players took the ice Thursday morning, but Kirby Dach, Alexandre Carrier and Alexandre Texier are not expected to be in uniform as the Canadiens take on the Rangers.
Alexandre Carriere, Alexandre Texier and Kirby Dach are on the ice in full equipment this morning in Brossard.@DLCoulisses #GoHabsGo #Roof #carrier #texier pic.twitter.com/TVc0j0lup2
- Patrick Guillet (@PatGuillet) 2 April 2026
Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup
Cole Coffield - Nick Suzuki - Juraj Slafkowski
Alex Newhook - Oliver Kapanen - Ivan Demidov
Zach Bolduc - Jake Evans - Josh Anderson
Joe Veleno - Philip Danault - Brendan Gallagher
Mike Matheson - Noah Dobson
Jaden Struble- Lane Hutson
Caden Guhle - Arbor Zekaj
jacob fowler
New York Rangers projected lineup
Gabe Perreault - Mika Zibanejad - Alexis Lafreniere
Ty Carthaye - JT Miller - Connor Sherry
Will Quayle - Vincent Trocheck - Adam Sikora
Johnny Brodzinski - Noah Laba - Jaroslav Chmeler
Vladislav Gavrikov - Adam Fox
Drew Fortescue - Braden Schneider
Matthew Robertson - Will Borgen
Igor Shesterkin
How to watch Hubs Vs. rangers
Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Rangers on Thursday, April 2, 2026 will be broadcast on RDS and TSN2. A quick recap with highlights will be available on SportsNote once the final whistle blows.
