Canadiens vs. Rangers: Game 4 prediction

The Rangers have fallen behind 2-1 in their series with the Canadiens, and will need to utilize home momentum to gain ground on Montreal.

The Rangers didn’t have many expectations going into this series, matching up with a tough Canadiens team in the opening round. They struggled at home all season, and would need Henrik Lundqvist to carry the team in net for the whole series.

However, New York managed to steal a game in Montreal in a typical impressive road performance, and almost pulled away 2-0 in the series headed back home, before an overtime loss in Game 2.

In Game 3, the Rangers found themselves back home in Madison Square Garden, where they were incredibly weak all season. Adding into the lack of performance at home in the regular season, New York has also fallen apart at home in the playoffs in their last few appearances. The Rangers are one loss away from tying the NHL record for most consecutive playoff losses at home, which is 7, and find themselves in a dire situation going into Tuesday night.

Henrik Lundqvist will need to contain the Canadiens’ offense better, giving up four goals (some unlucky, some off of basic mistakes) in Game 2, and three goals in a 3-1 loss in Game 3. A big piece of their success in Game 1 was their defense, shutting out the Canadiens on their way to a 2-0 win. The Rangers don’t have a lot of offense to work with, so their goaltender will have to keep Montreal’s offense to a minimum to succeed.

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Pick: Canadiens 2, Rangers 1

Unfortunately for New York, they couldn’t sweep their two road games with Montreal, and find themselves needing a win at home to keep the series in their favor. If it were any other team in this situation, there’d be faith to survive. However, the Rangers are historically bad at home, especially in the playoffs, and need a miracle to pull it out in Game 3.

The Canadiens have all the momentum and history in their favor, and should be safe to squeak by in Game 4.