Canadiens-Rangers Preview: 3 things you need to know

The Montreal Canadiens will get the chance to exorcise their demons from 2014 with a rematch against the New York Rangers.

The two clubs will meet in the first round of the playoffs three years after the Rangers defeated the Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Finals 4-2. The clubs enter the series as the tightest matchup of the eight in the first round, with the Canadiens finishing with just one point more than the Rangers.

The Canadiens have home-ice advantage and should head into the series with swagger after going 3-0-0 against the Rangers during the regular season, outscoring them by an 11-7 margin. However, anything can happen in the playoffs, so let's break this thing down:

Players to watch

Canadiens: Paul Byron

Few people would have predicted at the beginning of the year that the only Canadiens player to reach the 20-goal plateau this year besides captain Max Pacioretty would be Byron, but here we are.

Considering Byron had combined for 24 goals in his previous three seasons combined (166 games), it's safe to say this season was a breakout.

His season is all the more impressive when you add in that he scored 21 of his goals at even-strength and ranked 18th in the league in goals per 60 minutes with a 1.18 mark.

The playoffs usually come down to which team's depth players can rise to the challenge and the Canadiens certainly have an ace in Byron.

Rangers: Michael Grabner

Grabner was a goal away from tying Chris Kreider for the team lead in goals this season. Pretty impressive.

The 29-year-old scored his highest mark since potting a career-high 34 in 2011. In all, he finished with 27 tallies and 40 points and proved that his rough season in Toronto a year ago was a byproduct of playing on a bad team and having some bad luck.

Grabner could be very valuable in this series, not just because he can score, but because of his dynamic speed. It's no secret that the Canadiens elected to sacrifice speed for size and strength at the trade deadline, acquiring the likes of Dwight King, Jordie Benn, Steve Ott, and Andreas Martinsen.

Grabner's speed could give the Canadiens a lot of trouble and could help open things up for his teammates.

Weakest links

Rangers: Shot generation

While the Rangers didn't struggle to score goals this season - finishing with the fourth-highest goals per game - they did struggle to create chances.

The team finished with the 22nd-most shots per game, generating an average of 29.7 per contest. At 5-on-5, they had the sixth-worst Corsi For percentage behind the likes of Detroit and Colorado.

If scoring chances are going to be limited - on Carey Price for that matter - that could make for a dramatic drop in goals for the Rangers.

Canadiens: Goal scoring

Speaking of goal scoring, as mentioned above, just Pacioretty and Byron hit the 20-goal mark for the Canadiens this season.

The Canadiens finished in the middle of the pack in scoring, ranking 15th with 2.72 goals per game. Not terrible, but certainly not ideal.

A specific area of concern is with their expected big guns, Alex Galchenyuk, Tomas Plekanec, and Brendan Gallagher, who collectively scored just 37 goals after combining for 63 one season ago.

It's simple: These three must be better.

Prediction

In all likelihood, this series will go six or seven games. As mentioned off the top, these are two fairly even teams.

In saying that, it's safe to assume that - as with most playoff hockey - things are going to get really tight out there and scoring will be limited. It's for that reason that the Canadiens get the edge.

If games come down to one or two goals you have to give the advantage to the best goalie in the world in Price. He's had small dips in form during the regular season, but overall has been his same stellar self, especially of late. In 22 career games against the Rangers Price boasts a 15-5-1 record with a .940 save percentage, a 1.82 goals-against average, and seven shutouts.

Meanwhile, Henrik Lunqvist has put up career-worst numbers this season. Anything can happen, but as they say, defense wins championships.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)