Rangers bid to continue steady ascent in clash vs. Canadiens

The New York Rangers still will have a huge mountain to climb when they visit the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday night, but the journey's distance is not as large as it was when the calendar flipped to 2025.

Thanks to a 1-0 shootout win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, the Rangers have points in seven consecutive games (5-0-2). They sit three points behind the Ottawa Senators, who hold the Eastern Conference's second wild-card spot.

The plummet as far down the standings as the bottom of the conference was a huge surprise for a Rangers team that finished atop the league last season.

"Winning games, confidence is coming back. It is back," forward Vincent Trocheck said. "We're just playing better hockey all around. Whenever you play smarter, better hockey, you feel more confident about your game, going into games, going into second or third periods when you're down."

New York needed a perfect performance from goaltender Igor Shesterkin to defeat the Blue Jackets, but the Rangers were the dominant squad after being outplayed in the first period.

A team that appeared to be in disarray a few weeks ago showed the poise and execution expected of the Rangers.

"You ask any team when they're winning games, there's a lot better vibe and a lot better energy," defenseman Adam Fox said. "It would be easy for us to pack it in when we were dropping in the standings, but we know the kind of team we have, and now we're taking it game by game and trying to work our way back up the standings."

The Canadiens, who are one point ahead of the Rangers, have some regrouping to do after a stunning loss on Saturday.

Montreal had a 3-0 first-period lead, which included a pair of goals nine seconds apart, before surrendering seven consecutive goals in a 7-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"I don't think we've been in many situations where we're up three," Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. "We did plenty of things early in the second period to be up more than three. Unfortunately, we didn't. You have to give them credit for that. They get two big goals in that second period, and now it's a game.

"I felt comfortable going into the third period, up a goal. I wasn't worried. It was a tough start, we got the penalties and they got the momentum."

As surprising as it was for the Canadiens to stake their three-goal edge, it was more shocking how it all fell apart.

The visiting Maple Leafs finally got on the board just before the game's midway point, made it a one-goal game late in the second period, and then drew even 24 seconds into the final frame.

The Canadiens, who went into the clash having earned points in six consecutive games and on an 11-2-1 roll, could not stop the avalanche.

"The best thing about it is we play (Sunday) night," forward Josh Anderson said.

The biggest highlight for the Canadiens is the continued scoring exploits of Patrik Laine, who got his 11th goal of the season and 10th on the power play, all in just 17 games.

--Field Level Media