Canadiens vs Rangers

Goaltending plays an integral part in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. With the competition intense and so even, the men protecting each goal often are the difference in a series. NHL.com broke down the compelling Eastern Conference Final rematch of the 2014 Sochi Olympics gold-medal game between Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers and Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens.

Much like many goaltending coaches will do before a playoff series, NHL.com correspondent Kevin Woodley, the managing editor of InGoal Magazine, used the 360 Save Review System software from Double Blue Sports Analytics to chart every goal scored against each goalie in this matchup this season, and he came to some interesting conclusions about their strengths and weaknesses.

BROSSARD, Quebec -- Daniel Briere has reached the stage in his career when he's a role player. He knows it. He accepts it.

Briere is one of the top Stanley Cup Playoff performers of his generation, perhaps of all time, but he has been relegated to fourth-line center for the Montreal Canadiens in their run to the Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers.

Game 1 is at Bell Centre on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, RDS).

Briere provides coach Michel Therrien with instant offense off the bench and an edge in the matchup with virtually any opposing fourth line. There aren't too many teams that can afford to have a player with Briere's skill set at the bottom of the lineup, a role he plays without complaint because he has his eyes on the Stanley Cup, which he hasn't won during his 17 NHL seasons.

"Look, I'm at a different stage of my career," Briere said after practice Friday. "I don't have 10 years left. I don't have a Cup, obviously. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get one.

"So that's part of the challenge for me, to stay ready."

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Sitting in a locker stall Thursday, New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist jumped out of the line of fire for the first time in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, sidestepping a question about his history at Bell Centre in Montreal.

"It's so long ago since I played there, so I don't even remember," Lundqvist said.

Lundqvist hasn't played in Montreal since Jan. 15, 2012, serving as the Rangers backup in four straight games at Bell Centre. He hasn't won in the building since March 17, 2009.

In four appearances there since his prior win, Lundqvist is 0-3-1 with an .862 save percentage and 4.63 goals-against average. Canadiens goalie Carey Price is 4-1-0 with three shutouts and two goals allowed (149 saves on 151 shots) in his past five games against the Rangers.

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- The New York Rangers have won consecutive seven-game series on their way to the 2014 Eastern Conference Final, which starts against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday with Game 1 at Bell Centre (1 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, RDS).

To get this far they've received clutch scoring from a variety of sources, sound defensive play and world-class goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist.

One thing they have not received is a single goal from forward Rick Nash, who led the Rangers during the regular season with 26 goals. It's a frustrating stretch for a player long considered among the NHL's elite scorers, but it has been made bearable by team success and Nash's ability to find other ways to contribute.

"The chances are coming here and there, the defensive game has been solid," Nash said after New York's practice Friday. "I've been focusing on that a bit, but I need to start scoring."

For additional insight into the Stanley Cup Playoff series between the New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens, NHL.com has enlisted the help of former NHL coach Craig Ramsay to break down the action. Ramsay will be checking in throughout the series.

Ramsay played in more than 1,000 NHL games with the Buffalo Sabres before going on to coach the Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers and Atlanta Thrashers. In the 2000 Stanley Cup Playoffs he led the Flyers to the seventh game of the Eastern Conference Final. Ramsay most recently was an assistant coach with the Florida Panthers.

Defensemen P.K. Subban and Ryan McDonagh should be as important to the New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens as goalies Carey Price and Henrik Lundqvist in the Eastern Conference Final, longtime NHL coach and player Craig Ramsay said.

Game 1 of the best-of-7 series is Saturday at Bell Centre (1 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, RDS).

"To me it's going come down to the defensemen who jump up and join rushes," Ramsay told NHL.com. "It will come down to one special player beyond the goalies."

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- A matter of hours after learning they would be playing the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Final, the New York Rangers were already looking forward to Game 1 on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, RDS).

Most Rangers did not participate in New York's optional skate Thursday, leaving plenty of free time to get excited about the next round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"It's going to be an exciting series. I've been fortunate enough to play in the playoffs up there, there's really nothing like it," forward Brad Richards said. "I can't wait to get up there."

It's the 15th time the Original Six franchises will play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs; they split the first 14 matchups, with the most recent series coming in 1996.

Each team arrived after rallying from deficits to win their second-round series in seven games.

Montreal trailed the Boston Bruins 3-2 but got outstanding goaltending from Price in the final two games. The Rangers were down 3-1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins but came together as a team, and with Lundqvist backstopping their defensive effort won three in a row to advance to the conference final for the second time in three years.

The Canadiens won two of three regular-season games but the season series saw a total of four goals scored. Price stopped 74 of 75 shots in two games, and Lundqvist allowed two goals on 27 shots in his one game against the Canadiens.

Carey Price had to beat Henrik Lundqvist to lead Canada to a gold medal at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. For the Montreal Canadiens to make their first Stanley Cup Final since 1993, he'll have to do it again.

Price and Lundqvist are the biggest reasons their teams, the Canadiens and New York Rangers, will meet in the Eastern Conference Final, beginning Saturday in Montreal (1 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, RDS). The series will offer a goaltending rematch of the Olympic gold-medal game, in which Price led Canada past Sweden and Lundqvist.

Each has excelled in this season's Stanley Cup Playoffs, leading his team to a come-from-behind victory in a seven-game Eastern Conference Second Round series that ended with a road victory. The Rangers, who finished second in the Metropolitan Division, overcame a 3-1 series deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins after beating the Philadelphia Flyers in seven games in the opening round. The Canadiens, third in the Atlantic Division, won Games 6 and 7 to overtake the Boston Bruins after a first-round sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

NEW YORK – The National Hockey League today announced that the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs Conference Finals will begin Saturday, May 17, with Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final between the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers.

The starting time for Game 1 on Saturday is 1 p.m. ET at Bell Centre in Montreal. The game will be televised in Canada by CBC and RDS and seen exclusively on NBC in the U.S.

Further information on the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs Conference Finals schedule will be released soon.