Canadiens at Rangers preview

CANADIENS (12-11-6) at RANGERS (14-10-3)
7 p.m. ET; MSG, TSN2, RDS, NHL.TV

New York is 6-2-1 in its past nine games and 5-1-1 in its past seven home games. Alexandar Georgiev, who made 45 saves in a 3-2 win at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, will be back in goal for the Rangers.
Goalie Carey Price will start for the Canadiens after rookie Cayden Primeau made 32 saves in a 3-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche in his NHL debut Thursday.
Price is 1-5-1 with a 4.44 goals-against average and .849 save percentage in his past seven starts for Montreal, which has one win in its past 10 games (1-6-3).

Players to watch

Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher had a goal against the Avalanche and has four points (three goals, one assist) in his past five games.
Rangers forward Brendan Lemieux had a goal against the Blue Jackets and has three points (two goals, one assist) in a three-game point streak.

They said it

"It's nice to get right back at it in New York. And then if we get one tomorrow, then we'll get going."-- Canadiens forward Nick Cousins following the loss Thursday
"If we're going to have any success, we've got to be committed to playing defense and we weren't committed in that area at all tonight" -- Rangers coach David Quinn after his team allowed 47 shots on goal in a 3-2 win at the Blue Jackets on Thursday

Canadiens projected lineup

Tomas Tatar -- Phillip Danault -- Brendan Gallagher
Nick Cousins -- Max Domi -- Charles Hudon
Artturi Lehkonen -- Nick Suzuki -- Joel Armia
Matthew Peca -- Nate Thompson -- Jordan Weal
Ben Chiarot -- Shea Weber
Brett Kulak -- Jeff Petry
Otto Leskinen -- Cale Fleury
Carey Price
Cayden Primeau
Scratched:Mike Reilly
Injured:Jonathan Drouin (wrist), Paul Byron (knee), Victor Mete (ankle), Jesperi Kotkaniemi (upper body)

Rangers projected lineup

Brendan Lemieux -- Mika Zibanejad -- Kaapo Kakko
Artemi Panarin -- Ryan Strome -- Chris Kreider
Jesper Fast -- Filip Chytil -- Pavel Buchnevich
Greg McKegg -- Brett Howden -- Brendan Smith
Brady Skjei -- Jacob Trouba
Marc Staal -- Tony DeAngelo
Ryan Lindgren -- Adam Fox
Alexandar Georgiev
Henrik Lundqvist
Scratched:Micheal Haley
Injured:Libor Hajek (knee)

Status report

Neither team held a morning skate. ... Kotkaniemi did not travel with the Canadiens to New York after he sustained a concussion against the Avalanche. Hudon could play on the second line, with Suzuki shifting to third-line center in place of Kotkaniemi. ... Hajek was injured against the Blue Jackets and may not play. Staal, who has been out since Nov. 9 after having surgery for an ankle infection, would take his place. ... The Rangers assigned forward
Boo Nieves
to Hartford of the American Hockey League on Friday, meaning McKegg, who has been out with a lower-body injury, could return.

Stat pack

Zibanejad has 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in 25 games against Montreal. ... New York has 24 goals from defenseman, the most in the NHL. ... Danault has five points (one goal, four assists) in his past five games. ... The Rangers are 3-1-0 in the second game of back-to-back sets this season. The Canadiens are 1-3-2.