With the Rangers off Friday, it's unknown who will be in goal for the Rangers Saturday night against the Habs.
Lundqvist has allowed two goals or fewer in six of his last seven appearances against the Canadiens at Madison Square Garden dating back to March 30, 2012.
Antti Raanta, meanwhile, is 2-0-0 in four games against the Canadiens in his career. In three of those as a Ranger, the netmidner is 1-0-0 with a 1.32 GAA and a .946 SV%.
Michael Grabner's status for Saturday is still unknown as of Friday. The winger missed Thursday's match with a hip injury he suffered in Wednesday's practice. If he cannot play, Buchnevich is expected to remain with the team and start in his place.
Saturday is the third and final meeting between these Original Six foes, and the second at The Garden. The Rangers are winless in the first two games but did pick up a point in the last meeting in a 3-2 shootout defeat back on Feb. 21.
Rick Nash leads all skaters with two goals in the season series.
Montreal enters Saturday's tilt winners of four straight, including a 2-1 win over the Nashville Predators Thursday night. The recent uptick for the Habs - who had struggled thus far under Claude Julien - has helped pad their lead over Ottawa in the Atlantic to six points as of Friday's action.
The Canadiens added plenty of size at the deadline by acquiring forwards Steve Ott from Detroit and Dwight King from Los Angeles, as well as defenseman Jordie Benn from Dallas.
Captain Max Pacioretty leads the team with 31 goals and 56 points, while Alexander Radulov's 31 assists and 46 points rank second.
After a slight dip, goaltender Carey Price has returned to form as of late with four wins in his last five starts, including three straight games in which he's allowed two goals or fewer. He made 26 saves on Tuesday in shutting out the Columbus Blue Jackets.
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