When: Monday, Nov. 25 at 6 p.m. CT
Where: Madison Square Garden in New York, NY
Watch: FanDuel Sports Network
Listen: 101 ESPN, Blues App
QUICK HITS
BLUES The St. Louis Blues (9-12-1) dropped their 12th game of the season on Saturday night to the New York Islanders, 3-1. The following morning, President and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced the dismissal of Drew Bannister and hiring of Jim Montgomery as the team's new bench boss.
Montgomery signed a five-year contract to become the 28th head coach in franchise history.
In a press conference on Sunday, Armstrong explained that the change was motivated by the opportunity to bring in a distinguished coach like Montgomery, who became available after his release by the Bruins less than a week ago.
“When I woke up Wednesday morning, there was no inclination to make a coaching change,” Armstrong said. “And then when Jim got let go in Boston, it certainly was someone that I’ve respected, someone I admired, someone I felt had all the attributes to be a long-term coach for the Blues. And it started down that process. So, this was more of an opportunity to get someone of Jim’s caliber than anything else.”
Montgomery is no stranger to St. Louis as he was an assistant on Craig Berube’s staff from 2020-22 before taking over in Boston. During Montgomery’s first season with the Bruins in 2022-23, he earned the Jack Adams Award for coach of the year after breaking the record for most wins by a coach in their first season with a team (65). Prior to his time in St. Louis, Montgomery led the Dallas Stars for two seasons. He holds a 180-84-33 record as an NHL head coach.
One thing Montgomery will look to improve is the team's production on offense. Saturday night marked the 13th time in 22 games that the Blues have scored two goals or fewer. Following the loss, forward Pavel Buchnevich expressed his frustration with the team’s inability to produce offensively.
“We score two goals a game,” Buchnevich said. “We can’t win the games like that. Our goalies have to stop 50 shots every game, it’s impossible. Our team has good players and we’re not scoring. We've got to figure out offense. Offense is our biggest issue, impossible to win with one and two goals. Just impossible.”
The lone goal on Saturday night against the Islanders belonged to Jake Neighbours on the power play. This marked Neighbours’ second power-play goal this year, with his first coming Tuesday in a 4-2 loss against the Minnesota Wild.
Montgomery's chance to put his mark on the Blues starts Monday as they face off against the New York Rangers for the first time this season.
RANGERS The New York Rangers (12-6-1) are coming into Monday night’s matchup on a two-game losing streak, most recently falling to the Edmonton Oilers 6-2 on Saturday.
Forward Artemi Panarin was responsible for both Rangers goals late in the second and third periods, his 11th and 12th goals on the season.
The Rangers had a relatively quiet offseason, making minimal changes to last season's playoff roster. The main addition was forward Reilly Smith, who was acquired via trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins. In his 859 career games, Smith has 524 points (316 goals, 308 assists).
The Rangers have made the playoffs the past three seasons, most recently falling to the eventual 2024 Stanley Cup Champions, the Florida Panthers, in the Eastern Conference Final in six games.
