Numbers Game: Canadiens @ Rangers

NEW YORK - Here's a numerical look at Friday night's game against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

12 - The Canadiens began their 12th set of back-to-back games on Friday night, opening it up with the tilt in Manhattan. They'll be back in action to close it out with a Saturday night matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Bell Centre, before hitting the road again and heading to California for a three-game set in the Golden State. That trip will also include a back-to-back set against the San Jose Sharks (Thursday, March 7) and the Anaheim Ducks (Friday, March 8). After that, only one other set of that nature will remain on the schedule.
5 - Number of shots Shea Weber registered during the first period alone on Friday night as the Canadiens' captain did his best to get his squad on the board early. Unfortunately, Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was on his game and didn't allow any one of Habs' 11 shots by him through 20 minutes of play. For their part, New York put nine shots on Carey Price, and Vladislav Namestnikov managed to solve him to give the Blueshirts a 1-0 advantage.
28 - Brendan Gallagher kept on delivering the goods on Friday night, tying things up 1-1 with his 28th goal of the season at the 7:27 mark of the second period. That was his first marker since his hat trick performance against the Philadelphia Flyers on February 21 at the Bell Centre.

1 - Number of times in the last seven games that Tomas Tatar has been kept off the scoresheet after feeding Gallagher for the game-tying tally. The Slovak sniper boasts four goals and seven points during that span.
12 - Of the 12 saves Price made during the middle frame, this stop on Namestnikov definitely got the crowd buzzing. Not long after that, Gallagher found the back of the net and made the large contingent of Canadiens fans in the building extra happy.

1 - Joel Armia scored in back-to-back games for the first time this season on Friday night when he gave the Canadiens a 2-1 lead at the 14:38 mark of the second period. The Finnish winger capitalized on a bad bounce from behind the Rangers' net to score his eighth goal of the year.

18 - Number of shots the Canadiens registered during the second period alone on Friday night, keeping Lundqvist very, very busy and leading to a 2-1 advantage through 40 minutes of play.
5- Number of multi-goal games Armia now has on his resume after lifting the Canadiens to a 3-1 lead just 4:29 into the third period on Friday night. It was his second multi-goal effort in a Habs uniform. He last accomplished the feat on January 18 against the Blue Jackets in Columbus.

1 - Armia capped the scoring with an empty-netter late in the third period to register the first hat trick of his NHL career.