The Montreal Canadiens (16-11-3, 35 points) look to sweep a two-game road trip when they visit the New York Rangers (15-13-4) at Madison Square Garden, with the Rangers looking to stop a three-game losing skid.

BOTTOM LINE: The New York Rangers take on the Montreal Canadiens as losers of three games in a row. New York is 3-8-3 at home and 15-13-4 overall. The Rangers have gone 13-1-1 in games they score three or more goals.

Hopefully the New York Rangers rested up this past week, when they played one game in a five-day stretch. Because

The Montreal Canadiens lost 5-4 in overtime to the New York Rangers on Saturday night, after blowing 3-0 and 4-2 leads throughout the game. The Habs have now lost 6 of the last 7 games against the Rangers.

The Canadiens are young, that's a tangible fact. But the process of maturing is less tangible, and the team matured this weekend.

The Eastern Conference standings are ridiculous. Only eight points separate the first-place Carolina Hurricanes and 15th-place Columbus Blue Jackets. The Pittsburgh Penguins currently hold the last wild-card spot with 35 points, but there are seven teams within three points of the Pens.

New Jersey Devils (18-13-1) versus the Vancouver Canucks (11-17-3). The Game Preview: I had the preview today. The Rules: If you have been a reader here, you already know the rules. But for the rest,

Welcome back to another edition of NHL Predictions. Each day, our writers here at Last Word On Hockey look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats,