The Rangers will play in Montreal on Saturday for the first time since the teams met in a contentious Eastern Conference final last season, and though most of the Rangers believe the impact of the series is in the past, their coach disagreed.
“Without a doubt because of our playoff competition last year, there’s an intense rivalry,” Alain Vigneault said after his team practiced in Greenburgh on Friday. “Both teams obviously respect one another, both teams want to win. There’s probably a form of dislike because of the intense competition to get to the Stanley Cup finals.”
Though the Rangers won the matchup in six games, it was no ordinary playoff series, with injuries and accusations plentiful, beginning in the first game, when Canadiens goalie Carey Price was knocked out after Chris Kreider collided with him on a breakaway.
That led to a war of words, with some Canadiens, including coach Michel Therrien, pointing a finger at Kreider for slamming into Price intentionally.
Kreider maintained his innocence and Montreal’s backup goalie, Dustin Tokarski, wound up playing well.
Vigneault was asked Friday if he thought Kreider could be targeted when the teams meet again.
“I would think now that the series has gone by, everybody is calmer and cooler,” the coach said. “Everybody on both sides knows that was a pure accident. Unfortunately, it happened. Remember … initially, they were saying it was an accident, then they said it was an intentional, accidental, then intentional. It’s the game within a game in the playoffs. That’s what it was. But I’m sure everyone knows it was an accident.”
Montreal seems to have recovered well from the series loss, racing out to a 6-1-0 start this season, and the Rangers (4-3) are in the midst of a three-game winning streak.
“It was an accident,” Derick Brassard said. “Price plays the game pretty hard. It’s behind us. We probably wanted Price to play in the playoffs. We never try to injure any player. You try to hit hard and those things are going to happen.”
Henrik Lundqvist agreed.
“That series is in the past,” the goalie said. “We’ll see. It was an accident and it happened. Unfortunately, Price got hurt. You move on. It’s a new season.”
That’s also true of the coaches, longtime friends who were often at odds in the playoffs. Vigneault said a meeting over the summer while filming an interview soothed whatever wounds remained between the two.
“We’ve turned the page,” Vigneault said. “We’ve talked numerous times. We got together a couple of times. It’s all good.”
At least until Saturday.
“They’re playing really good,” Brassard said. “They’re probably the best team in the league right now. They’re going to be ready for us.”
“The last time we were in that building, it was an intense environment,” Lundqvist said. “Those were fun games. But we’re focused on finding ways to win now. Our last game [a 4-3 overtime win over the Devils] wasn’t perfect, but we found a way to come back.”