The war of words and ill feelings between the New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens have reached a fever pitch between Games 3 and 4, with Habs coach Michael Therrien making remarks about knowing where Rangers forward Derick Brassard was injured and Rangers bench boss Alain Vigneault reacting to his assistant coaches being asked to leave the Canadiens practices at Madison Square Garden.
The series has turned decided ugly after the Brandon Prust hit that put center Derek Stepan out of commission indefinitely and the 10-game mandatory suspension to Daniel Carcillo for elbowing linesman Scott Driscoll trying to get at Prust after the hit.
Prust played 2 1/2 seasons in New York before signing with Montreal as a free agent and made his presence felt by knocking the Rangers top line center out of commission with what was deemed by the NHL Department of Player Safety as a suspendible offense, but he was only penalized two games by the league.
Stepan had surgery to repair his jaw Friday and has been ruled out for Game 4, but his status for the remainder of the series is in question, while Prust can return to the series if the Habs win tonight or Game 5 back at the Bell Centre.
