The Rangers head home with a two-game series lead for the first since 2009. A victory tonight against Montreal would really give New York a stranglehold on the series, though given what we have seen the past several years, it definitely does not mean a death knell for the Canadiens. However, a 3-0 lead, at home Sunday, with a chance to clinch would be a lot for Montreal to overcome, but there is a long way to go before that happens.

First and foremost is for New York to play a lot better than they did Monday. Montreal controlled action for large stretches of the game and were able to generate chances off the rush and from takeaways, or more precisely, giveaways from the Rangers. The Blueshirts need to clean up their game and not rely on Henrik Lundqvist to stand on his head once again. While he has shown the ability to do so over-and-over, you don’t want to go to the well that often on the oft-chance he has an off-night. New York has to play as they did in Game 1, when they created their own opportunities off the rush and used their strong forecheck to create turnovers and scoring chances.

Second, "unconditional love." Coach Alain Vigneault has asked the Garden faithful to provide "unconditional love" today as the Rangers return to MSG for the first time since Game 6. On that day, May 11, which was Mother's Day, the crowd was rewarded with a stellar performance by the team but also had another cause to root for, Martin St. Louis, who was dealing with the death of his mother, France. Of course, that game came a few days after the fanbase booed the Rangers off the ice in Game 4. Tonight, with New York coming home up 2-0 and the crowd sensing blood in the water and a possible next round berth - sorry, not saying the words of what the round is called until they hopefully get there - I would be shocked if the place wasn't rocking and rolling. The only caveat is if the exorbitant ticket prices resulted in the crowd being more white- than blue-collar, adversely impacting the noise level.

Third, all signs point to Derick Brassard getting back into the lineup. Brass, who was hurt on an open-ice, clean hit by Mike Weaver early in Game 1, went through a full practice yesterday. In addition, Benoit Pouliot, who had a maintenance day yesterday, should also suit up for Game 4. That means that Dan Carcillo is a likely healthy scratch with Derek Dorsett having an excellent playoffs.

For Montreal, whither Thomas Vanek? If Rick Nash was the Rangers' whipping boy, Vanek is clearly Montreal's. Eric Engels referred to him as "ghosting" through the game, which makes sense, since he was invisible in Game 2 and others times throughout the post-season. Vanek was moved down to the fourth line in practice yesterday, rotating with Michael Bournival, though coach Michel Therrien has said not to read too much into that. Of course, that could either mean Vanek will be back on the second line or he will sit for Bournival. It remains to be seen which, but Vanek didn't help his free agent prospects much with his performance Monday, though as we have seen what owners are willing to throw around, it may not matter. Arthur Staple speculated that Vanek may be dealing with a chest injury that occurred against Boston, but given that it's the playoffs, we know that won't be confirmed in any way. For now, I have listed the lines below as they were in practice yesterday, though final word on the lineup may not come until after warm-ups.

Last, maintain focus for the full 60 minutes or longer if need be. We saw what happened between Chicago and LA last night. The Blackhawks had a 2-0 lead and what looked like full control late in the second period, as they sat poised to take a 2-0 series lead. The Kings scored a late goal in that frame and five unanswered in the third to even the series and retake momentum. That's why I parrot Boomer when he says shift-by-shift, period-by-period, game-by-game. One loss of focus or misstep or bobble on the ice and it could mean the difference between a commanding series lead or win and being forced to go an extra game or series loss. Tonight, like any other playoffs game, that focus must be there for all 20 players and coaches. Use the Garden crowd to get pumped up, jump on Montreal early to get the crowd really into and maintain that focus throughout the contest.

Line Combinations:

Rangers:

Forwards:
20 Chris Kreider - 21 Derek Stepan - 61 Rick Nash
67 Benoit Pouliot - 16 Derick Brassard - 36 Mats Zuccarello
62 Carl Hagelin - 19 Brad Richards - 26 Martin St. Louis
22 Brian Boyle - 28 Dominic Moore - 15 Derek Dorsett

Extras: Daniel Carcillo (played Game 2 in place of Brassard, who was out with the upper-body injury he suffered in Game 1), Jesper Fast (played first two games against Philly and has been on pine since then), and JT Miller (played games 3-4 versus Philly, depending on how series goes, play of Carcillo or Dorsett, he could see action).

Defense
27 Ryan McDonagh - 5 Dan Girardi
18 Marc Staal - 6 Anton Stralman
17 John Moore - 8 Kevin Klein

Extras: Raphael Diaz (a heck of a lot better than having to dress Roman Hamrlik) and Justin Falk.

Goaltending
30 Henrik Lundqvist
33 Cam Talbot

Canadiens

Forwards
Max Pacioretty-David Desharnais-Brendan Gallagher
Alex Galchenyuk-Tomas Plekanec- Brian Gionta
Rene Bourque-Lars Eller- Dale Weise
Brandon Prust-Daniel Briere- Thomas Vanek

Scratches - Michael Bournival (played Game 1, replaced for Game 2 by Galchenyuk, who was out with a knee injury from April 9. Would replace Vanek for Game 3 if latter is scratched) and Travis Moen

Defense
Josh Gorges-PK Subban
Andrei Markov-Alexei Emelin
Nathan Beaulieu-Mike Weaver

Scratches - Francis Bouillon and Douglas Murray (healthy)

Goaltenders
Duston Tokarski
Peter Budaj

Scratches - Carey Price (right knee, out for remainder of the series)

Rangers (Metro Division) vs. Canadiens (Atlantic Division) - Eastern Conference Finals
Game 1: Rangers 7 Canadiens 2, Sat., May 17
Game 2: Rangers 3 Canadiens 1, Mon., May 19
Game 3: Canadiens at Rangers, Thu., May 22 at TBD (NBC, CBC)
Game 4: Canadiens at Rangers, Sun., May 25 at TBD (NBC, CBC)
Game 5*: Rangers at Canadiens, Tue., May 27 at 8PM (NBC, CBC)*
Game 6*: Canadiens at Rangers, Thu., May 29 at 8PM (NBC, CBC)*
Game 7*: Rangers at Canadiens, Sat., May 31 at 8PM (NBC, CBC)*

A win tonight and New York has a commanding 3-0 series lead. A loss and Montreal is back in the series. Find a way to get it done at MSG tonight and then have a shot to close it out Sunday.

Let’s Go Rangers!!! The Drive to the Stanley Cup continues tonight in New York

(Can-Am Spyder, an official partner of the NHL, also has a relationship with Mark Messier.
For more information, or to learn more/test drive a Spyder, visit a local dealer (http://can-am.brp.com/spyder/dealer-locator.html)

(Separately, thanks for all the good wishes on my parents, it's much appreciated. One question, I am going tonight, but won't know where I am sitting until I get the tix for will call, but PM me if you are going and I will try and update the blog once I know. The question is: do I go with Zucc Stadium Series, Nash blue or McDonagh White Olympics jersey?).

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