Rangers spank the Habs.

The Montreal Canadiens were at Madison Square Gardens yesterday to face the New-York Rangers who were still looking for a first win in 2008.

Montreal played a poor game overall and the match was totally dominated by the Rangers who bottled the Habs into their own defensive end during the first two periods of the game. Chris Drury scored after only 3:17 of play, followed by Martin Straka who doubled the Rangers lead before the end of the first frame.

Petr Prucha scored the third goal for the Rangers during the second period. Even the power play wasn't working for the Habs yesterday. During the second period, two 5-on-3 man advantages for Montreal did not produce any goal. Nigel Dawes scored late into the second period, giving the Rangers a 4-0 lead after two periods. Jaromir Jagr registered an assist during the second period, his 934th in career, good for the 13th rank all-time.

Sergei Kostitsyn avoided the shutout for Montreal during the third period with his 3rd goal of the season but it was really too little too late for the Habs. Jaroslav Halak relieved Christobal Huet in goal for the third period. Halak did not allow a goal during the third period.

Final score: NY-Rangers 4 - Montreal Canadiens 1

Montreal will stay in New-York for two days. They will face the New-York Islanders on tuesday.

(Picture: Jaromir Jagr, Canadian Press.)