New York, NY (My Sportsbook) -The New York Rangers will try for their second straight win to open the season and their sixth consecutive victory over the Montreal Canadiens in their home-opener at Madison Square Garden on Friday.

New York used two goals each from 41-year-old captain Mark Messier and Petr Nedved to upend the defending Eastern Conference champion Carolina Hurricanes, 4-1, in the team's season-opener on Wednesday. Messier's two points moved him into a tie with Ron Greschner for sixth place on the Rangers all-time scoring list with 610.

Eric Lindros, Brian Leetch and Tom Poti all had a pair of assists in the victory for the Rangers, who were without superstar sniper Pavel Bure, who is recovering from knee surgery, but missed the game because of the flu. Bure is not expected to be back in the lineup tonight because of strep throat.

Mike Richter, who picked up career win No. 297, was sensational in goal stopping 20-of-21 shots he faced, as New York killed off nine penalties to help new head coach Bryan Trottier gain his first NHL win.

New York, which has won its last two home-openers, is unbeaten in the last eight (7-0-1) meetings with Montreal, last losing to the Canadiens on April 5, 2000 at Madison Square Garden.

The Montreal Canadiens look to build off their Cinderella story from last season which saw them rally behind Jose Theodore's phenomenal goaltending, and play inspired hockey after Saku Koivu's miraculous return from cancer.

Montreal, one of the most storied franchises in all of sports with 24 Stanley Cup titles, bettered its point total from 2000-01 by 17 points and avoided missing the playoffs in four straight seasons for the first time in team history with a 36-31-12-3 mark.

Theodore carried the Canadiens into the postseason after compiling a 30-24-10 record along with seven shutouts and a 2.11 goals-against average.

The netminder, who also garnered a league-best .931 save percentage, took home the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player and the Vezina Trophy, which is awarded to the league's top goaltender.

After putting together a last-minute seven-game winning streak, Theodore and the Canadiens welcomed Koivu back for the last three games of the regular season and took the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Montreal knocked off top-seeded Boston in a Round 1 upset, but fell in six games to the eventual Eastern Conference champion Carolina Hurricanes.

This season the team has added Mariusz Czerkawski, who was acquired from the Islanders in exchange for right wing Arron Asham and a fifth-round pick in the 2002 draft. The 30-year-old collected 22 goals and 29 assists last season and should prove to be a valuable second-line winger.

Also Doug Gilmour will be back for his 20th NHL season. The 39-year-old center lit the lamp 10 times last season and assisted on 31 goals, but his presence on and off the ice is immeasurable.

Montreal, which is 45-25-15 in season-openers, has dropped four straight and five of its last six at MSG and is just 1-8-3 in its last 12 overall versus the Rangers.