Montreal Canadiens defenceman Alexei Emelin will play tonight’s game against the New York Rangers after missing the previous five with a lower-body injury.
He will be taking the place of Greg Pateryn, who has one assist in the time Emelin has spent on IR.
In 17 games, Emelin has 2 assists so far to go along with 14 penalty minutes. A third-round pick of Montreal in 2004, the Russian is a plus-4.
Pateryn was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2008, along with a second-round pick for centre Mikhail Grabovski.
Tonight’s game is a matchup between the Eastern Conference’s two best teams, with both clubs tied for the league lead in points with 34.
