Claude Julien and his Montreal Canadiens have some work to do if they are going to force a decisive Game 7 on their home ice.The Habs dropped the pivotal fifth game of their series with the New York Rangers Thursday night, and they will be playing for their playoff lives at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Here's a look at the rest of the NHL's first-round schedule:The Rangers hold a 3-2 series lead, and the two teams split their two earlier playoff games at Madison Square Garden.However, home ice has not been kind to the Rangers. Prior to the start of the playoffs, New York lost eight of their last 10 games at Madison Square Garden. The Broadway Blueshirts also broke a six-game postseason losing streak at home when they edged the Canadiens 2-1 in Game 4.The Rangers were outplayed throughout much of the fifth game, and the only thing that kept the score close was the outstanding goaltending of Henrik Lundqvist. Montreal outchanced the Rangers 2:1 for much of the first two periods, and they held the advantage on the scoreboard until New York defenseman Brady Skjeitied the score at two by powering home a rebound in the latter stages of the second period.Neither team could score in the third, and the Rangers dominated much of the overtime before Mika Zibanejad scored late in the session to give New York the win.The Habs have played fairly well through the first five games, but their inability to bury scoring chances has cost them throughout the series.One of the big issues for Montreal has been the lack of production from leading regular-season goal scorer Max Pacioretty. The big left wing scored 35 goals during the regular season, but he has been held to one assist in the playoffs.If Pacioretty could break loose for a goal or two Saturday night, it would give the Habs a much better chance at squaring the series against their Original Six rivals. The pressure will increase on the Canadiens the longer it takes to score their first goal.The Rangers are minus-115 favoritesfor Saturday's game, according to Odds Shark, while the Canadiens are plus-104. Those betting on the Rangers have to risk $115 to earn a profit of $100.The Edmonton Oilers will try to close out the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night. The Oilers put themselves in that position after mounting a 4-3 comeback victory in overtime Thursday.San Jose built a 3-1 lead in the second period, and after the Oilers cut that lead to one with a goal late in the second period, the Sharks played stifling defense for much of the third period. However, Oscar Klefbom sent the game into the extra session when he scored with 17:14 of the third period in the books.Edmonton outshot San Jose 14-2 in the extra session, and the Oilers got the payoff for that effort when David Desharnais scored at the 18:15 mark.Despite the loss, the Sharks have every reason to feel good about their chances of forcing a seventh game. They overpowered the Oilers 7-0 in Game 4 at SAP Center, so confidence should be high on their home ice.The Sharks are minus-130 favorites, while the Oilers are plus-118 underdogs. PredictionsLook for the Rangers' home-ice problems to continue here. They may have edged Montreal in their most recent home game, but New York's efforts have been dull at Madison Square Garden for some time.They will rely on Lundqvist to attempt to bail them out, but that won't be enough, and the Habs will force a seventh game.San Jose has played well in its past two games, and returning home will allow them to find their comfort zone. While Edmonton probably has enough to survive the series, the Sharks will win on home ice and force a seventh game.
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