NEW YORK -- It was advantage Rangers on Saturday in the off-ice gamesmanship that is running parallel to the Eastern Conference final between New York and Montreal. There has been no shortage of storylines in this series, which has already featured one surgery and two suspensions in three games. And with two days off between Games 3 and 4, the old adage that idle hands are the devils workshop was proved true at Madison Square Garden when two New York assistant coaches showed up to watch Montreal practise. The intrusion seemed squarely aimed at getting under Montreals skin. When Canadiens goalie coach Stephane Waite noticed the break in protocol, he told head coach Michel Therrien. As the players stretched, Therrien moved down the rink and had words with Rangers assistant Ulf Samuelsson. Observers said the exchange was somewhat prickly. Samuelsson, no stranger to antagonizing rivals during his playing days, and fellow assistant coach Dan Lacroix left soon after. Therrien told reporters later there was a "gentlemans agreement" that rival coaches dont attend practices on non-game days. The idea is to allow coaches to make changes or test out new strategies in private. "When we saw those assistant coaches there, they were not supposed to be there, so we let them know," Therrien said pithily. New York president and GM Glen Sather watched the practice from one of the top rows of the lower bowl at Madison Square Garden, seemingly more interested in his phone than what was happening on the ice. Game 4 is Sunday night. The Rangers lead the series two games to one. While coaches seemed hot and bothered over the presence of the Rangers coaches, Canadiens defenceman P.K. Subban was oblivious. "I get in trouble when Im looking up in the stands," he said, drawing laughs. The Canadiens, coming off a bitter seven-game battle with their rival Bruins, are finding themselves down and dirty again in the trenches with the Rangers. The series has already left an ugly trail. Montreals Brandon Prust has been suspended two games for the Game 3 hit that broke Derek Stepans jaw. Rangers agitator Dan Carcillo has been banned for 10 games for jostling a linesman in the wake of the Prust hit. And Stepan was recovering in hospital Saturday from surgery to repair his jaw. Carcillo has requested that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman review the 10-game suspension, according to the NHL Players Association. "I think its building," Habs forward Brendan Gallagher said of the animosity between the two teams, which he has helped grow by throwing his five-foot-nine, 180-pound body around with reckless abandon. "Last game, it certainly took a big step forward," he added. Gallagher looks like his mum still packs him a lunch. But he is fearless, a hockey Smurf full of grit and attitude. While his assistants were stirring the pot Saturday, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault -- the picture of calm normally -- was still burning over the missed call on the Prust hit and the domino-effect mayhem that ensued. "At the end of the day if the right call is made on the ice, that whole situation doesnt happen," he lamented. The war of words continued on the Rangers website, which noted Stepan was New Yorks second-leading playoff scorer while fourth-liner Prust "has had trouble keeping up with the speedy Rangers through the first three games of this series." The good news for Vigneault was word that Derick Brassard is healthy. The New York centre left early in Game 1 with an upper body injury after being checked by Canadiens defenceman Mike Weaver and has not played since. Brassard told reporters after practice that he was good to go. That brought a smile to the face of Vigneault. "I was told he cleared himself," Vigneault said with a laugh. "Thats good to know. He didnt tell me." As one might expect, Vigneault said Stepan was "unlikely" to play Sunday. The 23-year-old centre has not missed a game since coming into the league in the 2010-11 season. Carcillo declined to speak to reporters Saturday. But Vigneault said the player knew he needed to have kept control of himself. "I cant begin to tell you how bad he feels about the whole thing," the coach said. "His situation, his personal future, the team. Theres nothing he can do about it now and theres nothing we can do about it." Forward Brad Richards called the abrasive Carcillo "a great teammate." "I heard a lot about him before but I dont have one bad thing to say about him." The New York players, for the most part, had little to say about the length of the ban to Prust, a former Ranger. But goalie Henrik Lundqvist said that hot spots in the playoffs usually cool down in the off-season. "Especially during the playoffs, you dont see your opponents as friends, even though youve played with them. Right now I dont have any friends in Montreal," the stylish Swede said with a chuckle. "Theyre just enemies and you play it that way. Thats your approach. "But you also have to understand this game, you know, theres a lot of players that play on the edge. Thats their role, thats what they do. Theyre always going to play it like that and sometimes things happen and maybe they take it a little too far. As it comes to relationships, as friends, in the summertime you move past it. "But right now, do I like what happened? Absolutely not. But its on the ice, it happens on the ice. It is what it is." Michael Bournival slotted into Prusts place on Montreals fourth line in practice. Francis Bouillon was skating in place of Nathan Beaulieu on defence. Subban and other Habs said, despite the Game 3 overtime win, the Canadiens have more in the tank. "I dont think weve played our best hockey yet this series," said Subban. And they acknowledged that they cannot rely on young goalie Dustin Tokarskis heroics, as they did last time out. "We now we cant expect him to do that every game, so we want to be better in front of him," said Canadiens captain Brian Gionta. On the Rangers side, J.T. Miller was skating in place of Carcillo on the fourth line with Derek Dorsett and Brian Boyle. New York gave winger Chris Kreider a "maintenance day" off. That meant Dominic Moore skated with Rick Nash and Jesper Fast, filling in for Kreider. NOTES: Game 4 will be shown at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Canadiens officials say more than 20,000 tickets have already been snapped up. Brad Daugherty Jersey . The Toronto Blue Jays star won his second consecutive Hank Aaron Award as the most outstanding offensive performer in the AL on Monday after votes by fans and a panel of Hall of Famers were tallied. Tyrone Hill Jersey . Vettel only needs to finish fifth or better Sunday to wrap up the championship with three races remaining, and bettered his own lap record to claim his third straight pole at Buddh International Circuit. https://www.thecavalierslockerroom.com/Shaquille-Oneal-City-Edition-Jersey/ .A. Happ? Happs seven wins are second on the staff to Mark Buehrles 10. Win-loss record is an antiquated stat, sure, but win total is generally an indication of a pitchers ability to work deep into games, enough to be personally affected by the result. J.R. Smith Jersey . Pistorius denied the allegation that he said to the close friend of the girlfriend he killed: "How can you sleep at night?" The accusation by Kim Myers provided a bizarre twist during the trial of the world-famous double-amputee Olympian, who is facing 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder for shooting dead Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, at his home last year. Brad Daugherty Cavaliers Jersey . Henry, who missed three games with a knee injury, was charged with a handball in the penalty area in the 82nd minute as he went to block a strike from Patrick Mullins. On the ensuing penalty kick, Lee Nguyen picked up his fourth goal of the season, giving the Revolution a 2-1 win Saturday afternoon.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at [email]cmonref@tsn.ca![/email] Hi Kerry, A question on official stat-keeping from a daily reader. In Monday nights Devils/Habs game, P.K. Subban saved his Carey Prices bacon with a couple of goal line saves. Both were shots on goal, but werent saved by Carey Price. How is that type of situation recorded by the official scorer? Love the column,Dean Graddon Hi Dean: Thanks for being a loyal reader of Cmon Ref! Prior to the NHLs implementation of Real-Time Scoring in the 1998-99 season, both a shot on goal and a save credited to the goalkeeper would have been recorded in the official stats even though a defenceman might have made the stop. The reason for this was that pre-1998, "shot-blocks," "missed shots" and a host of other statistics was not counted. There were times when I saw a shot going wide of the net but the goalie caught the puck and he was credited with a save. Some goalies paid very close attention to "shots on goal" that was visible on the time clock. Some goalies even asked me to make sure they got credit for a save when it wasnt recorded on the score clock no differently than a skater asking for an assist on a goal. In Monday nights Devils/Habs game P.K. Subban would have been credited with a "shot-block". No "shot on goal" or "save" (to Carey Price) would be listed in the official stats. I provide you with the definition of a shot: Shot: A shot on goal occurs when an attempt by an attacking player, with intent to score a goal, either results in a goal or would have entered the goal if not stopped by the goaltender. There is also a stat for "missed shots" which would involve any shot that is off the net; wide or above the crossbar even if the goalkeeper was to catch or stop the puck.dddddddddddd Judgment must be implemented by the Real Time Scorers to determine how and where to record each stat. Each off-ice crew is provided with a Situation Manual to guide them through various situations and to maintain consistent statistical recording from one NHL game to the next. Rule 37 presently outlines the duty of the Real Time Scorers to electronically record all official statistics for the game played. The five person crew located in the press box can utilize video review to confirm their record keeping decisions and are specifically assigned as follows: - Two (2) Stats Entry Scorers - Two (2) Time on Ice Scorers - Home and Visitors - Event Analyst Assigned by the League to oversee the Real Time Scorers, and the data collected is a Scoring System Manager (SSM), an off-ice official who is required to work one of the five (5) positions noted above in each game played. "Spotters" are also utilized to assist this five person crew (especially recording individual players time on ice) since the game is played at such a fast pace in Real Time. Real Time Stats are kept so in many different categories during a game they can provide instant feedback to coaches and fans alike as a tool to help analyze player performance and make adjustments. I talked with an NHL coach the other day who said his team got beat 3-1 in a game where they outshot their opponents by the wide margin of approximately 42 to 28. The GM was irate his team lost the game while the coach was pleased with his players energy level and effort. Perhaps not thinking about job security the coach response to the GM was, "We just need more players that can score." Ouch! The stats told the Real Time story in this case. ' ' '