Hot News: Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Rangers: a rundown of the brewing animosity

When Milan Lucic met Dale Weise in the handshake line to end the second-round playoff series between the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens, the idea of mutual distaste seemed to reach a logical plateau. Lucic allegedly growled at the Canadiens winger, ' I'm going to f-ing kill you next year.' How do you top that? It might not be possible, but the Canadiens and the New York Rangers have been trying their best, with a combination of profanity, mockery and allegations of espionage. And that was just from the weekend. A look at some of the highlights of dislike, from National Post reporter Sean Fitz-Gerald:

There have been swear words Canadiens coach Michel Therrien noticed three members of the Rangers staff in the lower bowl at Madison Square Garden as Montreal prepared to practise on Saturday. In a sequence captured by an RDS camera, Therrien is shown barking at the men - including former NHL defenceman Ulf Samuelsson - to leave the premises. 'You're not supposed to f-ing stay here,' he yells. After an awkward moment or two, all three men walk down the stairs and disappear under the stands. Later, Therrien told reporters the two teams had a gentleman's agreement to stay away from opposing team practices. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said that was not true. 'We were treated very unfairly,' Vigneault said Sunday. 'We're lucky it didn't escalate.' Speaking later in the day Sunday, Therrien suggested the incident was the fault of 'a miscommunication.'



There have been vague threats Rangers forward Derick Brassard had been sidelined since Game 1 of the series and was still working his way back to the lineup when Therrien addressed his injury with an air of unusual menace. 'We know exactly where he is injured,' he said on Saturday, 'because the hockey world is a small world.' On Sunday, Vigneault said Brassard would likely be a game-time decision. 'I hope nothing happens to Brass,' he said. 'Michel could be in trouble.'

There has been open mockery On Friday, the NHL suspended Canadiens winger Brandon Prust for two games for a late hit he landed on Rangers centre Derek Stepan early in Game 3. Stepan left the game for a few minutes, but returned to log more than 17 minutes of ice time. Vigneault said Stepan required surgery to repair a broken jaw, and was unlikely to play Sunday night. The Canadiens were unconvinced. 'We're 100% expecting him to play,' winger Brendan Gallagher said Saturday. Canadiens veteran Daniel Brière said the injury situation seemed 'fishy.' And that was all the sympathy Stepan received. 'He got up and he was yapping and yelling,' Gallagher said. 'So I'm sure the jaw isn't hurting too much.'

There have been complaints Prust was not the only player suspended on Friday. Rangers winger Dan Carcillo earned a 10-game ban for elbowing linesman Scott Driscoll during a chaotic few minutes in Game 1, as Prust was fighting Rangers forward Derek Dorsett. Carcillo was assessed a two-minute charging minor, but wrestled with the linesman all the way to the penalty box. 'I still don't understand why Scott grabbed him in that fashion,' Vigneault said Saturday. 'All Scott had to do was tell him - Dan didn't know he had a penalty - 'Can you come to the box with me here? you've got a penalty.''

Oh, there have been complaints Canadiens goaltender Carey Price was spotted in New York with a subtle limp a big brace on his right knee. He was injured and lost for the series in Game 1, bowled over in his net by Rangers forward Chris Kreider. Prust said the injury was caused 'accidentally on purpose.' After Prust decked Stepan, Vigneault offered a reminder. 'The same player that called the hit on Price 'accidental but on purpose,'' he said. 'Late hit, everything that you want to get out of the game, that was his hit on Stepan.'

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