The Rangers opened the scoring three minutes into the game with J.T. Miller picking up the puck in neutral ice with speed, and toe-dragging Andrei Markov out of position to backhand the puck past Mike Condon to give the Rangers a quick 1-0 lead.
Shot attempts were 8-7 in favour of the Rangers by the first commercial timeout eight minutes into the first period.
The Rangers had held the Habs from recording a shot attempt for about three minutes before the second line went to work on the forecheck and turned the puck over, and eventually Lars Eller levelled the score after a shot from the point by Greg Pateryn hit him in the slot and landed at his side which allowed him to fire a clear shot past Antti Raanta to tie the game 1-1.