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. Wholesale Football Jerseys .Y. - The New York Yankees made it official Saturday, announcing the completion of a seven-year deal with free-agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury and a one-year contract for returning starter Hiroki Kuroda. Fake Football Jerseys From China . -- A lawyer for the fiancee of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez asked a judge Friday to throw out perjury charges, saying Shayanna Jenkins did not wilfully lie as she was bombarded with 1,630 questions over two days before a grand jury. https://www.fakefootballjerseys.com/ . Pierre last November, only to watch St. Pierre leave the UFC octagon with his welterweight title belt and a split-decision victory. Knockoff Football Jerseys . The club announced Friday that Mauro Biello will be kept on as an assistant to coach Jesse Marsch when the Impact join the MLS in 2012. Fake Football Jerseys Online .com) - American Madison Keys grabbed a first- round victory on Sunday in a rainy start to the Apia International Sydney tournament.GLENDALE, Ariz. -- A win wasnt going to help the Phoenix Coyotes. The playoffs were already out of reach and there was nothing to gain. But as they went into their final game of the season, the Coyotes faced a must-win -- for their peace of mind heading into the off-season. What had been dubbed "That stupid streak" had to end. Dave Moss scored late in the third period, Thomas Greiss stopped 16 shots, and the Coyotes snapped a seven-game skid with a 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars on Sunday night in the season finale for both teams. "Thats something we talked about: That stupid streak, someone has to end it," Moss said. "We were able to get a win, which is a good way to end, but ultimately its not where we want to be." Knocked out of playoff contention on Friday, the Coyotes wanted desperately to break the season-worst losing streak. Shane Doan scored, Greiss gave them a chance with some difficult saves, and Moss finished it with a one-timer past Tim Thomas with 2:31 left. The Coyotes finished two points behind Dallas for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, but at least they went out on a winning note. It would have been an awfully long summer had they not. "It was important for us," Doan said. "Its obviously the way it ends with the streak, its good to win one. We had to win one." Dallas, already locked into a first-round playoff series with Anaheim, rested many of its key players for the finale. The Stars kept it close behind Colton Sceviours first-period goal and 29 saves by Thomas, but couldnt get anything past Greiss with an extra attacker in the closing seconds. "I still slammed a water bottle there at the end," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "You still dont want to lose. I didnt want to lose that game. The only bitter taste was the end of the game." The Coyotes had hoped this season finale would put a stamp on their playyoff bid.dddddddddddd Instead, it turned into a play-out-the-string game that mattered little to either team. The Stars gave Phoenix every opportunity to take the Western Conferences final playoff spot, yet the Coyotes were unable to make up any ground, thanks to a six-game losing streak. Dallas clinched their first playoff appearance since 2008 by beating Colorado on Friday, and Phoenix still couldnt shake its doldrums against depleted San Jose on Saturday, losing to the Sharks 3-2. The Stars will open the playoffs on Wednesday, so captain Jamie Benn and assistant captains Trevor Daley and Ray Whitney were all given the night off against Phoenix. Like they did on Saturday, the Coyotes got off to a lackadaisical start and fell behind when Sceviour got Greiss off-balance with a couple of dekes and scored on a power play after a nifty backhand pass from Vernon Fiddler. Phoenix generated some good chances in the second period, and Doan broke through with his 23rd goal, redirecting a shot from the point by Zbynek Michalek past Thomas. In the third period, Greiss made consecutive saves on Tyler Seguin, including one on a rebound after sliding across the crease and nearly doing the splits. Moss put the Coyotes up late, and Greiss made some difficult saves in the closing seconds after Dallas pulled Thomas. The Stars lost, but they had bigger things on their minds. "Its kind of hard to do it when youre excited for the playoffs," Stars defenceman Alex Goligoski said. "But for the most part, we played well enough to stay in the game until late." NOTES: The Phoenix Coyotes played their final game before changing to the Arizona Coyotes next season. The new ownership group called for the change to make the name more inclusive for the entire state. ... Sceviours goal was his eighth of the season. ... Coyotes LW Lauri Korpikoski played his 400th career NHL game. ' ' '