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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. San Francisco 49ers Jerseys .C. -- Only two Syracuse teams have won their first 20 games, and C. Terrell Owens Jersey . -- Jose Bautista never worries about hitting homers during the regular season. http://www.authenticsf49erspro.com/Steve-young-49ers-jersey/. Karlovic of Croatia used his big serve to beat Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic 7-6 (6), 7-6 (7). Kohlschreiber had lost all of his three previous matches against Istomin but the German broke serve for a decisive 3-2 lead in the third set and held on to reach his first final of the year. Roger Craig Jersey . Then youve got to worry about the other up and coming teams in the two weaker divisions in the "Junior Circuit". Patrick Willis Jersey . The Raptors two leading scorers were never able to co-exist the way they hoped or the team had envisioned, but individually DeRozan was thriving, in the midst of a career season.MANCHESTER, England -- Manchester United confounded grim pre-game predictions by drawing 1-1 with Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on Tuesday, with Bastian Schweinsteiger equalizing for the holders before being sent off. Floundering in the English Premier League, United has delivered better performances in Europe this season and stunned Bayern by taking the lead against the run of play through Nemanja Vidics header in the 58th minute. Bayern had dominated possession but struggled to create a clear-cut chance before Schweinsteiger arrowed a half-volley high into the net in the 67th to give the German side a slight advantage ahead of the second leg in Munich next week. "We score away, so its good," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said. "Im happy with the result." Schweinsteiger blotted his performance by picking up a second yellow card in the 90th minute for a foul on Wayne Rooney and will miss the return match along with fellow midfielder Javi Martinez, who will also be suspended for an accumulation of bookings. Guardiola warned that talk of Uniteds demise was premature -- and the man who turned Barcelona into the best team in the world from 2008-12 has proved to be a good judge of football over the past few years. The English champions are languishing in seventh place in the Premier League amid a disastrous first year under new manager David Moyes, but they have an envious European pedigree and didnt buckle under constant pressure from Bayern. Defending stoutly -- with Vidic and right back Phil Jones particularly impressive -- United had 174 passes in the game compared to Bayerns 701 but actually created the better of the chances. Danny Welbeck will rue the moment he was sent clean through in the 40th, capitalizing on Jerome Boatengs defensive mistake, but fluffed a chip into the goalkeepers arms rather than going for a truer strike. Bayern played the prettier football, as expected, but United goalkeeper David de Gea barely had a shot to save before or after Schweinsteigers sweetly struck effort from Mario Mandzukics nod-down. "Tonights performance was more than youd hope for," Moyes said. "Hopefully tonight shows we will go there and go toe to toe with them. "Our best football has been in this competition and we will need to show our best footballl next week.dddddddddddd" The nights other quarterfinal first leg also finished 1-1, with Barcelona coming from a goal down to draw at home to Atletico Madrid. With Bayern having become Europes new powerhouse over the past two years and United without its main striker in Robin van Persie, many predicted the home-and-away series would be a blow-out. In the end, Bayern was somewhat fortunate to be leaving Manchester with its record of scoring in every match this season intact. Uniteds ambition was limited -- it had to be, given it hardly saw the ball -- but the teams desire and work rate couldnt be faulted. Moyes fielded a patched-up defence with Patrice Evra suspended and Rafael da Silva a late withdrawal but he got his tactics largely spot on, although United has probably never been dominated in possession at Old Trafford as much as it was in the first half. It was Bayerns attack vs. Uniteds defence, and Uniteds defence will feel it won the battle. "It is not easy when the opponent sets up so deep and closes down space," Munich winger Arjen Robben said. "After they took the lead, we should be happy to take a 1-1 home." There were times when the home fans fell deathly silent, perhaps mesmerized, as Bayerns bubbly midfield splayed the ball around in long periods of possession. But Moyes side kept its shape well, with Vidic delivering his best performance of an otherwise shaky season. He popped up at the other end to score Uniteds goal, too, the Serbian given the freedom of the penalty box to flick a header into the bottom corner from Rooneys left-wing corner. The lead didnt last long, though, as Rafinha sped by Robben on the overlap and crossed deep for substitute Mario Mandzukic, who headed the ball down for Schweinsteiger to sweep a half-volley into the top corner. The midfielder had already been booked for a foul on Michael Carrick when he brought down Rooney with seconds left of normal time. He protested, wagging his finger at Rooney and claiming the striker dived, but Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo had already brandished the yellow card. "I think coming into the tie most people had Bayern had the favourites," Moyes said, "and rightly so -- they are the European champions. But this club is used to big European nights and tonight they showed it." ' ' '