NEW YORK -- Brandon Prust returns but fellow forward Dale Weise is out and defenceman Alexei Emelin is a game-time decision for the Montreal Canadiens. Reggie White Super Bowl Jersey . The Rangers are without suspended defenceman John Moore, with ex-Hab Raphael Diaz expected to play in his place in the third defensive pairing. Both teams had lineup issues ahead of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final. A win and the Rangers can advance to the Stanley Cup final for the first time in 20 years. A loss and New York has to go back to the Bell Centre for a deciding game. Montreal coach Michel Therrien confirmed after Thursdays morning skate that Weise, flattened by the hit that earned Moore a two-game suspension, would not play. Emelin, who missed Game 5 with an undisclosed injury, did not take part in the morning skate either but was seen on an exercise bike outside the locker-room. Prust returns from his two-game suspension for breaking Derek Stepans jaw with a blindside hit in Game 3. "Hes going to be hungry to play," said Therrien. "Hes going to play hard. Hes excited about playing tonight so were glad hes back in the lineup." Weise seemed woozy after the Moore hit Tuesday in Game 5 but returned to action after spending time in the dressing room. On Thursday, Therrien denied that Weise had a head injury. Therrien said Weise, who plays in the Habs third line, told doctors he "felt fine" about finishing the last game. The Montreal coach said player safety is Job 1, but noted that Stepan finished Game 3 with what turned out to be a broken jaw. "Those are the things that you see at this time of the year," he said. "Right now (Weise) has a body injury so he wont be able to lay tonight." Asked what specific tests an injured player like Weise has to pass to get back into the game, Therrien essentially said that was up to the team doctors. "Those are the things I that dont know, because as a coach I never get a concussion," said a smiling Therrien. "But one thing I trust, we trust our medical staff, we trust the doctor. So when theyre saying hes good to go. hes good to go." The Habs are 22-7-4 with Weise in the lineup and 5-4-0 without him. Goalie Carey Price, knocked out of the series in Game 1, came onto the ice in full gear near the end of the Canadiens skate. He did the same thing earlier this week in Montreal. Dustin Tokarski, the 24-year-old who has stepped in for Price, did not speak to reporters Thursday. Rangers starter Henrik Lundqvist, given the hook last time out, drew a crowd in front of his stall. With the Rangers looking to close out the series, the music wafting out of the New York locker-room area earlier at Madison Square Garden was appropriate -- "Closing Time" by Semisonic. "No Canada" was the headline on the back page of the New York Daily News. The kicker read "Rangers: We cant let series go back to Montreal." The New York Post headline was "Code Blue." Much has been said about the need to get a good start in the series, with Therrien acknowledging the first 10 minutes of the game are always crucial. "But Im going to tell you something, the whole entire 60 minutes are going to be really important," he said with a smile. Vigneault, whose exchange with the English media lasted three and a half minutes, offered no reaction to the league banning Moore for two games. He also did not want to speak about the 7-4 loss in Game 5 in Montreal, saying "Weve moved on." The Rangers coach did say he expected a big game from Lundqvist, who was pulled in the second period last time out after giving up four goals on 19 shots. "I expect him to play like he always does. Hes a great goaltender." Said Rangers forward Rick Nash: "Hes a world-class goalie. Hes been our best player all season, all the playoffs." Therriens pre-game meeting with the media was equally pithy, lasting just under eight minutes in English and French. Clay Matthews Super Bowl Jersey . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell while figuring out which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Dexter Williams Super Bowl 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. HOUSTON -- The Houston Astros will have an overabundance of outfielders when George Springer and Dexter Fowler come off the disabled list. Robbie Grossmans big Friday night could help his case for staying in the majors. Grossmans two-run homer put the Astros ahead in the eighth inning and they held on for 4-3 victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday night. "They know that we have two of our regular guys coming back and at some point decisions are going to be made," Houston manager Bo Porter said when asked about Grossmans future in the crowded outfield. "These guys will continue to battle and continue to play well to put themselves in position to stay here on the active major league roster." Chris Carter hit his 25th home run for Houston, which trailed 2-1 entering the eighth inning. Carter is the first Astro to hit at least 25 homers in consecutive seasons since Hunter Pence in 2009-10. Jon Singleton singled with no outs and Grossman, who finished with three hits, launched a 92 mph fastball from Neal Cotts (2-6) into the Crawford Boxes in left field with one out to put the Astros on top. "He just didnt make some pitches that he shouldve made," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "He just missed with his pitches." Gregorio Petits double with two outs added an insurance run. Jose Veras (2-1) threw a perfect eighth for the win. Chad Qualls allowed a run in the ninth and there were runners at first and second with one out when Daniel Robertson grounded into a double play to end the game and give Qualls his 13th save. The win extends Houstons streak over the Rangers to six games, the longest in franchise history. The Astros are 7-3 against Texas this season and remain ahead of the last-place Rangers in the AL West. J.P. Arencibia hit a two-run homer in the first for Texas. Carter cut the deficit to one with his two-out shot in the fifth. Carter, who homered twice Thursday night, has 12 home runs since July 4 and has upped his batting average from .181 to .225 since July 1. Houston starter Brett Oberholtzer allowed six hits and two runs in seven inniings. Darnell Savage Jr. Super Bowl Jersey. Miles Mikolas yielded four hits and a run in five innings for the Rangers. Houston second baseman Jose Altuve left the game with discomfort in his neck. Altuve didnt appear to be injured when he batted in the fifth inning, but was replaced by Petit for the start of the sixth. He said after the game that he thinks he may have slept on it wrong and expects to be back in the lineup on Saturday. Altuve leads the majors with 158 hits and his 45 steals are tops in the American League. He entered the night tied with Seattles Robinson Cano for the AL lead in hitting at .335, but went 0 for 3 Friday night to leave him at .333. SOTOS RETURN Texas catcher Geovany Soto (groin) was activated from the disabled list on Friday and started his first game since July 21. It was just his fourth game after missing the first part of the season following surgery to repair torn cartilage in his right knee in March. He went 0 for 3 with a strikeout. TRAINERS ROOM Rangers: Outfielder Alex Rios did not play Friday and will also be out of the lineup Saturday after he re-aggravated a sprained right ankle on Wednesday. "I could play on it, but Id rather give it a little rest to make it feel better," Rios said. Washington said Rios was available to pinch-hit and he will definitely be back in the lineup Sunday. Astros: Fowler (back) and Springer (quadriceps) are inching closer to being activated from the disabled list. Fowler went 2 for 3 with an RBI in the start of a rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday night and Springer was back in Houston after returning from a rehabilitation assignment at Single-A Quad Cities. UP NEXT Yu Darvish will start for Texas against Scott Feldman on Saturday. Darvish is 3-0 with a 1.52 ERA in three career starts at Minute Maid Park. He came within one out of a perfect game in Houston on April 2, 2013. He has a 2.16 ERA in his last four starts to lower his ERA to 2.82. Feldman, who spent his first eight seasons with Texas, threw the third complete game of his career in his last start, allowing eight hits and one run in a 6-1 win over Toronto. ' ' '