GREENSBURGH, N.Y.

Coach Alain Vigneault, Brad Richards and the rest of the New York Rangers couldn’t hide their excitement about facing the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference finals.

They already knew their next opponent would be a fellow Original Six team, but facing the storied Canadiens carries a little more cache than playing the Boston Bruins.

Montreal advanced to the final four with a 3-1 win at Boston in Game 7 on Wednesday night. The Rangers moved on one night earlier, knocking off the Penguins in Pittsburgh in another Game 7 — capping a comeback from a 3-1 series deficit. The series begins Saturday in Montreal.

Vigneault was a bit more tempered, and looked relaxed in sandals while speaking to reporters in English and French following his team’s optional practice. Vigneault is in his first season as Rangers coach, following a long stint with Vancouver. The Canadiens hired him back in 1997 for his first NHL head coaching job.

Montreal won the last of its record 24 Stanley Cup titles in 1993, and the Rangers ended a 54-year championship drought the following season but haven’t captured the Cup since.

These teams are meeting in the playoffs for the first time since 1996, when the Rangers won the first-round series in six games.