Waiver pickup Jake Leschyshyn is expected to make his Rangers debut at Madison Square Garden on Sunday against the Canadiens in the wake of a couple of injuries.

“Huge opportunity for myself to prove myself again,” the 23-year-old Leschyshyn said after practice at MSG Training Center in Tarrytown on Saturday. “I’m trying to just bring some energy to this team. Be a good two-way centerman, or winger, wherever they throw me. Just bring good compete to this team.”

Chris Kreider, who on Thursday missed a  game for the first time this season, due to an upper-body injury, is doubtful to return Sunday. Julien Gauthier, meanwhile, has already been ruled out with an upper-body injury he sustained in a collision with teammate Sammy Blais against the Stars on Thursday.

Both Kreider and Gauthier skated on their own before the team practiced Saturday morning, which is an encouraging sign for their progress. Gauthier sustained a minor upper-body injury Tuesday in the win over Minnesota, but the 25-year-old wing said it was precautionary for him to sit out the remainder of that game and he returned to practice the next day. The collision with Blais evidently either aggravated the initial injury or caused a new injury.

Leschyshyn, who was acquired off waivers from the Golden Knights on Wednesday, will likely slot into the middle of the fourth line between Blais and Jonny Brodzinski, who will switch to the wing. The game will be No. 64 of his NHL career.

“We talked to him and showed him our system tape, like everybody does when new guys come in,” Gerard Gallant said of Leschyshyn, with whom the Rangers head coach spent some time during training camps during his tenure with Vegas. “But he played a lot of the same systems in Vegas, you know, [Golden Knights head coach Bruce] Cassidy’s defensive zone system and stuff like that. It’s not a big adjustment. Just getting to know new players and new linemates. He’s a good kid, character kid and he’ll come in and work his tail off.”

The flu has been traveling through the Rangers’ locker room lately. Gallant said Filip Chytil had it, and now so do Artemi Panarin, Vitali Kravtsov and Ryan Lindgren, who all sat out of practice Saturday to recuperate.

All three players, however, are expected to play Sunday. If one or more of them aren’t able to go, the Rangers will either have to dress Libor Hajek as the seventh defenseman or recall someone from AHL Hartford. If they do have to recall someone from Hartford, the Rangers would have to put either Kreider or Gauthier on injured reserve, which would count them out for the game Monday at Columbus.

“They all play through it,” Gallant said of the players who are sick. “We’ve been doing it the last week and a half or so. Hopefully, it doesn’t get to the point where they can’t [play].”

The rest of the Rangers’ lines looked the same as they did Thursday night against Dallas.

The Rangers’ three-game home stand will come to an end on Sunday after their second game of the season against Montreal.