Here are five things you should know about the Canadiens-Stars game at the Bell Centre on Saturday (7 p.m., City, SNE, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio) .
The matchup: This is the tail end of a back-to-back for the Canadiens, who lost 4-1 in Pittsburgh on Friday . It was the third consecutive loss for the Canadiens, who remain seven points out of a playoff spot. The Stars have a three-game win streak after edging the Maple Leafs 3-2 in Toronto on Thursday. They are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games and have moved into third place in the Central Division.
The goaltenders: Claude Julien has to decide whether to start Carey Price in back-to-back games or to give him a rest. Price played in his league-leading 49th game Friday night. The Stars will likely choose Ben Bishop over Anton Khudobin. Bishop has a long history of success against Montreal, most of it while playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning. He has a lifetime 13-4-4 record against Montreal with a 1.75 goals-against average.
Offence is missing in action: The Canadiens have scored only four goals in their current losing streak and Julien has been encouraging his team to get more pucks to the net. The Canadiens should have a potent third line with Max Domi and Jonathan Drouin, but Domi has only one goal since Jan. 2 and Drouin continues to struggle with the wrist injury that sidelined him for three months. He has been back for four games and is still looking for his first point.
Home-ice woes: If the Canadiens hope to make a late-season run at a playoff berth, they have to play better in their nine remaining home games. They have a 13-15-4 record at the Bell Centre and have one of the worst power-play records at home. It’s a different matter on the road, where they have a winning record and are ranked third on the power play. Brendan Gallagher scored the lone Montreal goal on the power play Friday when he deflected a shot by Tomas Tatar. It was Gallagher’s 20th goal of the season. Tatar also has 20 goals and is Montreal’s leading scorer with 53 points.
Radulov on the limp: Alexander Radulov fans will be disappointed because the former Canadien is on the injured reserve list with a lower-body injury. Tyler Seguin leads the Dallas offence with 42 points, including 12 goals. Jamie Benn has 18 goals and 31 points to tie Radulov for second place on the team. Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov each have 17 goals. Joe Pavelski missed the Toronto game with an upper-body injury, but practised Friday and is listed as day-to-day.
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