The Montreal Candadiens woke up this morning, finding themselves in 13th place in the NHL's Eastern Conference. The good news is that they remained six points back of the eighth place Toronto Maple Leafs. Only now, there's a couple more clubs sandwiched in between them.

Their opponents on the early evening, the New Jersey Devils, sit sixth in the Conference, but have to watch their backs to maintain their position.

The Devils don't seem to have that concern at the moment, going 7-1-2 in their last ten games. They have also picked up wins in their last two meetings with the Canadiens, both 5-3 decisions.

In both of those games, New Jersey scored three unanswered goals and stole four precious points from the Canadiens. You have to think the Habs will have that on their minds tonight, especially with a playoof chance still within their grasp.

Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchk will be the Devils forwards that the Canadiens will want to contain. Parise has 11 points in the Devils last ten games, while Kovalchuk has 17 points in his last nine.

Louis Leblanc is under the weather, so Aaron Palushaj will take his spot in the lineup.

"The Pawn" Carey Price will get the start in goal for the Canadiens. As expected, Martin Brodeur gets the call for the Devils.

This Day in Habs History

1977: Yvan Cournoyer records his 399th and 400th career goals with the Canadiens, and Jaacques Lemaire scored his 300th. The Habs beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2, extending their home unbeaten streak to 23 games (18-0-5).

1955: Boom -Boom Geoffrion scored 5 goals, and Doug Harvey had 5 assists in a 10-2 thumping of the New York Rangers.

The Canadiens will honor the passing of Gary Carter with a pre-game video tribute. The players will wear No. 8 jersey's in the pregame warm-up and decals on their helmets. The jerseys will be auctioned off, with proceeds going towards the Gary Carter Foundation. The family has also released his official obituary.

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The Montreal Canadiens will have another valuable four-point game in there last ditch effort to make the playoffs this season. Despite the Buffalo Sabres record this season, it won't be easy.

Lindy Ruff's squad has beat the Habs in all three meetings this season, in which all three games could have gone in Montreal's favor. Ruff knows how to adapt well in game situations, which he demonstrated well in the Sabres 3-1 win over Montreal on January 31.

But with a Canadiens win tonight and a strong finish through February, the remaining two games against Buffalo could be highly beneficial.

With Jhonas Enroth getting the start, and getting chased, Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers, Ryan Miller will be between the pipes for the Sabres tonight. Miller has allowed just a single Canadiens goal in each of his starts this season.

Carey Price has been outstanding against Buffalo, despite being unable to record a win this season. He has a 1.97 GAA and a .935 SvPct in all three games against the Sabres.

With Hal Gill traded this afternoon, Erik Cole will now be an alternate captain for the Canadiens.

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The Montreal Canadiens are on the verge of a 5 game winning streak for the first time this season, and have a legitimate shot at it as the lowly Carolina Hurricanes come to visit.

Montreal has defeated the Hurricanes in both meetings this season and are 7-3 against the Canes the last 3 seasons.

Carolina is having a similar nightmare season to Montreal, also backstopped by their top end goaltender in Cam Ward. Ward isn't having a banner year, but he's under siege every night behind Carolina's weak defensive corps and young forwards. Despite this, Ward owns the distinction of being the only goaltender in the NHL to have recorded all of his team's wins.

The Hurricanes have been hurt by several players failing to meet expectations of GM Jim Rutherford, chief among them Tomas Kaberle, who was traded to Montreal after being used poorly in Carolina and not fitting in. Other major disappointments in Carolina include Zac Dalpe, who was supposed to take a top 6 forward role, and Anthony Stewart, who was recently waived in an attempt to shed his contract.

Similarly disappointing has been Eric Staal, who has struggled to produce offense without his buddy Erik Cole, who's thriving in Montreal.

Travis Moen, Yannick Weber, Andrei Markov, Brian Gionta, Mike Blunden and Petteri Nokelainen make up the injured list for the Habs. Ryan White and Ian Schultz have been called up from Hamilton but it's unclear whether or not they'll play.

Carolina is missing their top defenseman as well in Joni Pitkanen, as well as backup goalie Brian Boucher.

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The Montreal Canadiens travel to the "Centre of The Hockey Universe" to face the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at the ACC. GIven the Leafs Stanley Cup and playoff droughts of late, "The Black Hole of The Hockey Universe" might be more like it.

The Leafs are currently sitting in the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, in a pack of five teams sperated by just five points. Their playoff chances are better than the Habs, who will need miracle run to hit the post season.

The Habs are on a roll, having won three straight, so a chance to take a piece out of the Leafs playoffs hopes couldn't please them more.

Unlike Toronto teams of the past, Ron Wilson has his boys doing a great job of holding the lead after two periods. The Leafs are 20-0-1 after 40 minutes, fifth best in the league. The Habs will not want to be behind, especially in the Blue and White's barn.

The Canadiens had no problem in Toronto in their last meeting, pulling out a 3-1 win for their first win of the regular season series. The Leafs took the first two games,

James Reimer gets the start in goal for the Leafs. Reimer is 2-1-0 (2.70, .919) with a shutout in his career against the Canadiens.

Mike Komisarek will be a healthy scratch for the Leafs.

The Leafs will honor Mats Sundin's Number 13 in a pre-game ceremony. Sundin's Former teammate Tomas Kaberle will take the ceremonial faceoff for the Canadiens

Randy Cunneyworth will decide on his lineup following the warm up. Vegas has it at even money whether he starts six or seven defensemen tonight.

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The Montreal Canadiens get another opportunity to play leapfrog in the Eastern Conference standings, as they visit the New York Islanders.

A win could move them into 11th place, depending on what the Tampa Bay Lightning do tonight. Both the Islanders and Lighting have two games in hand over Montreal.

The Islanders are 6-2-2 in their last ten games, coming off a 1-0 shootout win over the Flyers, Tuesday night.

Goaltender Evgeni Nabokov has been a big part of the Islanders' recent success, winning seven of his last nine starts, while allowing just a single goal or less in six of them.

The Russian netminder has faced just two shots against the Habs this season, stopping both. His only appearance came was a less than eight minute relief of injury prone Rick DiPietro, in the Islanders 4-3 win back in October. Nabokov is 5-2-0 (2.81, .893) in his career versus the Canadiens.

Update: Aaron Palushaj, just called up, is a healthy scratch.

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Yes folks, Sidney Crosby was skating with his Pittsburgh Penguins teammates Monday, but will not be dressed to ace the Montreal Canadiens tonight. Crosby said he is no closer to returning to the team, and is not ready for full practices on a regular basis

Even without "Sid the Kid" though, the Penguins have been on a tear of late, going 8-2-0 in their last ten games, and sitting in fifth place in the Eastern Conference.

They've had no problems with the Canadiens this season, having won all three prior meetings. The last was on January 20, a 5-4 shootout win in Pittsburgh, that saw Montreal lose the lead three times, including a two goal lead in the third period.

The big factor in the Penguins success has been Evgeni Malkin, who potted the tying goal and shootout winner in their last meeting. Malkin has 29 goals on the season and leads the league in scoring with 61 points.

Tyler Kennedy was sent back to Pittsburgh, to be examined for a lower-body injury.

Travis Moen is a game time decision tonight for the Canadiens, and has been the talk of trade rumors for some time. The latest report has the rugged winger going back to the San Jose Sharks.

Marc-Andre Fleury gets the call in goal for Pittsburgh, while Carey Price returns to the crease for the Canadiens.

Pre Game Reading:

Chris Boucher asks why Anthony Stewart was not claimed on waivers.

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Good news Montreal Canadiens fans, this team can't bet any worse in the NHL Eastern Conference. The Habs found themselves dead last in the Conference this morning, but could bounce back into 14th with a win over the Winnipeg Jets.

This is the fourth and final meeting between the two clubs, with Montreal holding a 2-1 series lead. In their last meeting, Lars Eller had a career night, potting four goals, and adding an assist, in a 7-3 win at the Bell Centre.

The Jets are crawling at a playoff spot, sitting four points back of eighth place, heading into this afternoon. If they want a playoff berth, their offense will need to pick up steam, especially on the road where they are 9-15-4.

Winnipeg is 4-5-1 in their last ten, and have two or less goals in nine of their last 11 games. Their power play has also struggled with just three goals in their last 31 opportunities.

But if there's a place to bag a road win theses days, the Bell Centre is the place. The Canadiens are one of two clubs with a below .500 record at home. The even worse Columbus Blue Jackets are the other.

Dustin Byfuglien returned to the Jets Thursday, following a 16-game absence.

Ondrej Pavelec gets the call in goal for the Jets. Carey Price will be between the pipes for Montreal.

Raphael Diaz is a healthy scratch for the Habs.

The Canadiens are 11-8-1 on Superbowl Sunday, but have lost the last five straight games.

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This will be the second meeting of the season between the Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals.

The first meeting didn't fair well for the Canadiens (what game has?), when Michal Neuvirth whitewashed them 3-0 on January 18. Neuvirth has only had three starts since December 26, and given a loss and an 88-footer he let in against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday, we should see Tomas Vokoun between the pipes.

Alexander Ovechkin had one of Washington's three goals that night, and returns from his three-game suspension. While far off his typical season point totals thus far (39 points in 47 games), Ovechkin tends to bring out his A-game against Montreal. He has 27 (13 goals) points in 23 career games against the Canadiens, with 10 points coming while his team is on the man advantage.

Mathieu Perreault also contributed a goal in the last meeting between the two clubs, and has 7 points (5 goals - including a hat trick) in his last 6 games.

As a whole, the Capitals were dumped from third to ninth in the Eastern Conference standings, after the Florida Panthers leap-frogged over them for the Southeast Division lead, Wednesday.

One of the Caps biggest problems is finding wins on the road, where they third worst in the conference at 8-14-3 to go with a minus-20 goal differential.

But whether on the road or not, the Capitals have no problems when leading after 40 minutes. They are 15-0-0 when starting the 3rd period with a lead, which will mean lights out for the Habs if they find themselves in that position this afternoon. Then again having a lead hasn't down the Canadiens much good of late either.

With Canadiens playing their traditional back-to-back Superbowl Weekend afternoon games, Peter Budaj gets the call in goal against the Capitals. Budaj is 0-1 (3.81, .848) in 79 minutes of career action against Washington.

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