Canadiens vs Blackhawks game thread

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The good news is that Josh Gorges is back and the Blackhawks are without the services of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. Oh and Douglas Murray is still suspended (this is the last game), so that finally Nathan Beaulieu finds his way into the Canadiens lineup. The bad news is that Carey Price, Alexei Emelin, and Andrei Markov are all staying back in Montreal. But that's not really bad news because Therrien's just resting those three players as a preventative measure heading into the playoffs. So really this is just good news all around for the Habs.

Sorry to get all Pollyanna there for a bit. It's just an exciting time for Habs fans. The offense is clicking, players are coming back from injury, and the Habs are getting contributions from a variety of players - including Rene Bourque (who played pretty well after spending a couple of games in Therrien's doghouse), Michael Bournival, and Lars Eller. An additional gift is that the playoffs are Leafs-free.

It's nice to be at a point in the season as a fan where you're not worrying about making the playoffs and you can wonder whether Max Pacioretty will score his 40th (he will) or Daniel Briere will score his 300th (he won't, but he'll score six goals in the playoffs).

And hey how about former Habs great, Trevor Linden being named the president of the Vancouver Canucks?

Tale of the tape

Puck drop is at 7:30 PM EST

Scratches: Douglas Murray (suspension - last game of a three game suspension), George Parros, Alexei Emelin, Carey Price, Andrei Markov

Injuries: Brandon Prust (upper body, out for the remainder of the season), Dale Weise (tendon), Travis Moen (concussion).

As for Chicago

Scratches: Teuvo Teravainen, Peter Regin, Matt Carey

Injuries: Nikolai Khabibulin (Lower body injury), Jonathan Toews (Upper body injury day-to-day), Patrick Kane (Left leg injury)

Check out the opposing side at Second City Hockey