Montreal is hoping to soon solidify their top seed in the Atlantic Division, and they may have caught Dallas at the right time on Tuesday night. The Canadiens are currently three points clear of the Ottawa Senators after Monday night's action.
The Stars didn't play last night, but they have officially been eliminated from postseason contention due to other action around the league. Their role has simply become a spoiler for the remainder of the season. Puck drop will happen at 7:30 PM Eastern time on Tuesday night and the contest will be broadcast on FSN Southwest, RDS, and Sportsnet East in montreal, Quebec.
Stars (31-33-11, 73 points, 6th Central)
Dallas won three of their last four games, but that was ultimately not good enough to stay in the playoff race. Both the Stars and the Winnipeg Jets were eliminated, leaving the Los Angeles Kings as longshot odds to make the postseason. Now that the rest of the season won't matter, we'll see if that either pushes them to finish out strong or if it gives their opponents a lift.
Right wing Jiri Hudler (11 pts) could miss his third consecutive game with a lower-body injury. His status is currently questionable. He last scored a goal and assist against Boston back on February 26th.
Canadiens (42-24-9, 93 points, 1st Atlantic)
Despite going just 4-4 in their last eight games, Montreal is keeping up in first-place in the Atlantic division.
They were able to gain some breathing room over second-place Ottawa with a 3-1 win over them last time out. They'll complete their six-game homestand against Florida before heading to Tampa Bay, who is in desperation mode to get a playoff bid.
Defender Nikita Nesterov (14 pts) has missed the last five games with a lower-body injury and is questionable for this game.
Defender Andrei Markov (35 pts) was responsible for two of the team's three goals against Ottawa last Saturday. That was the first time he recorded a goal since February 18th against Winnipeg.
Montreal has won five of the last seven meetings against Dallas. The Canadiens are listed as a -200 favorite at home. They're 7-0 in their last seven games when they play on two days rest.
