Montreal has enjoyed life at the top of the Atlantic Division for quite some time, but they haven't been able to clinch it just yet. They'll hope to get one step closer when they host Florida on Thursday night. As it stands, the Canadiens are four points ahead of Ottawa in first place. On the other end, the Panthers are desperately needing a victory after dropping their last two games. Puck drop is set for 7:30 PM Eastern time and the contest can be seen on NHL.tv, FSN Florida, RDS, and Sportsnet East in Canada.
Panthers (33-32-11, 77 points, 6th Atlantic)
After blowing past Chicago in a 7-0 romp, Florida has given up that same amount of goals in their last two games against Buffalo and Toronto. Their road trip continues with tough matchups against montreal and Boston -- the Bruins being a huge one considering they're chasing them for the second wild card spot.
Goaltender is rough situation for the Panthers right now. Roberto Luongo (17-15-6) has been out since March 2nd with a lower body injury and is listed as doubtful. James Reimer (16-15-5) suffered a head injury in their previous game against the Maple Leafs. They'll be down to Reto Berra who's played in four games for Florida this season.
Canadiens (43-24-9, 95 points, 1st Atlantic)
Montreal ends their six-game homestand and will hope to finish it with a 4-2 record before heading out to a hungry Tampa Bay team and a rematch with this same Panthers squad. The Canadiens have scored seven goals in their last two games against Ottawa and Dallas - the game against the Senators was a crucial victory as they're currently fighting for the Atlantic division title.
Florida isn't the only one dealing with goalie issues. Al Montoya (8-6-4) didn't play in the previous game due to a lower-body injury and it's uncertain whether or not he'll make an appearance in this game. Phillip Danault (36 pts) scored a goal last time these two teams met. His most recent score was against Ottawa on March 18th.
The Canadiens are a solid -205 favorite at home. However, the Panthers ran a five-game winning streak through them until Montreal put an end to that in their last meeting back on December 29th.
