Jets at Canadiens
After letting a third-period lead go by the boards in their last outing, the Montreal Canadiens will look to make amends on Thursday when they host the Winnipeg Jets. Montreal saw its three-game winning streak come to an end after yielding a trio of goals in the final session of a 5-3 setback to Philadelphia on Wednesday. The regulation loss prevented the Canadiens from extending their one-point lead over Boston in the Northeast Division and from trimming their five-point deficit behind Eastern Conference-leading Pittsburgh.
Winnipeg, which has dropped a season-high four in a row and six of eight, has seen its lead in the Southeast Division dwindle to just two points over Washington. Defenseman Paul Postma tallied twice to triple his career scoring output, but the Jets suffered a 5-2 setback to the New York Islanders on Tuesday. Although it currently occupies the third seed in the East, Winnipeg's minus-22 goal-differential is the second-worst in the conference (Florida, minus-36).
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, RDS, TSN
ABOUT THE JETS (18-18-2): Winnipeg will need to adjust to life without Nik Antropov, who is expected to miss two weeks with a lower-body injury. The Russian was injured during the third period of Tuesday's loss. The Jets were quiet in regard to the trade deadline, but did claim forward Mike Santorelli off waivers from Florida on Wednesday. Santorelli mustered just two goals and an assist in 24 games with the Panthers.
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (23-8-5): Montreal has won all 10 contests against Southeast Division adversaries - including a 4-3 triumph over Winnipeg on Jan. 29. Tomas Plekanec scored in that contest but exited Wednesday's tilt with a lower-body injury. His availability for Thursday isn't readily known. Carey Price, who made 29 saves on Wednesday, could receive a rare night off with Montreal playing on back-to-back nights. Should that be the case, Peter Budaj would receive his first start since March 10.
OVERTIME
1. Winnipeg has failed to convert on 13 power-play opportunities during its four-game losing streak.
2. Montreal acquired D Davis Drewiske from Los Angeles on Wednesday for a fifth-round selection in the 2013 draft.
3. Jets G Ondrej Pavelec stopped 22-of-26 shots in the team's earlier meeting. Pavelec has just four wins in 10 career outings versus Montreal - although two have resulted in shutouts.