Canadiens at Penguins
The Montreal Canadiens have already secured a postseason berth but they have looked like anything but a playoff team in absorbing back-to-back drubbings. Regaining their equilibrium will not be easy for Montreal, which will attempt to avoid a season-worst third straight defeat when it visits the Eastern Conference-leading Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night. The Canadiens have been outscored 12-4 in their last two games.
Pittsburgh opened the month with a similar two-game spell to what Montreal is going through. After getting outscored 10-2, the Penguins have bounced back to rip off four consecutive victories to inch closer to clinching the top seed in the East and home-ice advantage throughout the conference playoffs. Pittsburgh has a seven-point cushion over the Canadiens with six games to play and has won five of the last six meetings, including a pair of one-goal decisions this season.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN, RDS (Montreal), ROOT (Pittsburgh)
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (26-11-5): Montreal has played a pair of duds since clinching a playoff berth, and coach Michel Therrien said the team has lost its edge. “When we locked up our spot in the playoffs, we lost a little of that desperation,” Therrien said. “It’s our job now to find it again and build on it so we’re playing the best hockey possible when we start the playoffs.” Goaltender Carey Price has lost three straight starts and been yanked from his last two. “We let him down and that definitely shouldn’t happen," center Tomas Plekanec said. "He’s our goalie and we should be working to help him out a lot more than we are."
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (32-10-0): Superstar Sidney Crosby skated for a second straight day Tuesday, his first times on the ice since undergoing surgery for a broken jaw suffered in a game against the New York Islanders on March 30. James Neal (concussion) was on the ice both days with Crosby, who still leads the league in scoring despite missing the last six games. Coach Dan Bylsma said there is no timetable for either of the players to return. Evgeni Malkin, a 50-goal scorer last season, could sit out his second straight game due to a right shoulder injury that he aggravated in Thursday's win over Tampa Bay.
OVERTIME
1. Penguins G Marc-Andre Fleury has won three straight and is 10-1-0 in his last 11 starts.
2. Canadiens captain Brian Gionta, who scored twice against the Penguins on March 2, has 17 goals and 37 points in 48 games against them.
3. Montreal D Ryan White will have an in-person disciplinary hearing Wednesday morning for his shoulder-to-chin hit on Philadelphia D Kent Huskins.