Canadiens at Devils
The Montreal Canadiens look to bolster their lead in the Atlantic Division and pull even in points atop the Eastern Conference when they visit the skidding New Jersey Devils on Friday. The Canadiens, who play three of their final four games on the road, are clinging to a one-point advantage over Tampa Bay in the division and trail the New York Rangers for first in the conference.
Defenseman P.K. Subban scored his career-high 15th goal and added two assists in Montreal's wild 5-4 shootout loss to Washington on Thursday. "It's nice to get a point, but obviously you want to get the win," said Subban, who has netted two goals and set up three others during his three-game point streak, and his six assists helped the Canadiens claim the first two meetings with the Devils. Punchless New Jersey hasn't put up much of a fight of late, scoring fewer than three goals in each contest of its season-high six-game losing streak (0-4-2). Mike Cammalleri recorded his fifth two-goal performance of the season in a 3-2 setback to Columbus on Tuesday and has scored twice versus Montreal this season.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, RSN360, RDS (Montreal), MSG Plus (New Jersey)
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (47-22-9): Lars Eller scored versus the Capitals and has two goals and an assist during his three-game point streak. Tomas Plekanec has netted three goals against New Jersey this season - including two in a 6-2 triumph on Feb. 7. David Desharnais joined Subban by notching three assists in that contest and Max Pacioretty had two after scoring in the first meeting - a 4-2 victory on Jan. 15.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (31-33-13): Keith Kinkaid has been victimized by Montreal for nine goals on 69 shots this season but is expected to get the nod on Friday. "They say the third time is a charm, so, hopefully it is," Kinkaid told the Bergen (N.J.) Record. Stephen Gionta likely will miss the contest with a lower-back injury, with rookie Reid Boucher is expected to be inserted into the lineup after serving two games as a healthy scratch.
OVERTIME
1. Montreal G Dustin Tokarski has dropped five of his last six decisions (1-3-2) and has yet to face New Jersey in his career.
2. Devils C Adam Henrique leads the team with 41 points but has recorded just one (an assist) in his last six contests.
3. The Canadiens have scored four power-play goals over their last three games but have yielded five tallies while short-handed in that span.