Flames at Canadiens
Canada is likely to have no representatives in the Stanley Cup playoffs this season, but the Montreal Canadiens look to maintain their glimmer of hope when they host the Calgary Flames on Sunday. Montreal's postseason aspirations - unrealistic as they are - took a major hit with Saturday's 5-0 loss at Ottawa, which holds its nation's best chance of qualifying as it trails Detroit by seven points for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
While injuries to reigning Hart and Vezina Trophy winner Carey Price have played a major role in the team's struggles, Alex Galchenyuk has been a bright spot as he has set a new career high with a team-leading 26 goals. Back-to-back playoff appearances after a five-season drought is a faded dream for Calgary, which sits 12 points behind Colorado for the second wild card in the West. The Flames are kicking off a three-game road trip after a successful 3-1-2 homestand that concluded with Friday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Avalanche. Johnny Gaudreau more than avoided the sophomore jinx this campaign as he leads the Flames in goals (26), assists (44) and points (70).
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet (Calgary), RDS (Montreal)
ABOUT THE FLAMES (30-35-6): The wait is over for Niklas Backstrom, who on Sunday will make his first start since being pulled from Minnesota's net after allowing six goals on 35 shots at Pittsburgh on Jan. 13, 2015. The 38-year-old Finnish netminder has waited even longer for a victory, last winning on Dec. 13, 2014 at Arizona. Dennis Wideman's nightmare of a season is over, as the defenseman - who received a lengthy suspension for making contact with a linesman and has recorded two goals and 19 points in 51 games after setting career highs of 15 and 56 last campaign - will miss the rest of 2015-16 with a triceps injury suffered Wednesday against Winnipeg.
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (33-33-6): Andrei Markov overtook Serge Savard for sole possession of ninth place on the franchise list by appearing in his 918th game with Montreal on Saturday. Fellow defenseman P.K. Subban will miss his fifth consecutive contest due to a neck injury but could return to the lineup next week. Captain Max Pacioretty, who had his six-game point streak snapped by the Senators, is mired in a five-game goal-scoring drought and has tallied just once in his last 10 contests.
OVERTIME
1. Three of the six goal scorers (Montreal's Dale Weise and Devante Smith-Pelly, Calgary's Jiri Hudler) in the Canadiens' 6-2 road victory over the Flames on Oct. 30 no longer are with their organizations.
2. Montreal is second in the league with 11 short-handed goals allowed, including three - a franchise single-game record - in Saturday's loss.
3. Calgary lost six straight away from home before topping Pittsburgh on March 5 in its last road contest.