Stars at Canadiens
After knocking off their nearest pursuer for the third time in an eight-day span, the Montreal Canadiens will try to protect their slim lead in the Atlantic Division when they host the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night. Montreal owns a three-point lead over Ottawa following Saturday's 3-1 win over the Senators, who still hold a game in hand.
The Canadiens have split the first four contests of their six-game homestand, but rebounded from a pair of losses to beat Ottawa and remain perched atop the division. "Sometimes those things happen," defenseman Andrei Markov said. "You win a couple of games and you relax a bit. There's no time to relax now." While Montreal has seven games remaining and four of the past five are away from home as it vies for the No. 2 seed in the East, Dallas is playing out the string entering the second stop of a five-game road trip. The Stars, who were officially eliminated from postseason contention Monday night, have won two in a row and are riding a four-game point streak.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Dallas), RDS, Sportsnet East (Montreal)
ABOUT THE STARS (31-33-11): Although defense and goaltending have been a nightmare for most of the season, starting netminder Kari Lehtonen was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week following a stellar four-game stretch. Lehtonen started each game during the current 3-0-1 run and recorded an 0.98 goals-against average and .959 save percentage. Forward Patrick Sharp, Dallas' nominee for the Masterton Trophy, may have played his last game for the team -- he will undergo hip surgery on Tuesday.
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (42-24-9): Markov sat out 19 games this season after missing just four over the previous four campaigns, but is still providing solid production with a pair of goals and an assist in Saturday's win over Ottawa. "My boy had a birthday on Monday and I guess now I don't have to go to the store to buy a present for him," Markov said. "I'm going to give him a puck from tonight." Fellow blue-liner Shea Weber added his 12th power-play tally, the second-highest total of his career.
OVERTIME
1. Stars F Tyler Seguin, who scored his 25th goal Sunday, has nine goals and 20 points in 22 games versus Montreal.
2. Canadiens G Carey Price is 5-4-0 with a 2.90 goals-against average versus Dallas.
3. Stars F Jason Spezza has four goals and eight assists in the past 11 games.