Tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Montreal Canadiens (43-19-7, 93 points) and Tampa Bay Lightning (42-21-7, 91 points) face-off for the fourth of five meetings this season live from the Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay.
Montreal has lost two of its last three games and five of seven overall as it plays the second tilt in a three-match road trip while Tampa Bay has dropped two consecutive contests and plays the second match of a five-game home stand.
The Lightning have taken all three previous meetings with the Canadiens this season, including a 1-0 triumph in overtime last Tuesday.
Montreal enters play on top of the Atlantic Division while Tampa Bay is just two points back and the Detroit Red Wings are in third place with 87 points.
This game can be live streamed by clicking here.
The Canadiens are coming off of a 3-1 win over the New York Islanders on Saturday and will have defenseman Alexei Emelin back from injury as they look to avenge last Tuesday's loss to Tampa Bay.
"We were disappointed in our performance last time we played these guys," Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher said per NHL.com. "I expect we'll play 60 minutes [Monday] and do a better job of representing the Montreal Canadiens."
Max Pacioretty has paced Montreal with 60 points and is first in the NHL with a plus-39 rating and tied for fourth with 34 goals while P.K. Subban is second on the Canadiens with 50 points off of 12 tallies and a team-best 38 helpers.
The Lightning enter play on the heels of a 2-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday and realize that their opponents are coming in with vengeance on their minds.
"At this point you can't worry about the last game because you have a team like Montreal waiting to make a statement [Monday]," forward Brian Boyle told NHL.com. "I'm ready for this game; these are the fun games, especially during this time of the season."
Tyler Johnson is Tampa Bay's leader in points (65) and assists (40) and ranks third in the NHL with a plus-35 rating while Steven Stamkos is third in the league and first on the Lightning with 37 goals and has 62 points.
In the crease, Tampa Bay is set to turn to Ben Bishop and he is fourth in the league with 33 wins and has added a 2.32 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage.
Montreal is set to counter with Carey Price between the pipes and he leads all NHL goaltenders with 38 wins, a 1.91 GAA and a .936 save percentage.
The top spot in the Atlantic Division hangs in the balance when the puck drops on the Canadiens and Lightning tonight at the Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay.
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