Tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Detroit Red Wings (26-20-12, 64 points) and Montreal Canadiens (32-21-6, 70 points) faceoff for the second of five meetings against each other live from Bell Centre in Montreal. The game can be live streamed here. Detroit fans can hear all of the action by adjusting their radios to 97.1 The Ticket while Montreal fans can do the same on TSN 690.
The Red Wings trail Montreal by six points in the Atlantic Division coming into play. Detroit went 5-3-2 in their last 10 prior to the Olympic break while Montreal holds the third and final spot in the Atlantic Division. The first time these two teams met, the Red Wings beat the Canadiens 4-1 on Jan. 24 in Detroit.
The Canadiens enter a tough stretch of their schedule without Carey Price, who won the gold medal with Canada at the Sochi Games but suffered a lower-body injury that will sideline him for two games.
"We understand we're going through a tough part of our schedule," coach Michel Therrien said via NHL.com. "This is faster than a playoff run, so it's going to be really demanding on the players."
The Canadiens will turn to Peter Budaj, who is 6-4-1 with a 1.97 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage. He'll likely be opposed by Jimmy Howard, who is 12-13-9 with a 2.65 GAA and a .914 save percentage.
The Red Wings are hanging onto the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and know it will be a tight end to the season.
"We have to make sure that every single day we're really dialed in and prepared to do everything it takes to get our wins," associate coach Tom Renney told the Detroit Free Press. "Try to win 1-0. So be it. I don't think we're as decimated as maybe some would like to believe."
Detroit's leading scorer Henrik Zetterberg (back) is sidelined, but Pavel Datsyuk is expected to return from injury tonight. With Zetterberg out, Niklas Kronwall leads the team with 36 points off of six goals and 30 assists while Daniel Alfredsson has 14 tallies and 21 helpers for 35 points.
P.K. Subban leads Montreal with 39 points off of eight goals and 31 assists while Max Pacioretty has 26 markers and 11 helpers for 37 points and Tomas Plekanec has lit the lamp 17 times and added 16 assists for 33 points.
The Olympic break ends for the Red Wings and Canadiens when they hit the ice tonight at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
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