Canadiens face the Lightning on 3-game losing streak
Tampa Bay Lightning (21-13-4, third in the Atlantic Division) vs. Montreal Canadiens (18-16-6, fifth in the Atlantic Division)
Montreal; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Montreal enters the matchup with Tampa Bay as losers of three straight games.
The Canadiens are 9-11-6 against Eastern Conference opponents. Montreal has scored 25 power-play goals, converting on 23.6% of chances.
The Lightning are 14-2-0 against the rest of their division. Tampa Bay is the NHL leader with 6.3 assists per game, led by Victor Hedman averaging 0.8.
Tampa Bay beat Montreal 5-4 in the last meeting between these teams on Dec. 28. Alex Killorn scored two goals for the Lightning in the win.
TOP PERFORMERS: Tomas Tatar has recorded 35 total points while scoring 16 goals and adding 19 assists for the Canadiens. Max Domi has totaled six goals and six assists over the last 10 games for Montreal.
Killorn leads the Lightning with 15 goals and has 34 points. Hedman has collected eight assists over the last 10 games for Tampa Bay.
LAST 10 GAMES: Lightning: 7-2-1, averaging 3.4 goals, 5.7 assists, 3.1 penalties and seven penalty minutes while allowing 2.6 goals per game with a .911 save percentage.
Canadiens: 5-5-0, averaging 3.4 goals, 5.3 assists, 3.7 penalties and 7.7 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game with a .910 save percentage.
INJURIES: Canadiens: Joel Armia: day to day (upper body).
Lightning: None listed.
