Canadiens vs Senators

MONTREAL -- Peter Budaj's first start in the Stanley Cup Playoffs will determine whether or not the Montreal Canadiens get to continue their season.

No pressure.

The Canadiens announced Thursday that starting goaltender Carey Price will miss the remainder of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series against the Ottawa Senators with a lower-body injury, thrusting Budaj into the spotlight.

At age 30, Budaj will start a playoff game for the first time in his eight-season NHL career with no room for error. His team is down 3-1 in the best-of-7 series heading into Game 5 Thursday at Bell Centre (7 p.m. ET, CBC, RDS, CNBC), and his goal simply will be to get the Canadiens to a Game 6 in Ottawa on Saturday.

"I believe our players play hard in front of Carey, and I believe it's the same thing in front of Peter," Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said. "I think the guys respect him a lot and they compete in front of him. That goes both ways, Peter is working really hard for his teammates."

BROSSARD, Quebec -- Despite being on the brink of elimination, P.K. Subban is convinced the Montreal Canadiens are better than the Ottawa Senators.

The Canadiens defenseman said Wednesday he was eager to play Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series Thursday (7 p.m. ET, CNBC, CBC, RDS) with Montreal trailing 3-1 and needing a win to extend its season.

"We still have a pulse right now, we're still alive and [Game 5] is the biggest game of the season. We need to be ready to play," Subban said. "Quite frankly, I want to beat these guys. We have another opportunity [Thursday] to play and we can beat these guys. We're better."

The Canadiens certainly will have the odds stacked against them in Game 5.

Captain Brian Gionta and forwards Brandon Prust and Ryan White were ruled out for the game Wednesday, and early Thursday the announced goaltender Carey Price would miss the remainder of the series with a lower-body injury after he was hurt near the end of regulation the team's 3-2 overtime loss in Game 4 in Ottawa.

OTTAWA -- The Ottawa Senators held an optional skate Wednesday before departing for Montreal. The Senators lead the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 in their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series, with Game 5 set for Thursday (7 p.m. ET, CNBC, CBC, RDS).

Daniel Alfredsson and Milan Michalek did not participate in the practice, but coach Paul MacLean said that all players who played in Game 4 would be available for Game 5.

BROSSARD, Quebec -- Montreal Canadiens captain Brian Gionta will undergo season-ending surgery Friday to repair a torn left biceps muscle, the team announced Wednesday.

In addition, the Canadiens announced that forwards Ryan White and Brandon Prust each have an upper-body injury and will miss Game 5 of the team's Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday (7 p.m. ET, CNBC, CBC, RDS).

Goaltender Carey Price, who sat out overtime in Game 4 on Tuesday, is day-to-day with a lower-body injury and will be re-evaluated Thursday.

Price appeared to sustain his injury in the final seconds of regulation in Game 4. He made 30 saves, but when he reached for a high shot, he fell forward and stayed down for a moment. He was able to skate off under his own power, but when overtime began, Peter Budaj was in net.

This is the second year in a row Gionta has torn his biceps muscle; he underwent surgery Jan 11, 2012 to fix a torn right biceps muscle.

Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said Gionta took the latest injury news very hard.

"When he heard the news," Therrien said, "our captain was crying in my arms."

OTTAWA -- Ottawa Senators defenseman Eric Gryba returned to the lineup for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens (CNBC, CBC, RDS).

OTTAWA -- Montreal Canadiens captain Brian Gionta and center Ryan White are out of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday (CNBC, CBC, RDS) with upper-body injuries.

OTTAWA -- P.K. Subban came off the ice late, as he often does, after the Montreal Canadiens held their morning skate Tuesday to prepare for Game 4 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series against the Ottawa Senators (7 p.m. ET, CBC, RDS, CNBC), which Ottawa leads 2-1.

It had been about two hours since it was announced that Subban was one of three finalists for the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best all-round defenseman.

The Canadiens dressing room was packed with reporters, all of whom were informed that Subban did not want to address his Norris Trophy nomination because he wanted the focus to be on the team and not on him.

But some tried to get a word with him regardless.

"Sorry," Subban said as he rushed to get his equipment off, "got to get ready for the game, guys."

OTTAWA -- Defenseman Patrick Wiercioch, who sustained a lower-body injury in Game 3, will be unavailable for the Ottawa Senators in Game 4 against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET, CNBC, CBC, RDS), coach Paul MacLean said following an optional skate Monday.

The Senators lead the Canadiens 2-1 in their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series following a 6-1 victory Sunday night.

Goaltender Robin Lehner took part in Monday's skate, as well as Guillaume Latendresse, Matt Kassian, Peter Regin, Jim O'Brien, Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone, Andre Benoit, Mike Lundin and Eric Gryba.

Gryba will be eligible to play Tuesday after serving a two-game suspension for a hit on Lars Eller in the series opener.

OTTAWA – The Montreal Canadiens got a surprise visit before traveling to Ottawa for Game 3 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Senators (7 p.m. ET, CBC, RDS, NBCSN) on Sunday night.

Injured center Lars Eller went to the Canadiens suburban practice facility before the team got on the bus for the short ride to Ottawa, and coach Michel Therrien said it did everyone some good to see him.

"It was just nice to see him," Therrien said. "You can tell our guys care about him, he's such a good kid. It's nice that we know, first of all, that he's out of the hospital, and it was nice to see that he was capable to come to the rink."

Eller is recovering from a concussion and facial fractures from a hit he took in Game 1 from Senators defenseman Eric Gryba, who will serve the final game of his two-game suspension levied by the NHL for the hit by sitting out Game 3.

OTTAWA – The Ottawa Senators held a morning skate prior to their Game 3 matchup with the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Place Sunday night (7 p.m. ET, CNBC, CBC, RDS).

Captain Daniel Alfredsson, Milan Michalek and Colin Greening did not participate, but coach Paul MacLean insisted that all players would be made available if needed.

Left wing Cory Conacher could step in for Guillaume Latendresse, while Patrick Wiercioch may replace Andre Benoit on defense. Here's how the lines might look for Sunday:

Milan Michalek – Kyle Turris – Daniel Alfredsson

Colin Greening – Mika Zibanejad – Jakob Silfverberg

Matt Kassian – Zack Smith – Chris Neil

Cory Conacher – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Erik Condra

Marc Methot – Erik Karlsson

Chris Phillips – Sergei Gonchar

Patrick Wiercioch – Andre Benoit

Craig Anderson

Robin Lehner

Injured: Jason Spezza, Mike Hoffman

Scratches: Mike Lundin, Peter Regin, Jim O'Brien, Guillaume Latendresse, Andre Benoit, Mark Stone