TAMPA -- The Tampa Bay Lightning finish a six-game homestand Monday when they host the Vancouver Canucks.

The Lightning have gathered six of a possible 10 points and won their past two games after starting the stretch with a 3-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

"We've had a pretty good homestand and we can turn a pretty good homestand into a great homestand with a win [Monday]," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "That's what this is."

The game Monday will feature a reunion of the 2003-04 Lightning team that won the Stanley Cup, and 14 members of that team have returned. Also on hand is that team's coach, John Tortorella, with his new team, the Vancouver Canucks. All that commotion has not gone unnoticed by the current Lightning coach.

BUFFALO -- Montreal Canadiens forward Thomas Vanek made his return here Saturday, while a member of his third team this season.

Vanek was traded by the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 27 to the New York Islanders for Matt Moulson, a first-round pick in the 2014 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in 2015.

Making his first trip back to the city he called home for more than eight seasons was a bit strange.

"I don't know what to expect really," Vanek said. "All I know is there are a lot of good feelings and good memories in this building (First Niagara Center), in this town. It's something I'll cherish forever. Since last time I was here and the stint in between Montreal, guys ask me about Buffalo, I just, there's nothing bad I can really say about it."

CHICAGO -- The Detroit Red Wings were hoping to sneak up on the Chicago Blackhawks and steal a victory Sunday at United Center (7:30 p.m. ET, TSN2, NBCSN).

Instead, the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks (38-15-14) are searching for the smelling salt and their snarl after losing two straight games and falling to third in the Central Division.

"I wish they had won 10 in a row so they would be taking us lightly," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock told reporters in Detroit on Saturday. "They've dropped a couple in a row here and that's part of the business. Real good teams have some lulls in the season and then they usually get rolling again, and without question I'm sure they will."

BUFFALO -- The Buffalo Sabres will be without goalie Michal Neuvirth when they face the Montreal Canadiens at First Niagara Center on Sunday night.

Sabres coach Ted Nolan announced Neuvirth would miss the game due to a lower-body injury. Neuvirth sustained the injury in his most-recent start, against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday. He made 51 saves in a 4-2 loss.

"Michal got banged up the game he did play," Nolan said. "It's just one of those to add another to the injury list. It should be, hopefully, a day-to-day type thing. We'll see how it goes. We'll monitor it and get some therapy on it and hopefully it's just a day-to-day."

OTTAWA -- The Ottawa Senators have an opportunity to put a crushing overtime loss behind them when they host the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday.

Ottawa gave up three goals to the Montreal Canadiens in the final 3:22 of regulation Saturday to blow a 4-1 lead. The Senators, who face an uphill climb to get into playoff contention, had to settle for one point after Montreal scored its fourth straight goal in overtime for a stunning 5-4 come-from-behind win.

Ottawa (28-25-13) is in 12th place in the Eastern Conference with 69 points, seven points out of the second and final wild-card spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

NEW YORK -- San Jose Sharks forward Raffi Torres participated in warm-ups Sunday afternoon but will not return to the lineup against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

Torres missed the first five months of the season after undergoing knee surgery during training camp. He had five points in five games after returning to the lineup, but recent soreness has forced the 32-year-old to miss his fourth straight game.

Rangers coach Alain Vigneault has been doing plenty of line juggling. When forward Martin St. Louiswas acquired at the NHL Trade Deadline from the Tampa Bay Lighting, the assumption was that he would seamlessly fit on a line with former Lightning teammate Brad Richards. When those two failed to provide consistent offense, Vigneault made some changes, opting to put St. Louis on a line with forward Mats Zuccarello and center Derick Brassard.

WINNIPEG -- The Dallas Stars have an opportunity to gain more ground on the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday at MTS Centre.

The Stars hold the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference in their bid to reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2008. Dallas owns a six-point advantage on Winnipeg and two games in hand when they begin a three-game road trip this week.

"It seems like every game is desperation time for us [and] for [Winnipeg]," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said after the morning skate. "We realize as a team where [Winnipeg is] at, and I think they look at this game as do-or-die and a chance to move up against a team that is in a playoff spot."

The Stars expect to have center Cody Eakin back in the lineup. Eakin missed the Stars' 4-3 shootout loss at home against the Calgary Flames on Friday with a lower-body injury.

WASHINGTON -- Scoring at even strength has not been one of the Washington Capitals' strong suits this season.

In 68 games, the Capitals have scored 117 goals 5-on-5, 19th in the NHL, and their top six has done little to boost those numbers as of late.

Since returning from the League's two-week break for the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Washington's top-six forwards, recently consisting of Brooks Laich, Nicklas Backstrom, Alex Ovechkin, Dustin Penner, Marcus Johansson and Troy Brouwer, have scored five 5-on-5 goals among them in nine games.

BUFFALO – The Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens could each be without their starting goalies when they face off Sunday night.

The Canadiens will be without starter Carey Price after he made his first start since returning from the 2014 Sochi Olympics on Saturday night against the Ottawa Senators.

Montreal came back from down 4-1 in the final 5:00 of the game to beat Ottawa 5-4 in overtime. Canadiens coach Michel Therrien announced after the game that Price wouldn't make the trip to Buffalo so he could stay rested.

With Price not on the trip, Peter Budaj will likely get the start against the Sabres and Dustin Tokarski will back him up.

PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Penguins forward Chris Kunitz will miss his second consecutive game with a lower-body injury Sunday afternoon when the Penguins host the Philadelphia Flyers (12:30 p.m. ET, NBC, TSN2) in the back end of a home-and-home series.

Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said Kunitz, who normally plays left wing on the top line, is "feeling well, but not well enough to be in today's lineup" at Consol Energy Center. Kunitz seemed to injure his leg during a game against the Washington Capitals on March 11 after colliding with a goal post in the third period.

Kunitz struggled to skate to the bench, but finished the game on the top line after taking one shift on the fourth line.