The Canadiens are 4-7-3 in their past 14 games and lost 2-0 at the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday. Montreal is 12 points behind the Carolina Hurricanes for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. Arizona is 3-0-1 in its past four games and 6-5-5 in 2018.
Players to watch
Canadiens forward BrendanGallagher has eight points (four goals, four assists) in his past nine games. Coyotes defenseman Alex Goligoski has three goals and four assists during a five-game point streak.
They said it
"We can't keep giving the goaltender on the other side credit all the time. We have to take the responsibility of saying it's our job to score goals." -- Canadiens coach Claude Julien, whose team has scored five goals in a three-game losing streak "With seven games at home, sometimes it can be really beneficial, sometimes guys can get stale. I don't think we can afford to get stale." -- Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet, whose team opens a seven-game homestand
The Canadiens did not have a morning skate, so there was no update on their injured players. … Wedgewood skated Thursday morning and will back up Raanta. He left in the third period of a 2-1 win at the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday after his head struck the net in a collision with Sharks forward Timo Meier. He went through the concussion protocol. Wedgewood said he had a headache but no concussion.
Stat pack
Pacioretty has two points (two assists) in his past seven games after getting 11 points (eight goals, three assists) in his previous 10. Petry has eight points (four goals, four assists) in his past nine games. Price is 1-3-1 with a 2.19 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage in his past five starts. … Fischer has four assists during a three-game point streak. Cousins has four points (three goals, one assist) in his past four games. Raanta is 5-3-4 with a 2.13 GAA and a .930 save percentage in his past 13 games (12 starts).
