MTL@EDM: Five things you need to know

EDMONTON - Here are five things you need to know ahead of Tuesday night's game against the Oilers at Rogers Place.

1.The Canadiens begin their three-game Western Canada road trip with a tilt in Edmonton. Claude Julien's contingent will be looking to build off a big 5-4 victory over the weekend against the Vegas Golden Knights. Tomas Tatar settled the score against his former team, registering the game-winner. He now has goals in three consecutive games. Andrew Shaw scored twice in the win, while Charles Hudon and Jesperi Kotkaniemi added goals as well. For his part, Max Domi factored in on the scoresheet for a sixth straight game, chipping in with a pair of assists. Over the course of his current streak, Domi boasts four goals and 10 points. He now leads the Canadiens with 21 points (9g - 12a) on the year. It was goaltender Antti Niemi who picked up the win, turning aside 34 of 38 shots against.

2. Following Tuesday's morning skate, Julien confirmed that Niemi would get the start in goal versus the Oilers. While there will be no lineup changes up front, there will be one switch on the back end. Noah Juulsen returns after missing the last two games, while Karl Alzner will be a healthy scratch. Juulsen was paired with Mike Reilly during the on-ice session.

3. The Oilers enter Tuesday night's contest looking to snap a four-game losing streak. Todd McLellan's squad dropped their most recent outing by a score of 4-1 to the Colorado Avalanche. According to the Oilers' Twitter account, Connor McDavid should be playing on a line with Leon Draisaitl and Drake Caggiula against the Habs. McDavid leads the Oilers with 23 points (10g - 13a), while Draisaitl (10g - 7a) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (3g - 14a) sit tied for second in that department with 17 points each. Mikko Koskinen will get the start in goal for Edmonton.
4. After giving up 15 goals in their last three games, the Canadiens understand that tightening things up defensively will be of primordial importance going forward. After Monday's workout, Shaw was asked about the need to be sharper in that department. "I think we need to buy into our system. I think we need to commit on re-loading, making sure we're having that third man high in the offensive zone," said Shaw. "You're a threat to score when you're in good position to play defense as well. I think that's something we need to work on and get better with. All around, we need to be better in front of our net as well." That's especially true given that the Habs have conceded four goals or more in six of their last seven outings.
5. Puck drop on Tuesday night is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. ET (7:00 p.m. MT). You can watch the game on TV on TSN2, Sportsnet West and RDS, and listen to all the action on TSN Radio 690 and 98,5 fm. Following the matchup, the Canadiens will fly to Calgary where they'll battle the Flames on Thursday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome.