MTL@STL: Five things you need to know

ST. LOUIS - Here are five things you need to know ahead of Thursday night's game against the Blues at the Enterprise Center.

1.The Canadiens are coming off a big 3-2 win in Detroit that snapped a two-game losing streak. Brendan Gallagher, Joel Armia and Jeff Petry scored for Montreal, while Tomas Tatar collected a pair of assists against his former team. Goaltender Antti Niemi earned the win with a 30-save performance in between the pipes. The Canadiens held an optional skate on Thursday morning and only extra players - Charles Hudon, Matthew Peca, Mike Reilly, and Niemi - were on the ice, meaning Nicolas Deslauriers, Michael Chaput, and Karl Alzner would draw into the lineup and Carey Price would get the start against the Blues.

2.For their part, the Blues have struggled thus far this season. They currently sit seventh and last in the Central Division with 38 points, and most recently dropped a 3-1 decision to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night at home. Ryan O'Reilly leads St. Louis in all three major offensive categories with 16 goals, 24 assists and 40 points in 41 games. David Perron ranks second on the roster in scoring with 30 points (15g - 15a), while Vladimir Tarasenko (12g - 12a) sits third alongside Brayden Schenn (9g - 15a) with 24 points. According to the Blues' website, head coach Craig Berube's squad will be without the services of Alexander Steen due to a shoulder injury. Tyler Bozak is also expected to miss the contest with an upper-body injury. Jordan Binnington is the projected starter in goal for St. Louis.

3. This marks the second and final matchup between the two teams this season. Back on October 17, Gallagher's goal with 11 seconds remaining in regulation time gave the Canadiens a 3-2 win at the Bell Centre. Max Domi scored his first goal as a member of the Habs in the victory, as did Reilly.

4.There are milestones aplenty to keep an eye on come Thursday night. To start, Deslauriers' return to the lineup will mark his 300th career NHL game. Likewise, Armia would be playing his 200th career NHL game, and it would also mark the 200th game for Phillip Danault in a Canadiens uniform. Should the Habs down the Blues, it would be the 3,500th win in team history (NHA and NHL).

5. Puck drop on Thursday night is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. EST. You can watch the game on TSN2 and RDS, and listen to all the action on TSN Radio 690 and 98,5 fm. Following the contest, the Canadiens will return to Montreal where they'll be back in action against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night at the Bell Centre.