MTL@ANA: Five things you need to know

ANAHEIM - Here are five things you need to know ahead of Friday night's game against the Ducks at the Honda Center.

1. The game against the Ducks marks the Habs' second in two nights. On Thursday, the Canadiens dropped a 5-2 decision to the San Jose Sharks at the SAP Center. Artturi Lehkonen broke a 29-game goalless drought to get Montreal on the board against the Sharks, while Andrew Shaw added a second one for the Canadiens, counting for his 34th point of the season. His next point will mean that 2018-19 was the second-most-productive season of the two-time Stanley Cup winner's eight-year career. This is Montreal's 13th back-to-back set of the season, and they'll only have one more to go when they face the Buffalo Sabres (March 23, Bell Centre) and Carolina Hurricanes (March 24, PNC Arena).

2. Carey Price will get the start in goal on Friday night. He will have a chance to overtake Jacques Plante for most wins among goaltenders in franchise history with the 315th of his career, all of them with the Canadiens. Price, 31, has a 28-19-5 record, 2.51 goals-against average, .917 save percentage and three shutouts this season. He had played in 15 straight games before Antti Niemi subbed in for the Sharks game on Thursday. Up front, Jesperi Kotkaniemi returns to the lineup, as does Mike Reilly on the back end. Forward Tomas Tatar is out with the flu, while defenseman Brett Kulak will be a healthy scratch.

3. The Canadiens will do themselves a lot of good in their quest for a playoff spot with a win on Friday night. They currently sit in the second and final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with 79 points. The Hurricanes occupy the other Wild Card spot with the same points total, but they have two games in hand on Montreal. The Columbus Blue Jackets are right outside the playoff picture with 77 points and a game in hand on the Canadiens, but they're not in action on Friday; only the Hurricanes are. That said, with the Canadiens traveling home from California over the weekend, earning two points against the Ducks will be huge given that the Blue Jackets face the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday while the Habs will be sitting idle.
4. The Canadiens faced the Ducks for the first of their two meetings this season on February 5, beating them off a pair of Brendan Gallagher goals and the game-winner from Kotkaniemi - the first of his career. Since then, the Ducks have gone 5-9-0. They snapped a five-game losing streak on March 3 against the Colorado Avalanche, and have won two of their last three. Expect to see John Gibson between the pipes for Anaheim.
5. Puck drop is scheduled for 10:00 p.m. ET. You can catch all the action on TSN2 and RDS on television, and on TSN 690 and 98,5 fm on the radio. The Habs travel back from the Golden State on Saturday, with their next tilt set for Tuesday, March 12 at the Bell Centre against the Detroit Red Wings.