Game Day: Wild @ Canadiens

BROSSARD - The Canadiens skated at the Bell Sports Complex on Thursday morning in preparation for their game against the Minnesota Wild at the Bell Centre.

• Defenseman Alexei Emelin didn't take part in Thursday morning's on-ice session as he accompanied his wife, Valentina, to the hospital as they await the birth of their third child. It remains to be seen if Emelin will suit up against Minnesota. More details on the Russian rearguard's playing status will come later on this afternoon.
  - Carey Price will get the start in goal for the Canadiens. He will be going in search of his 19th win of the year. It will mark his seventh consecutive start.
  - Michel Therrien's troops are going up against one of the NHL's hottest teams on Thursday night, as Bruce Boudreau's contingent has won eight straight games. Minnesota's last defeat dates back to December 2 in Calgary, when they dropped a 3-2 shootout decision to the Flames. Since then, they've lit the lamp 26 times and surrendered just 10 goals against.
  "You don't win eight in a row without being a good team. They've got a lot of good players. They've got depth. Every line up front seems like it can hurt you at any given time. They've got a couple of players on the back end that you've really got to be aware of," said Brendan Gallagher, referencing a Wild lineup that boasts four players with 20-plus points on the year, including Eric Staal (25), Charlie Coyle (23), Mikael Granlund (21) and Nino Niederreiter (20).

Minnesota's success, though, is due in large part to the stellar work of goaltender Devan Dubnyk between the pipes. The 30-year-old Regina native leads the league in three major categories: goals-against average (1.55), save percentage (.948) and shutouts (5).
"Probably their best player this year is in net. He's a guy who makes a lot of saves for them at critical times, similar to what we've got. We don't expect too many goals to be going in tonight, so if you get a chance, you've certainly got to take advantage of it and put it in," said Gallagher, who has five goals and 17 points during the 2016-17 campaign.
"I actually played with him a little bit in the minors and he really shot off after he left here," added Nathan Beaulieu, who played in front of Dubnyk for a period of time with the Hamilton Bulldogs in 2013-14. "He was always working really hard. I'm not really surprised at the success he's had, so we're going to have to get a lot of traffic in front of him, get to the dirty areas. It should be fun for the fans because they're two of the best in the league."
Jeff Petry is another Canadiens player who is familiar with Dubnyk. The pair was actually teammates in Edmonton.
"I always knew that he had the abilities and I don't think we gave him the best support when I was playing with him. To see that success he's having now, it's not a shock to me. He worked hard and he put himself in a position to get where he is today," said Petry, who will be looking to find the back of the net for a fourth straight game on Thursday night.

• After taking faceoffs on the power play in the Canadiens' most recent outing on Tuesday night, Gallagher worked on draws with veteran centerman Torrey Mitchell on Thursday morning in order to perfect his technique.
  "I just asked him a couple of questions. He's been in the league for a long time. He takes a lot of faceoffs in key situations," explained the Canadiens' No. 11, who won 25 percent of his draws against Anaheim. "He understands what guys around the league are going to try to do. [I was just getting] a little knowledge."

• Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on Sportsnet 360 and RDS, as well as on TSN Radio 690 and 98,5 fm.
  - Following the contest, the Canadiens will fly to Columbus where they'll take on the Blue Jackets on Friday night at Nationwide Arena, before enjoying their Christmas break.