Game Preview: Blackhawks @ Canadiens

BLACKHAWKS (43-20-5) @ CANADIENS (39-22-8)
MONTREAL -- The Habs return home for the first time in nearly two weeks on Tuesday, when the Chicago Blackhawks visit the Bell Centre.

The Canadiens' last game in Montreal dates back to a 2-1 win against Nashville on March 2.
Claude Julien's men are most recently coming off a four-game road trip, in which the club picked up six of a possible eight points to maintain a slim two-point lead over Ottawa in the Atlantic Division.
The Habs and Hawks are both enjoying successful stretches at the moment, sharing identical 8-2-0 records over the last 10 games.
Chicago holds the edge in the season series however, having taken the first meeting between the Original Six rivals earlier in the campaign, 3-2 at the United Center.

Carey Price will play his 500th career game on Tuesday, and is 3-3-0 all-time against the Blackhawks.
At the other end of the ice, Corey Crawford should get the start in goal for Chicago. The Quebec-born netminder has won two of his four career starts in his hometown arena.
Tomas Plekanec will be back in action on Tuesday after having missed the last three games with an upper-body injury. He will take Michael McCarron's spot in the lineup.
On the back end, Nathan Beaulieu will be a healthy scratch against Chicago. With Nikita Nesterov still on the mend and his status being evaluated on a day-to-day basis, Brandon Davidson will get his first taste of Bell Centre action against the Blackhawks.
If Julien sticks with the rest of Sunday's winning lineup from Edmonton, Habs newcomer Steve Ott could also make his Bell Centre debut on Tuesday. In his four games with the Canadiens since the trade deadline, the gritty forward has picked up one point and five penalty minutes.
The Blackhawks have won each of their previous two annual meetings in Montreal, while the Habs will be looking for a first home win against Chicago since January 11, 2014.