Devils at Canadiens preview

DEVILS (17-9-4) at CANADIENS (13-14-4)
7:30 p.m. ET; TSN2, RDS, MSG+ 2, NHL.TV

Hall is day-to-day because of a right-knee contusion he sustained in New Jersey's 5-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday. The Devils, who had lost consecutive games in regulation for the first time, are 3-4-0 in their past seven games after going 5-1-3 in their previous nine.
Goalie Carey Price will make his ninth consecutive start for Montreal, which is 0-2-1 in its past three games after a five-game winning streak. Price was pulled in the second period of the Canadiens' 6-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.

Players to watch

Devils goalie Cory Schneider has allowed two goals or fewer in five of his past eight starts; he's 5-2-1 in that span with 18 goals allowed.
Canadiens forward Daniel Carr has seven points (two goals, five assists) during a five-game point streak since he was recalled from Laval of the American Hockey League.

They said it

"It's about making sure the guys that are in the lineup are ready to go, understand how we need to play, that there's a way to win every game, there's a way to play with every type of lineup you have." -- Devils coach John Hynes after practice Wednesday
"When we've played those 60-minute games, it's really shown how good we can be. We've got to find ways to find that on a more consistent basis." -- Canadiens coach Claude Julien

Devils projected lineup

Jesper Bratt -- Nico Hischier -- Drew Stafford
Blake Coleman -- Travis Zajac -- Brian Gibbons
Jimmy Hayes -- Brian Boyle --
Nick Lappin
Miles Wood -- Pavel Zacha -- Stefan Noesen
John Moore -- Sami Vatanen
Will Butcher -- Damon Severson
Andy Greene -- Steven Santini
Cory Schneider
Keith Kincaid

Scratched:Dalton Prout, Ben Lovejoy
Injured:Taylor Hall (right knee contusion), Kyle Palmieri (broken right foot), Marcus Johansson (ankle bruise), Mirco Mueller (collarbone)

Canadiens projected lineup

Alex Galchenyuk -- Jonathan Drouin -- Andrew Shaw
Max Pacioretty -- Phillip Danault -- Paul Byron
Charles Hudon -- Tomas Plekanec -- Brendan Gallagher
Nicolas Deslauriers -- Byron Froese --
Daniel Carr
Jordie Benn -- Shea Weber
Karl Alzner -- Jeff Petry
Joe Morrow -- David Schlemko
Carey Price
Antti Niemi
Scratched:Jacob De La Rose, Jakub Jerabek
Injured:Al Montoya (concussion), Artturi Lehkonen (lower body), Ales Hemsky (concussion-like symptoms)

Status report

Palmieri took part in the Devils' optional morning skate at Bell Centre. Lappin was recalled from Binghamton of the American Hockey League on Wednesday when Johansson was placed on injured reserve. ... Lehkonen practiced with the Canadiens during their optional morning skate, and Julien said there's a good possibility he could practice Friday in Ottawa. Lehkonen hasn't played since Nov. 11.

Stat pack

Noesen has five points (one goal, four assists) during a four-game point streak. ... Price has allowed 11 goals in the past three games after allowing six during a five-game winning streak.