Stars at Canadiens preview

STARS (38-25-6) at CANADIENS (25-32-12)
7:30 p.m. ET; TSN2, RDS, FS-SW+, NHL.TV

Radulov, who will play in his 300th NHL game, has 60 points (25 goals, 35 assists) in 69 games in his first season with the Stars. He had an assist in his first game against the Canadiens, a 3-1 win in Dallas on Nov. 21.
The Stars, 1-2-1 in their past four games and 4-5-2 in their past 11, hold the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference, two points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche, and are three points behind the Minnesota Wild for third place in the Central Division.
Montreal, which has lost five straight (0-3-2), is 16 points behind the New Jersey Devils for the second wild card from the Eastern Conference.

Players to watch

Starts forward Tyler Seguin has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in his past nine games.
Canadiens forward Alex Galchenyuk has six points (four goals, two assists) in his past seven games.

They said it

"I just want to have a good game and win the hockey game and move on. Put up a good game, a good show for the fans." -- Stars forward Alexander Radulov
"When you're struggling on special teams, the best thing to do is not to overcomplicate it. …. At times right now, we're maybe overworking, and it's allowing seams and plays to open up." -- Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher on Montreal's 19th-ranked power play (19.8 percent) and 28th-ranked penalty kill (75.7 percent)

Stars projected lineup

Jamie Benn -- Tyler Seguin -- Alexander Radulov
Mattias Janmark -- Jason Dickinson -- Devin Shore
Remi Elie -- Jason Spezza -- Brett Ritchie
Antoine Roussel -- Radek Faksa -- Tyler Pitlick
Esa Lindell -- John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis -- Greg Pateryn
Marc Methot -- Stephen Johns
Kari Lehtonen
Mike McKenna
Scratched: Julius Honka, Gemel Smith
Injured: Martin Hanzal (back), Ben Bishop (lower body)

Canadiens projected lineup

Paul Byron -- Jonathan Drouin -- Brendan Gallagher
Alex Galchenyuk -- Jacob de la Rose -- Charles Hudon
Artturi Lehkonen -- Nikita Scherbak -- Andrew Shaw
Nicolas Deslauriers -- Logan Shaw -- Daniel Carr
Mike Reilly -- Jeff Petry
Karl Alzner -- Noah Juulsen
Jordie Benn -- Brett Lernout
Antti Niemi
Charlie Lindgren
Scratched: Byron Froese
Injured:Carey Price (concussion), Ales Hemsky (concussion), Max Pacioretty (lower body), Victor Mete (hand), David Schlemko (upper body), Rinat Valiev (undisclosed), Phillip Danault (neck)

Status report

Bishop went on the ice after the morning skate and took shots, and is on track to return to practice Thursday, Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said. … The Canadiens did not hold a morning skate. … Price took shots during a practice session at Montreal's training facility in Brossard, Quebec.

Stat pack

Lehtonen is 1-2-0 with a 1.36 goals-against-average and a .955 save percentage in his past three starts. … Niemi is 2-0-3 with a 1.74 goals-against-average and a .951 save percentage in his past five starts.