Canadiens at Panthers preview

CANADIENS (31-29-9) at PANTHERS (33-26-8)
7 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, SN360, TVAS, FS-F, NHL.TV

The Panthers, who are 0-6-2 at home since their last win here on Jan. 16, trail the Toronto Maple Leafs by five points for third place in the Atlantic, and the New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets by five points in the wild-card race in the Eastern Conference. Florida is 5-10-3 since the All-Star break.
The Canadiens, who are eight points behind the Islanders and Blue Jackets, are 4-2-1 in their past seven games after going 0-4-1 in their previous five.

Players to watch

Canadiens defenseman Jeff Petry has seven points (one goal, six assists) in two games against the Panthers this season.
Panthers goalie Chris Driedger is 5-2-1 in 10 appearances and leads the team in goals-against average (2.29) and save percentage (.932).

They said it

"Henri Richard did so much for that jersey, I think it's time to do something for him and honor his legacy, and just play the way that he would have done. … Hopefully, we can respond well tonight and honor him the way that he deserves to be honored." -- Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher on the team playing its first game since Richard died on Friday
"Every game is huge. We're getting down to it where we've got to win almost every night. It's good. It's an exciting time. We're welcoming the challenge as a team. It'll be fun." -- Panthers goalie Chris Driedger

Canadiens projected lineup

Artturi Lehkonen -- Phillip Danault -- Brendan Gallagher
Charles Hudon -- Nick Suzuki -- Joel Armia
Paul Byron -- Max Domi -- Jordan Weal
Lukas Vejdemo -- Jake Evans -- Dale Weise
Ben Chiarot -- Shea Weber
Brett Kulak -- Jeff Petry
Xavier Ouellet -- Christian Folin
Charlie Lindgren
Carey Price
Scratched:Karl Alzner
Injured:Jonathan Drouin (ankle) Tomas Tatar (upper body)

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Panthers projected lineup

Jonathan Huberdeau -- Aleksander Barkov -- Evgenii Dadonov
Mike Hoffman -- Erik Haula -- Frank Vatrano
Dominic Toninato -- Lucas Wallmark -- Brett Connolly
Colton Sceviour -- Noel Acciari -- Mark Pysyk
MacKenzie Weegar -- Aaron Ekblad
Riley Stillman -- Anton Stralman
Keith Yandle -- Mike Matheson
Chris Driedger
Sam Montembeault
Scratched:Josh Brown, Aleksi Saarela
Injured:Sergei Bobrovsky (lower body), Brian Boyle (upper body), Dryden Hunt (lower body)

Status report

Gallagher, who did not play in a 4-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday because of flu-like symptoms, took part in the morning skate and is expected to play. … Bobrovsky will miss a third consecutive game; the goalie was injured in warmups before a 3-0 loss to the Calgary Flames on Sunday. … The Panthers did not have a morning skate.

Stat pack

Montreal is 0-for-13 on the power play in its past seven games. Florida is 0-for-11 on the power play in its past four games. … Huberdeau and Barkov, who rank first and second on the Panthers with 77 and 62 points respectively, have each gone four games without a point.