Canadiens at Devils preview

CANADIENS (25-29-11) at DEVILS (33-25-8)
7 p.m. ET; MSG+, TSN2, RDS, NHL.TV

Hall has 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists) during the streak, the longest in the NHL this season. The 26-year-old forward has 36 points (18 goals, 18 assists) during a personal 25-game point streak; he missed three games from Jan. 22-25 with a thumb injury.
The Devils, who will try to end a three-game losing streak, hold the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. They are three points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets and four in front of the Florida Panthers.
The Canadiens are sixth in the Atlantic Division with 61 points, 10 points behind the Blue Jackets for the second wild card from the East. They are 3-0-3 in their past six games.

Players to watch

Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher has eight points (three goals, five assists) in his past nine games.
Devils defenseman Sami Vatanen has nine points (one goal, eight assists) in his past nine games.

They said it

"The young players need to showcase what they can do and that's what we want them to do to see the team grow. We need to make some progress and not think we can wait until next year and turn the page. There's still a lot that we need to accomplish and the guys are buying into it." -- Canadiens coach Claude Julien
"[The point streak] is going to end eventually, and if it's going to end you want it to be on a night where you have seven or eight shots, a lot of scoring chances while creating a lot and playing well. That's all you really want to do in every game. It just so happens to be that points are the end result right now." -- Devils left wing Taylor Hall

Canadiens projected lineup

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

Devils projected lineup

Taylor Hall -- Nico Hischier -- Jesper Bratt
Michael Grabner -- Pavel Zacha -- Kyle Palmieri
Pat Maroon -- Travis Zajac -- Stefan Noesen
Miles Wood -- Brian Boyle -- Blake Coleman
Andy Greene -- Sami Vatanen
John Moore -- Damon Severson
Will Butcher -- Ben Lovejoy
Keith Kinkaid
Cory Schneider
Scratched:Mirco Mueller, Jimmy Hayes, Drew Stafford
Injured:Brian Gibbons (broken right thumb), Marcus Johansson (concussion)

Status report

Fucale was recalled from Laval of the American Hockey League on Monday. Valiev, acquired in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 25, will make his debut with the Canadiens. ... Bratt returns after sitting out as a healthy scratch Sunday.

Stat pack

Galchenyuk has five points (three goals, two assists) in his past three games. ... Palmieri has five points (three goals, two assists) in his past six games.