Pittsburgh fell five points out of first place when the Washington Capitals defeated the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 on Thursday. The Penguins are 9-3-1 in their past 13 games and 17-5-2 in their past 24. The Canadiens will look to avoid a third straight loss after winning nine of their previous 12 games (9-3-0). They failed to score more than two goals in each of their past three games after having at least three in each of their previous five.
Players to watch
Canadiens forward Nick Suzuki has nine points (three goals, six assists) in his past nine games. He scored Montreal's only goal in a 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin has eight points (three goals, five assists) during a five-game point streak.
They said it
"We have to help each other more on the ice. Those 50/50 battles, we have to retrieve more pucks." -- Canadiens forward Tomas Tatar "We have great leadership. We just have a great group of players that don't look for excuses." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan
Weber is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a left ankle injury. The defenseman was reevaluated by an orthopedic specialist Wednesday. Thompson will be a game-time decision with an undisclosed illness. … The Penguins did not hold a morning skate. They have not announced a starting goalie.
Stat pack
Kovalchuk's eight game-winning goals against Pittsburgh are his most against any NHL team. … The Penguins are 7-2-1 in their past 10 games against the Canadiens. They have scored at least four goals in six of those 10 games. … Crosby has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 10 games since returning from core muscle surgery.
