Canadiens at Lightning preview

CANADIENS (16-17-4) at LIGHTNING (26-7-2)
7:30 p.m. ET, SUN, TSN2, RDS, NHL.TV

Drouin, the No. 3 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, had 95 points (29 goals, 66 assists) in 164 games with the Lightning. Sergachev, the No. 9 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, played four games with the Canadiens in 2016-17 but is one of the League's top rookies this season with 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) and a plus-12 rating in 35 games.
The Lightning have won seven in a row at home, nine of their past 10 games overall and own the NHL's best record. Forward Nikita Kucherov leads the League in goals (24) and points (51). Center Steven Stamkos has 45 points (13 goals, 32 assists), tied for fourth with Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid.
Montreal is 3-5-1 in its past nine games after a 3-1 loss at the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday.

Players to watch

Canadiens forward Phillip Danault has nine points (four goals, five assists) in his past 11 games.
Lightning forward Tyler Johnson has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in his past nine games.

They said it

"The chances are there; we're able to score multiple times. It's just about putting them in. Goalies are going to make saves, but you trust that when you get those opportunities over and over again, eventually, they're going to start going in the back of the net." -- Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher after the 3-1 loss at Carolina
"I look at [facing the Canadiens] as another game. Two good teams playing each other and we're just focused on trying to win. They are trying to improve their record so they will be working hard for a win." -- Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev

Canadiens projected lineup

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

Lightning projected lineup

Vladislav Namestnikov -- Steven Stamkos -- Nikita Kucherov
Ondrej Palat -- Brayden Point -- Tyler Johnson
Alex Killorn - Yanni Gourde --
Cory Conacher
Chris Kunitz -- Cedric Paquette -- JT Brown
Victor Hedman -- Jake Dotchin
Mikhail Sergachev -- Anton Stralman
Braydon Coburn -- Dan Girardi
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Peter Budaj
Scratched:Slater Koekkoek, Andrej Sustr
Injured:Ryan Callahan (upper body)

Status report

Price will start again after making 33 saves against the Hurricanes. … Callahan participated in the morning skate wearing a red no-contact jersey and stayed on the ice with the extras.

Stat pack

Vasilevskiy leads the NHL with 23 wins, a 2.13 goals-against-average and a .932 save percentage (minimum 15 starts). Lightning forward Brayden Point has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in his past 10 games.