Maple Leafs at Canadiens preview

MAPLE LEAFS (29-19-7) at CANADIENS (26-23-7)
7 p.m. ET; NHLN, CBC, SN1, SNE, SNO, SNP, TVAS, NHL.TV

The forward, who has not played since Nov. 15, has missed 37 games because of wrist surgery.
The Canadiens, six points behind the Carolina Hurricanes for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, can match their season-long winning streak. They are 8-3-0 in their past 11 games following an eight-game winless streak (0-7-1).
Goalie Jack Campbell will start back-to-back games for the Maple Leafs. He made 26 saves in a 5-4 overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks in his Toronto debut Friday, two days after he and forward Kyle Clifford were acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings.
The Maple Leafs, in third place in the Atlantic Division, are 4-2-0 in their past six games after going 1-3-2 in their previous six.

Players to watch

Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in a six-game point streak, including at least one goal in three straight games. With 40 goals this season, he needs one to set an NHL season-high; he also had 40 in his rookie season in 2016-17.
Canadiens forward Tomas Tatar has eight points (three goals, five assists) in a six-game point streak.

They said it

"I'm excited to play whenever he puts me in and I'm not sure if I've played a back-to-back in the [NHL] but I played a lot last year when [goalie Jonathan Quick] went down so … I know I'll be ready to go if my number's called." -- Maple Leafs goalie Jack Campbell
"They like to control the puck so part of our game that can't change is we need to continue to be good defensively. For the most part, we've done a decent job. And so against a team that has a really high skill level, and they do, even more so tonight." -- Canadiens coach Claude Julien

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Andreas Johnsson -- Auston Matthews -- Mitchell Marner
Alex Kerfoot -- John Tavares -- Zach Hyman
Kyle Clifford -- Jason Spezza -- Kasperi Kapanen
Dmytro Timashov -- Frederik Gauthier -- Pierre Engvall
Travis Dermott -- Tyson Barrie
Jake Muzzin -- Justin Holl
Rasmus Sandin
--
Timothy Liljegren
Jack Campbell
Michael Hutchinson
Scratched: Martin Marincin
Injured: Ilya Mikheyev (wrist laceration), Morgan Rielly (fractured foot), Cody Ceci (ankle), Frederik Andersen (neck), William Nylander (illness)

Canadiens projected lineup

Tomas Tatar -- Phillip Danault -- Brendan Gallagher
Ilya Kovalchuk -- Nick Suzuki -- Joel Armia
Jonathan Drouin -- Max Domi -- Artturi Lehkonen
Nick Cousins -- Nate Thompson -- Dale Weise
Brett Kulak -- Jeff Petry
Ben Chiarot -- Victor Mete
Marco Scandella -- Xavier Ouellet
Carey Price
Charlie Lindgren
Scratched: Christian Folin, Jordan Weal, Jake Evans
Injured: Shea Weber (lower body), Paul Byron (knee)

Status report

Andersen is day to day. ... The Maple Leafs did not hold a morning skate. … The Canadiens assigned forward Ryan Poehling to Laval of the American Hockey League on Saturday.

Stat pack

Tavares, who will play his 800th NHL game, has six points (four goals, two assists) in a three-game goal/point streak. … Price is 7-2-0 in his past nine starts.