The Eastern Conference leading Montreal Canadiens (39-16-5) are in Columbus Thursday night to face the Blue Jackets (26-29-4). The game starts at 7:00 and airs on RDS and Sportsnet East.

Match Up

This is the third and final game between the Canadiens and Blue Jackets and the second this season in Columbus. The Habs have already earned a pair of wins against the Jackets, 3-2 in Columbus and 3-1 in Montreal. Max Pacioretty has four goals in those two games including both game winners.

What to Watch

Canadiens: Devante Smith-Pelly is expected to make his Canadiens debut on Thursday. The 22 year old had 5 goals and 12 assists in 54 games this season for the Ducks and 40 career points in 129 games over parts of four NHL seasons.

Blue Jackets: With the Jackets likely to miss the playoffs, they could be looking to unload upcoming unrestricted free agents before next week’s deadline. That means this may be among the last time center Mark Letestu and defenseman Jordan Leopold suit up as Blue Jackets.

James Wisniewski and Cam Atkinson’s names have also surfaced in trade rumors, but it would take a considerable return to pry either of those assets away from Columbus.



What’s at Stake

The Canadiens have a pair of games in hand om the Islanders and Lightning, two teams hot on their heels for top spot in the East. Both are idle Thursday giving the Habs a chance to put even more distance between them and their rivals.

Who’s Out

Sergei Gonchar has been cleared to play and could return to action on Thursday, leaving just Alexei Emelin (shoulder) and P.A. Parenteau (concussion) out with injury for the Habs.

Like the last time these teams met a week ago, Sergei Bobrovsky (groin), Ryan Murray (ankle), Dalten Prout (upper body), Boone Jenner (back), Nathan Horton (back), Jack Skille (shoulder) and Jeremy Morin (upper body) are all missing. Kevin Connauton (foot) may also be out of the lineup Thursday.

What Else

With Tuesday’s win over the Blues, the Canadiens are 42 points ahead of the last place Sabres with 21 games remaining for Buffalo. The Habs have 33 regulation and overtime wins to 11 for the Sabres meaning they are guaranteed to finish ahead of Buffalo in the standings. It’s a first step towards clinching a playoff berth for the Habs who sit 18 points ahead of the ninth placed Panthers. Florida has 22 games remaining, so Montreal is still a few games away from sealing the deal.

The Question Mark

After his last trade, what holes if any does Marc Bergevin need to plug in the Habs lineup before the trade deadline?

As always, we’ll be going over your answers on the Montreal Hockey Talk Habs Pregame Show, starting an hour before each Canadiens game on montrealhockeytalk.com.