The Montreal Canadiens (45-20-7) play host to the San Jose Sharks (35-28-8) Saturday night at the Bell Centre. The game starts at 7:00 and can been seen on TVA and CBC.

Match Up

This is the second and final meeting between the Habs and Sharks this season, and the only one in Montreal. The Sharks shut out the Habs 4-0 in San Jose the same night as the trade deadline. Alex Stalock was only tested 20 times in the shut out effort and Joe Pavelski helped lead the way offensively with a goal and an assist.

What to Watch

Canadiens: With his goal against the Hurricanes Thursday night, Brendan Gallagher became the third Hab this season to hit the 20 goal mark. Alex Galchenyuk, who has been stuck on 19 since March 4th, should be a fourth Hab to reach the mark. Last season, only Max Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec topped the 20-goal mark.

Sharks: The Sharks may not have a captain this season, but Joe Thornton still plays a lead role in terms of scoring. He’s second on the team in points with 62 in 67 games, behind Joe Paevelski’s 65 points through 71 games this season. As should be expected, Thornton leads the Sharks in assists with 48, fourth most in the league.



What’s at Stake

The Sharks fully dominated the Habs in the first meeting between these teams so the Canadiens should be looking for redemption on Saturday. While the Habs are in a race for the top seed in the East and the Presidents’ Trophy, the Sharks meanwhile are battling for a playoff spot, a spot that seems to be slipping through their fingers with each passing game.

Who’s Out

The Canadiens have been dealing with a spreading flu bug that has already seen Nathan Beaulieu and Jeff Petry forced out of action this week. On Friday, David Desharnais missed practice with flu-like symptoms. Torrey Mitchell (shoulder) remains sidelined as well for the Habs.

The Sharks are missing Raffi Torres (knee) and Mike Brown (leg).

What Else

Carey Price posted his eighth shutout of the year on Satuday, matching a career best he set over 72 games in the 2010-2011 season. The shutout was number 33 for Price, moving him just one behind Bill Durnan for fourth all time with the Canadiens. Price is still 42 behind George Hainsworth’s mark of 75.

Over @CP0031’s head: Bill Durnan. One more Price shutout & they’re tied at 34, No. 4 on #Habs all-time list pic.twitter.com/hUl6AjSN3K — Dave Stubbs (@Dave_Stubbs) March 20, 2015

The Question Mark

What has been your favorite Habs storyline this season?

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.