The Montreal Canadiens (43-19-7) are in Tampa Bay to face off against the Lightning (42-21-7) Monday night in an important divisional match up. The game starts at 7:30 and airs on RDS and Sportsnet East.

Match Up

This is the fourth of five games between the Habs and Lightning this season, and the last one in Tampa. The Canadiens are still looking for their first win against the Bolts this season, although they did finally claim their first point the last time these teams met, a 1-0 overtime loss in Montreal less than a week ago.

What to Watch

Canadiens: Lars Eller picked up an empty net goal and an assist in Saturday’s 3-1 win over the Islanders. It was Eller’s second goal and fourth point in the last four games. He also had six shots on goal in the game, the second time in March that Eller had more than five shots in a game, something he’s only done two other times this season.

Lightning: There’s no shortage of talent on this year’s Lightning squad, from leading scorer Tyler Johnson (25g 40a), to top goal scorer Steven Stamkos (37g 25a), to their young veteran defenseman Victor Hedman (9g 24a). But perhaps the toughest player to solve for the Habs this year has been goalie Ben Bishop. Bishop has three wins in three games against the Canadiens this season, stopping 55 of the 58 shots directed his way and shutting out the Habs in their last meeting.



What’s at Stake

The Habs have just 13 games left in the regular season and while every point counts, these points count double. With two points separating the Canadiens and Lightning and two games still to play between the teams, these games will play a big role in determining top seed in the Atlantic Division, and possibly even the Eastern Conference.

Who’s Out

Torrey Mitchell (upper body) was forced out of Saturday’s game early and did not return, he’s been ruled out for Monday’s game as well. Alexei Emelin (shoulder) is close to returning from his injury that has kept him out of action since February 18.

The Lightning are dealing with short term injuries to Ondrej Palat (foot) and Cedric Paquette (upper body). Trade deadline pick up Braydon Coburn (lower body) is also injured, he may or may not be ready to rejoin the team by the start of the playoffs.

What Else

The gap between the Canadiens and the Senators, the ninth placed team in the East currently, is now at 16 points, with 14 games remaining for Ottawa, meaning the Habs are still a handful of points away from clinching their playoff berth. Even so, last year the Blue Jackets and Red Wings each earned Wild Card spots with 93-point seasons, as many as the Habs have right now. So with only 69 games played so far this year, the Canadiens may already have done enough to reach the next stage.

The Question Mark

Aside from the Habs, which team have you enjoyed watching most 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.