The Montreal Canadiens (46-20-8) take on potentially their last Western Conference opponent of the season when they face the Jets (38-24-12) in Winnipeg on Thursday. The game starts at 8:00 and air on RDS, Sportsnet East as well as TSN3 locally.

Match Up

This is the second and final meeting between the Habs and Jets this season, the only one in Winnipeg. Carey Price posted a 29 save shutout victory as the Canadiens picked up a 3-0 win on goals from Lars Eller, Alex Galchenyuk and Tomas Plekanec.

What to Watch

Canadiens: Brendan Gallagher has a goal in each of his last three games, giving him a career best 22 goals and 44 points on the season. Gallagher has also set a new career high in shots, directing 223 shots on goal this season, 20th most in the league.

Jets: Prior to losing their last match, the Jets had a five game win streak going in their attempt to hold on to one of the final playoff spots in the West. New addition Drew Stafford has been helping to lead the way, he has points in each of his last seven games, with four goals and five assists in that span. In his 18 games played since joining the Jets, Stafford has seven goals and 15 points.

What’s at Stake

The Canadiens were the first team to reach 100 points when they fell in overtime to the Predators on Tuesday but their place in the standings is by no means safe. With just eight games left for both teams, the Habs have a one point lead over the Lightning for top spot in the Atlantic. They also hold a one point lead over the Rangers for the Conference lead, but the Rangers have two games in hand.

Who’s Out

Tom Gilbert (face) remains the only injured Hab, he could be ready to return to action as early as this Saturday.

The Jets are missing defensemen Dustin Byfuglien (upper body), Bryan Little (upper body) and Paul Postma (undisclosed) as well as forward Mathieu Perreault (lower body).

What Else

After being shut out for the past four games, the Canadiens power play has slipped down to 15.9%, 26th in the league. The Habs haven’t been helped by the fact that they’ve only managed to draw five power plays in that span. In fact the Canadiens are 26th in the league in terms of powers plays drawn as well, getting just 208 opportunities in 74 games.

The Question Mark

Aside from the Habs, which Canadian team has the best chance of winning Canada’s next Stanley Cup?

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.