The Montreal Canadiens (47-21-8) play host to the Tampa Bay Lightning (46-23-7) Monday night at the Bell Centre, in a meeting of the last two true contenders for top seed in the Atlantic Division. The games starts at 7:30 and airs on RDS and Sportsnet East.

Match Up

This is the fifth and final meeting between Habs and Bolts this season, and the Canadiens are still looking for their first victory in the season series. Despite being held pointless in two of the four games, Steven Stamkos has five goals and an assist against the Habs this year.

What to Watch

Canandiens: The Canadiens managed three goals against the Panthers, two with the man advantage and one exactly one second after a Florida penalty expired, providing a bit of hope that perhaps Montreal’s dreadful power play has turned a corner. With a 16.2% success rate, the Canadiens’ power play remains one of the weakest parts of their game, they rank 25th in the league in that department.



Lightning: Even though he’s missed a quarter of the season, Victor Hedman has been a big part of the Lightning’s success this season, especially against Montreal. Hedman has 37 points in 56 games this season, including two goals and four assists against the Canadiens. Hedman also scored the game winner in the last meeting between these teams.

What’s at Stake

The Canadiens are three points ahead of the Lightning for top spot in the Atlantic division, and, with just five games each remaining after this contest, a win on Monday could put the Habs ahead for good. The Habs also have a one point lead over the Rangers for top spot in the Conference heading into Monday’s action, but the Rangers hold a game in hand.

Who’s Out

Tom Gilbert (face) missed his third straight game Saturday although he is not expected to be out of action for an extended period.

The Lightning will be without defenseman Jason Garrison (upper body) on Monday. Cedric Paquette (leg) is day-to-day and could miss the game as well.

What Else

With the exception of their games against the Lightning, the Canadiens have had lots of success against Eastern Conference opponents this season. The Habs are 34-10-4 against the East this year, and if you disregard their games against the Bolts, Sens and Sabres, the three teams that have given Montreal the most trouble, their record is an impressive 32-2-2 against the other 12 Eastern teams.

The Question Mark

Which aspect of the Habs game is most likely to surprise their opponents in the playoffs and help them succeed?

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.