Ottawa @ Montreal preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 19, 2017 ) Montreal 19, Ottawa 24

The Ottawa Redblacks look to continue their climb up the East Division standings when they make the short trip to Montreal to battle the Alouettes on Thursday. The Redblacks have won back-to-back games, including a 31-24 victory against the BC Lions in Week 10, to overtake the Alouettes for second place in the East and hope to maintain their upward trajectory by notching three straight wins for the first time since 2015.

"The game against Montreal just got bigger and is a critical Eastern matchup," Ottawa quarterback Trevor Harris told reporters. "We have to put pedal to the metal to do everything we can do to try and win the East." Montreal is heading in the wrong direction following a 34-31 double-overtime defeat to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Alouettes fought back from a 10-point deficit late in the fourth quarter to force overtime, but came up short in the extra session and are on the outside looking in regarding a playoff spot after losing four of their last five contests. Montreal has been on the wrong end of a one-sided rivalry recently as it has dropped six of the last seven meetings with Ottawa, including three in a row at home, and the Alouettes hope to turn the tide in the series with their first win against the Redblacks at Molson Stadium since Aug. 29, 2014.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, TSN, RDS

ABOUT THE REDBLACKS (3-6-1): Harris threw for 326 yards and one touchdown against BC to become the first quarterback to surpass 3,000 passing yards this season. Mossis Madu Jr. accounted for 82 total yards and two touchdowns while Diontae Spencer did an admirable job filling in for Kenny Shaw, who suffered an undisclosed injury in the first half, by making a team-high seven catches for 61 yards to go along with another 243 on kick returns. William Powell, who leads the team in rushing yards (305) despite missing three games in 2017, sat out the BC game with a calf problem and is questionable for Thursday's clash.

ABOUT THE ALOUETTES (3-6): Nik Lewis caught 10 passes for 88 yards against Winnipeg, giving him 1,031 career receptions and moving him past Geroy Simon (1,029) for first place on the CFL's all-time pass receptions list. "A kid like me who never thought he'd play professional football this is a pretty outstanding honour," Lewis told reporters. "I don't play this game to break records but I play to win championships and we let another one slip through." Leading rusher Tyrell Sutton (402 yards) returned to practice after missing one game with a knee injury and is expected to play on Thursday while offensive lineman Jovan Olafioye is questionable with a back problem.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Harris has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 10 consecutive games.

2. Montreal LB Kyries Herbert is second in the CFL with 61 tackles.

3. Ottawa WR Greg Ellingson needs 56 receiving yards to reach 1,000 for the third straight season.

PREDICTION: Redblacks 26, Alouettes 23