Montreal @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 9, 2019 ) Toronto 4, Montreal 3

The Toronto Maple Leafs have dropped three in a row to open the door for the fourth-place Montreal Canadiens to inch closer to them in the Atlantic Division standings. The Maple Leafs aim to get back on track and defeat the Canadiens for the third time in as many meetings this season when the Original Six rivals reconvene in Toronto on Saturday night.

"You can't outscore your defensive mistakes. You have to be good defensively," Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock told TSN after Thursday's 3-2 setback to Washington in the opener of a four-game homestand. "There was lots of good opportunity here, no question about it. I thought we had exceptional looks ... but the bottom line is you have to get points." John Tavares scored his team-leading 34th goal versus the Capitals to boost his point total to 10 (four goals, six assists) in his last nine games heading into the meeting with Montreal, against which he has tallied twice this season -- including in overtime of a 4-3 win on Feb. 9. The Canadiens, who begin a stretch of playing seven of their next eight on the road, answered a four-game skid by posting wins over Columbus and Philadelphia to move within three points of the Maple Leafs. "We're heading on a little bit of a tough road trip here, so we're feeling good about ourselves. Hopefully we continue it and it carries over," Brendan Gallagher (team-leading 26 goals) said after netting his first career hat trick in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Flyers.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, CBC, Sportsnet, CITY (Montreal), TVAS

ABOUT THE CANADIENS (33-21-7): Andrew Shaw has scored a goal in both meetings with the Maple Leafs while Gallagher joined Tomas Tatar in tallying in the teams' recent encounter this month. Tatar also scored on Thursday to reach the 20-goal plateau for the fourth time in his career while Max Domi, the son of former Toronto tough guy Tie Domi, notched his club-high 33rd assist on that tally to set a personal best with 53 points. Phillip Danault had an assist on Gallagher's opening goal on Thursday to lift his point total to a career-high 41, surpassing his previous best campaign in 2016-17 in 22 fewer games.

ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (36-20-4): Andreas Johnsson continued his torrid stretch with a third-period goal against Washington, boosting his point total to 10 (six goals, four assists) in his last eight games. "I don't have the dominant feeling, but I feel when I skate hard I can create chances and this was one of my more energetic games. I feel I have to come with that level every game," the 24-year-old Swede said. Auston Matthews, who picked up an assist on Johnsson's tally to give him 13 points (eight goals, five assists) in his last dozen games, capped a two-goal performance by scoring 1:01 into overtime in a 3-2 win over the Canadiens on Oct. 3.

OVERTIME

1. Montreal G Carey Price owns an 18-9-1 mark since the start of December.

2. Maple Leafs G Frederik Andersen improved to 6-3-1 in 10 career encounters versus the Canadiens after turning aside 69 of 74 shots in two matches this season.

3. Montreal captain Shea Weber sits two goals shy of 200 for his career.

PREDICTION: Canadiens 3, Maple Leafs 2