Florida @ Montreal preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 17, 2019 ) Montreal 3, Florida 6

The Montreal Canadiens are clinging to the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot and can take a big step in solidifying their standing when they host the Florida Panthers on Tuesday. Montreal leads Columbus by two points after Sunday's 2-1 overtime loss at wild-card leader Carolina, but the Blue Jackets have a game in hand with a matchup looming Thursday in Ohio.

Sunday's contest capped a successful six-day stretch (3-0-1) for the Canadiens, who after Tuesday finish with five games against playoff-bound clubs. “When you get seven points out of a possible eight, it’s a pretty good week,” Montreal coach Claude Julien told reporters. "If we do that (this) week, we’ll be in pretty good shape. We have to attack (this) week the same way, one game at a time. We have to stay positive and stay focused and compete like we have.” Carey Price made 38 saves Sunday and has allowed two or fewer goals in six of his last seven starts en route to a .943 save percentage during that span, prompting Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber to tell reporters: "It would have been nice to get the win and reward (Price) with two points.'' Florida fell 7-5 at Toronto on Monday for its fourth setback in five games and will be eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to Montreal.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS Florida, TSN2, RDS (Montreal)

ABOUT THE PANTHERS (33-31-12): Jonathan Huberdeau (25 goals, career-high 84 points) scored twice versus Toronto to give him three goals and seven assists in his last six games, leaving him two tallies shy of matching the personal best he set last season. Rookie center Jayce Hawryluk recorded his second career two-goal performance on Monday, giving him three of his seven tallies in the last two contests. Captain Aleksander Barkov (34 goals, team-leading 87 points) has been kept off the scoresheet in his last two games after erupting for six goals and 13 assists during an eight-game point streak.

ABOUT THE CANADIENS (40-28-8): Max Domi (26 goals, team-high 67 points) has recorded two goals and three assists in his last four games after not hitting the scoresheet on Sunday. Brendan Gallagher (club-most 33 goals, 51 points) notched an assist versus Carolina, giving him three goals and five points in his last four contests. Jonathan Drouin (18 goals, 52 points) hasn't recorded a point in 18 of his last 20 games and played a season-low 9 minutes, 57 seconds on Sunday.

OVERTIME

1. Montreal has 10 players with at least 30 points in a season for the first time since 2005-06 after C Paul Byron scored on Sunday.

2. Florida C Vincent Trocheck needs one goal to reach 100 for his career.

3. Montreal has won two of the first three encounters this season, with Domi and Barkov each scoring three goals.

PREDICTION: Canadiens 3, Panthers 2