MTL@MIN: What you need to know

SAINT PAUL – The Canadiens make a stop in the State of Hockey to take on the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday.

Here’s what you need to know heading into the game:

1. Montreal’s overtime magic came to life once again on Monday, this time in Winnipeg where Justin Barron put a stamp on a 3-2 win over the Jets 1:09 into the extra frame. Josh Anderson and Christian Dvorak scored in regulation for the Habs, and Jake Allen made 30 saves to help the team secure the two points. The Canadiens improved their road record to 7-4-2 in the process and overall record to 5-3-2 in their last 10 games. The overtime marker was the first of Barron’s career and sixth goal of the season for the defenseman in his second NHL season. Ahead of Thursday’s outing, Sean Monahan is two points shy of the 500 in his NHL career. To date, the 29-year-old has totaled 227 goals and 271 assists in 712 career games.

2. The Canadiens’ defensemen continue to produce at one of the highest rates in the National Hockey League. According to StatMuse, Montreal is second in the League in goals scored (24) by defensemen, trailing only the Colorado Avalanche (25). Barron leads the way on the Habs’ blueline with six tallies, followed by Mike Matheson (5), Johnathan Kovacevic (4), Gustav Lindström (3), Kaiden Guhle (2), Jayden Struble (2) and David Savard (1). Collectively, the group has scored at least one goal in 20 of 31 games this season.

3. Line rushes at Wednesday’s practice at Xcel Energy Center suggests that there are no changes expected in Martin St-Louis' lineup. As they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The Canadiens will, however, continue their rotation in net, with Samuel Montembeault expected to get the start. The Quebec-born netminder boasts a 7-4-2 record in 13 games played and is 3-1-1 over his last five start with a .900 save percentage or better in each of those outings. Tune in to St-Louis' pregame media availability around 2:00 p.m. ET on X, Facebook and YouTube for any other updates ahead of Thursday’s contest.

4. The Wild returned to Minnesota yesterday on the heels of a 4-3 overtime win against the Boston Bruins, courtesy of Kirill Kaprizov. John Hynes’ troops have won seven of their last 10 games and currently find themselves four points shy of the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference. Mats Zucarello, Kaprizov, and Joel Eriksson Ek lead the Wild in points with 28, 27, and 22 respectively. Eriksson Ek is the team’s goalscoring leader with 14. The question remains whether Marc-André Fleury or Filip Gustavsson will get the start in goal for the home side. Through 19 games, Gustavsson has posted a .906 save percentage, while Fleury owns a .892 percentage in that statistical category.

5. Game time is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET. Fans can catch the game on TSN2 and RDS, or listen in on the radio on TSN 690 and 98.5 fm.