MTL@BOS: Five things you need to know

BOSTON - Here are five things you need to know ahead of Wednesday night's game against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.

1. The Canadiens are coming off their first loss in their past four games, falling 3-2 to the Arizona Coyotes on Monday at the Bell Centre. Jake Evans scored his first career NHL goal in the loss, with Brendan Gallagher adding his 19th of the season just over a minute later. Carey Price made 31 saves in his 47th game of the season.

2. Since returning after sitting out with headaches, Gallagher has recorded points in all but two games he's played, while Tomas Tatar - who assisted on his linemate's first-period tally - has points in nine of the past 11 games he's played. The Slovakian forward padded his team lead with his 52nd point of the season on Monday, which puts him 12 ahead of Phillip Danault. Price, meanwhile, has a sparkling .936 save percentage and 1.99 goals-against average in 15 games in 2020, with a solid 8-6-1 record and two shutouts since January 1.

3. The Habs held a full morning skate at TD Garden on Wednesday morning. Phillip Danault, who left the Arizona game after getting hit in the face with a puck, was wearing a full cage and skated on his regular line between Tomas Tatar and Brendan Gallagher in Boston, so expect him to face the Bruins. For his part, Paul Byron traveled with the team but was matched up with Dale Weise and Jordan Weal for line rushes. After practice, head coach Claude Julien told reporters Byron had not been cleared for game action. Julien featured the same combinations he deployed on Monday at the Bell Centre, so expect him to ice the same lineup on Wednesday against the Bruins.

4. Boston, for its part, hasn't played since Sunday's 3-1 loss to the Red Wings in Detroit. Torey Krug scored the lone goal for Beantown at Little Caesars Arena, while Tuukka Rask made 17 saves in a losing effort. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for Bruce Cassidy's troops, who had not lost since January 19 in Pittsburgh before Sunday. The Bruins are currently first in the Eastern Conference with 80 points off a 34-11-12 record. They've allowed the third-fewest goals against in the League (143) this season. David Pastrnak leads his team with 78 points (38G, 40A), which ranks him tied for third in the NHL scoring race in 2019-20. This is the fourth and final meeting of the season between the archrivals. The two teams split a pair of games in November, with Boston holding the edge in the season series after beating Montreal 3-1 back on December 1 at TD Garden.
5. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. You can catch all the action on Sportsnet, Sportsnet 360, and RDS on television, and on TSN 690 and 98,5 fm on the radio.