Canadiens at Maple Leafs preview

CANADIENS (33-21-7) at MAPLE LEAFS (36-20-4)
7 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, CITY, NHL.TV

Gardiner did not practice Friday. Coach Mike Babcock said the defenseman took a maintenance day but that he's planning on having Gardiner in the lineup.
Goalie Frederik Andersen will make his sixth straight start for the Maple Leafs, who have lost three in a row (0-2-1) and trail the Boston Bruins by four points for second in the Atlantic Division.
Carey Price, who is 9-3-1 with a 1.96 goals-against average, a .940 save percentage and one shutout in his past 13 starts, is expected to start in goal for the Canadiens, who have won back-to-back games after losing their prior four (0-3-1) and trail the Maple Leafs by three points for third in the Atlantic Division.

Players to watch

Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher has four goals in his past three games, including a hat trick Thursday in a 5-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers. He has 10 points (seven goals, three assists) in his past eight games.
Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews has eight points (four goals, four assists) in his past five games.

They said it

"I think it's huge, it's a four-point game. We can take two away from them and climb two in the standings. You see how tight the division is, so we want to keep climbing. We have to treat it like a playoff game for us for sure. Passion, character, it's all got to be there tonight." -- Canadiens forward Andrew Shaw
"They're a good team. We play them a lot and we know their guys pretty well. They are playing well and if you look at the standings, points are close so this is an important game. Last time we went in their building two weeks ago, it was an important game and both teams were ready to go. I'd expect the same tonight." -- Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly

Canadiens projected lineup

Jonathan Drouin -- Phillip Danault -- Brendan Gallagher
Tomas Tatar -- Max Domi -- Andrew Shaw
Paul Byron -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- Joel Armia
Artturi Lehkonen -- Nate Thompson -- Matthew Peca
Victor Mete -- Shea Weber
Mike Reilly -- Jeff Petry
Brett Kulak -- Jordie Benn
Carey Price
Antti Niemi
Scratched: Charles Hudon, Nicolas Deslauriers, Christian Folin
Injured: None

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Andreas Johnsson -- Auston Matthews -- Kasperi Kapanen
Zach Hyman -- John Tavares -- Mitchell Marner
Patrick Marleau -- William Nylander -- Connor Brown
Par Lindholm -- Frederik Gauthier -- Tyler Ennis
Morgan Rielly -- Ron Hainsey
Jake Gardiner -- Nikita Zaitsev
Jake Muzzin -- Travis Dermott
Frederik Andersen
Garret Sparks
Scratched:Igor Ozhiganov , Justin Holl
Injured: Nazem Kadri (concussion)

Status report

Kadri will miss his second straight game. He has not practiced since sustaining a concussion on Tuesday in a 3-2 overtime loss at the St. Louis Blues.

Stat pack

Toronto has won six in a row against Montreal. … Domi has four points (three goals, one assist) during a three-game point streak. … Tatar has four points (two goals, two assists) during a three-game point streak. … Tavares has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in his past nine games.