(My Sportsbook) - The
Montreal Canadiens will try to punch their ticket to the Eastern Conference playoffs when they visit the rival
Boston Bruins for a Northeast Division battle at TD Banknorth Garden.
The Canadiens are seventh in the East with 92 points and need just one more point to secure a trip to their second straight postseason. Montreal is also one point ahead of the New York Rangers for the conference's eighth seed with two games left for both clubs.
With 112 points, Boston has already clinched the top seed in the East, but is close to being eliminated in the race for the Presidents' Trophy. San Jose leads the NHL with 117 points and can lock up the league's best record with a win over Phoenix tonight.
Montreal won the first meeting of the year with Boston back in October, but the Bruins have since rattled off four straight victories against the Habs. The Canadiens have still taken 13 of 19 overall in the series, and despite losing their last two in Beantown, have taken eight of the last 12 encounters at the Garden.
The Canadiens have dropped their last two games after posting wins in their previous three outings. Montreal was dealt a 3-1 loss by the Rangers on Tuesday, as Henrik Lundqvist made 24 saves to lead the hosts to the win at Madison Square Garden.
Mathieu Dandenault scored the lone goal while Carey Price was charged with three goals on 44 shots for the Canadiens.
Tonight's test is the final road game of the regular season for the Habs, who are 17-20-3 as the visiting club this year. Montreal will complete its schedule Saturday against visiting Pittsburgh.
The Bruins are coming off a loss as they dropped a road test at Ottawa on Tuesday. Boston had won six in a row prior to losing the 3-2 decision to the Senators, who received goals from Dany Heatley, Mike Fisher and Christoph Schubert.
Zdeno Chara and Phil Kessel each had a goal for the Bruins, while Manny Fernandez made 29 stops in the loss.
Boston is playing its final home test of the regular season tonight and is 28-6-6 as the host club this year. The Bruins will close their schedule with road tests against Buffalo and the New York Islanders.
