Blackhawks 1 - 2 Canadiens
Final - OT
  for this game

Habs, Blackhawks bring playoff hopes to Bell Centre

Apr 5, 2011 - 3:12 PM (Sports Network) - A pair of Original Six teams fighting for playoff spots in their respective conferences will meet tonight in Montreal, as the Chicago Blackhawks visit the Canadiens at Bell Centre.

The Blackhawks are the defending Stanley Cup champions, but they enter today holding onto the eighth and final postseason berth in the Western Conference. Chicago is one point in front of Calgary and three ahead of the Dallas Stars, who are hosting Columbus tonight and, like Chicago, have four games left in the regular season.

The idle Flames, however, have just two games left on their schedule to try and catch Chicago.

The Blackhawks do have a chance to move up a spot in the conference standings tonight, as they are just one point in back of the idle Anaheim Ducks for the seventh seed.

Montreal, meanwhile, is tied with the New York Rangers for sixth in the East and can clinch a postseason berth with a win tonight. The Canadiens are one point ahead of Buffalo, which is holding onto the conference's final playoff seed, and four in front of Carolina.

The Blackhawks have three losses in their last five games and is coming off Sunday's shutout loss to the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning. Mike Smith stopped 31 shots for his first shutout of the season in Tampa's 2-0 triumph at the United Center.

Corey Crawford stopped 13 shots for the Blackhawks, who were shut out for the third time in eight games.

"We chased the puck maybe a little bit too much. But give them credit, they played smart defensively," said Blackhawks forward Jonathan Toews.

The Blackhawks have won three of their last four games as the visitor and will be seeking their 20th road win of the season tonight. Chicago is 19-12-8 as the guest this year.

Montreal is playing its final home test of the regular season tonight and the Habs are 23-11-6 as the host this season. The Canadiens will close their schedule with road tests in Ottawa and Toronto on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.

The Canadiens won for just the second time in six games with Saturday's regulation victory in New Jersey. Mathieu Darche scored twice and Carey Price made 20 saves as Montreal officially ended the Devils' hopes of a playoff berth with a 3-1 decision at Prudential Center.

P.K. Subban also lit the lamp for the Canadiens, while Brian Gionta added two assists for Montreal.

Montreal forwards Jeff Halpern (lower body) and Travis Moen (illness) are questionable for today's game. Habs defenseman Alexandre Picard is also questionable with a foot injury.

Tonight's tilt marks the only scheduled meeting between the Habs and Hawks this season. Chicago posted a home win over the Canadiens last season to win for just the second time in the last seven encounters between the clubs. The Blackhawks have lost four in a row and five of their last six in Montreal.






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