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Canadiens look to avoid third straight loss vs. Lightning

Feb 12, 2008 - 3:08 PM Montreal (29-18-9) at Tampa Bay (23-27-6) 7:30 pm EST

TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- It won't be all fun in the sun if the Montreal Canadiens don't find away to end their skid in the Sunshine State.

The Canadiens aim to avoid their third consecutive defeat Tuesday night when they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Montreal, which will travel to play the Florida Panthers on Wednesday, has fallen five points off the pace of the Ottawa Senators in the Northeast Division just one week after closing the gap to a point.

The Canadiens allowed the Senators' top line to record six goals and 15 points in Saturday's 6-1 loss. The club's lone goal was set up by rookie goaltender Carey Price, who assisted on Andrei Kostitsyn's goal with 25 seconds left in the second period.

The Lightning failed to registered their third consecutive victory Saturday, suffering a 2-1 overtime loss to the Atlanta Thrashers. All-Star Vincent Lecavalier, who is third in the NHL in scoring, had the lone goal for Tampa Bay in that one.

Lecavalier leads the club with 32 goals and 72 points this season. The reigning Maurice Richard Trophy winner trails only Alex Ovechkin and Daniel Alfredsson for the league lead in points.

The teams have met three times this season, with the Canadiens winning the last two.

Alexei Kovalev, who leads Montreal with 25 tallies and 54 points this campaign, has three goals and an assist against Tampa Bay in those three contests.