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Still eyeing Eastern Conference lead, Canadiens face Sabres

Apr 3, 2008 - 4:25 PM Buffalo (38-30-12) at Montreal (45-25-10) 7:30 pm EDT

MONTREAL (Ticker) - Still in contention for the best record in the Eastern Conference, the Montreal Canadiens host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

Carey Price stopped 32 shots to record his third shutout of the season as the Canadiens clinched the Northeast Division with a 3-0 win over Ottawa on Tuesday.

The Canadiens still have a shot at overtaking Pittsburgh (47-26-8) for first place in the East, but have just two games to do it.

Holding a two-point lead over Montreal, the Penguins play their lone remaining game on Sunday against Philadelphia.

Montreal captured the division without the service of captain Saku Koivu, who will miss at least the last two games of the regular season due to a broken bone in his foot.

Alexei Kovalev and Andrei Kostitsyn scored power play goals on Tuesday, and will need to continue to step up.

"Having guys out can definitely hurt," Price said. "But the other guys did a really good job of stepping up and it helped our game tonight. Hopefully, we can keep that going."

Price is 10-3-0 with a 2.29 goal-against average since former No. 1 starter Cristobal Huet was shipped to Washington at the trade deadline.

The fifth overall pick of the 2005 draft has been a major reason the Canadiens were able to clinch their first division title since 1991-92.

Now he will look to help Montreal secure its first conference title since winning the Wales Conference - now the East - in 1989.

Buffalo, meanwhile, will be eliminated from playoff contention with a loss.