Preview: Blackhawks at Canadiens

[March 14, 2017]  The Montreal Canadiens are trying to protect a slim lead atop the Atlantic Division while the Chicago Blackhawks are attempting to overtake the Minnesota Wild in the Central. Against that backdrop, the Blackhawks will kick off a three-game road trip with a visit to Montreal in a matchup of two teams that have won eight of their last 10 games.

Chicago ended a modest two-game skid with a 4-2 victory over Minnesota on Sunday -- its third win over the Wild in a span of 14 games -- to draw within one point of the division lead. "We have 14 games left to make sure that happens (and) feel good about ourselves going into the playoffs," Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane said. "They have a game in hand on us, but we're right there." Despite their strong play of late, the Canadiens have been unable to shake red-hot Ottawa, which is two points out of first place with two games in hand. Montreal capped a four-game road trip with a 4-1 victory at Edmonton and has won seven of its last eight overall, with five of the wins coming away from home.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CSN Chicago, RDS, Sportsnet East (Montreal)

ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (43-20-5): Kane, who led the league in scoring last season en route to winning the Hart Trophy, scored one goal and set up another against Minnesota to continue torrid stretch. Kane reached 30 goals for the second straight season and third time in his career and has amassed a staggering 15 tallies and 24 points over the past 16 games. Goaltender Corey Crawford, coming off a season-high 42-save performance, is 6-0-2 lifetime with a 1.49 goals-against average versus Montreal.

ABOUT THE CANADIENS (39-22-8): Forward Paul Byron went 0-for-February (13 games) in the goal-scoring department, but has come alive this month with four tallies in five games. Byron, who has established career highs in goals (18), assists (16) and points (34) in his second season with Montreal, scored twice and set up another goal Sunday despite battling the flu that kept him out of practice the previous day. Netminder Carey Price has yielded six goals during a six-start winning streak.

OVERTIME

1. Chicago has won six straight meetings and has a 10-game point streak (8-0-2) against Montreal.

2. Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty has four straight 30-goal seasons but has one tally in nine games versus Chicago.

3. The Blackhawks are 10-for-10 on the penalty kill while the Canadiens are 0-for-11 on the power play in March.

PREDICTION: Blackhawks 3, Canadiens 2

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