After another lackluster effort against the New York Islanders on Thursday, the Montréal Canadiens will need to try better against a Toronto Maple Leafs team that is closing in on them — like so many other teams in the Atlantic Division. The Leafs are only four points behind with a game in hand, with tonight’s contest being a potential "four-point game" in the standings.
After generating no offence against the Isles, head coach Claude Julien shifted the forwards around in practice the next day. The biggest winner is Artturi Lehkonen, who gets to stay on the second offensive line with Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher after Julien put him there late in Thursday's game.