CANADIENS (27-25-4) at COYOTES (25-24-6)
TV: 9 p.m. ET; FS-A, RDS, SNE, NHL.TV
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - The Montreal Canadiens and Arizona Coyotes are both desperate to use their game Monday to get on a winning streak and climb back into Stanley Cup Playoff contention in their respective conferences.
The Canadiens are 12th in the Eastern Conference, six points behind the New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning in the battle for the two wild-card spots in the East. Montreal won three straight games before losing 6-4 against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday. They have lost 10 of the past 14 (4-9-1) and can't afford to slip further back.
The Coyotes are in the same boat. They have lost six of the past seven (1-5-1) and are five points behind the Nashville Predators for the final Western Conference playoff spot.
"They are going to be a desperate team and we should be a desperate team and play accordingly," Arizona coach Dave Tippett said. "Playing just all right this time of year isn't going to get you enough wins. You have to be better than all right."
Forward Jordan Martinook, who was injured late in the 4-1 loss against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, was back on the ice Monday and will play. Martinook has recently moved to a line with Antoine Vermette and Mikkel Boedker, with Tobias Rieder now skating with Brad Richardson and Shane Doan.
The Coyotes are expected to play seven defensemen for the fourth straight game. Jarred Tinordi, who was acquired last month in the John Scott deal, will play with Niklas Grossman sitting out as a scratch.
Tinordi's last game was Feb. 5 against the Anaheim Ducks.
"He's going against this old team. It just feels right to put him in there," Tippett said. "The last game he played a decent game so hopefully he can jump in there and give us some quality minutes. He's a good defender, a rangy guy with a long stick. We think there is some upside but it's going to take some time."
Goalie Louis Domingue, who made 24 saves against the Sharks, will get another start and face his hometown team for the second time.
Mike Condon starts in goal for Montreal. Condon relieved Ben Scrivens after he allowed three goals on eight shots against the Sabres.
Defenseman Nathan Beaulieu returns after missing the game Friday with a lower-body injury.
Here are the projected lineups:
CANADIENS
Max Pacioretty - David Desharnais - Sven Andrighetto
Alex Galchenyuk - Tomas Plekanec - Brendan Gallagher
Tomas Fleischmann - Lars Eller - Paul Byron
Dale Weise - Torrey Mitchell - Jacob De La Rose
Nathan Beaulieu - Tom Gilbert
Mike Condon
Ben Scrivens
Scratched: Mark Barberio, Devante Smith-Pelly
Injured: Carey Price (lower body), Lucas Lessio (lower body), Jeff Petry (lower body), Daniel Carr (lower body)
COYOTES
Jordan Martinook - Antoine Vermette - Mikkel Boedker
Max Domi - Martin Hanzal - Anthony Duclair
Tobias Rieder - Brad Richardson - Shane Doan
Oliver Ekman-Larsson - Connor Murphy
Klas Dahlbeck - Zbynek Michalek
Kevin Connauton - Michael Stone
Jarred Tinordi
Louis Domingue
Anders Lindback
Injured: Boyd Gordon (upper body), Mike Smith (abdominal surgery), Joe Vitale (fractured orbital bone)
Scratched: Niklas Grossmann, Viktor Tikhonov
Status report: Forward Boyd Gordon was able to skate for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury Feb. 4, but Tippett said he is still weeks away from playing. Gordon is scheduled for another doctor visit this week.
Who's hot: Subban has 11 points during an eight-game point streak. The line of Alex Galchenyuk, Tomas Plekanec and Brendan Gallagher have combined for 17 points over the past five games. ... Shane Doan has 76 percent of his points (15 of 21 goals and 25 of 33 points) at Gila River Arena.
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