<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>MONTREAL – After downing one of the league’s top teams in the Ottawa Senators, the Canadiens find their next opponent at the opposite end of the spectrum, as they host the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at the Bell Centre. Tuesday night, the Habs held off a late Senators rally to creep within a point of the Northeast Division and Eastern Conference lead. The trio of Alex Kovalev, Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn burned up the Bell Centre, combining for nine points in the victory. The power-play continued to click as it has all season long, converting twice on four opportunities. That moved the Canadiens into a tie with the Philadelphia Flyers for first-place with the man advantage on home ice, with a success rate of 26.5%. The Maple Leafs arrive in town after suffering their worst loss in nearly three years, an 8-0 rout at the hands of the Florida Panthers. It was a step backwards for the club, who defeated the provincial-rival Senators on Saturday night, despite being without a number of regulars. While injuries have plagued the Leafs all season long, one patient could be leaving the clinic as early as tonight. Defenseman Bryan McCabe, sidelined since Dec. 15 with fractured bones in his hand, is waiting for clearance from team doctors and could be in the lineup against the Habs. Carey returns to the crease: After 13 straight starts over the course of which Cristobal Huet posted an 8-4-1 record, the Canadiens netminder will get a well-deserved rest tonight, paving the way for Carey Price’s first NHL start since Jan. 5. The 20-year-old will be making his fourth start against the Maple Leafs this season, bringing a 2.27 goals-against average and .939 save percentage into the contest. In his most recent action in Hamilton, Price notched a pair of wins over the Manitoba Moose, including his first career AHL shutout on Saturday night. Home, sweet home: In the early goings of the season, home ice didn’t have much advantage for the Canadiens. However, the tide appears to be turning. Ever since the calendar changed to 2008, the club has gone 6-2-1 at the Bell Centre to improve to 12-9-5 since the start of the campaign. The offense has played a key role in that success, averaging just over four goals per game. Steady Swede: While the Maple Leafs as a whole have struggled with consistency in 2007-08, there’s been one constant the Blue & White have been able to count on this year, and over the past 13 years – Mats Sundin. The Leafs captain, who leads his club in goals, assists, and points, is just one point shy of 1,300 for his NHL career. Sundin has averaged a point-per-game or better in just about his entire Toronto tenure, and is continuing that trend again this year with 56 points in 55 games.</div>
As bad as the Leafs have been, these have been pretty good matchups so far. I always look forward to them.
Ah the refs gave the game in Torontos favour which totally sucked but I can't say we didn't have chances. Vesa played great but I still think we were robbed.
