The Montreal Canadiens will face the Boston Bruins at the Bell Centre on Thursday night. Contrary to recent years, the Massachusetts outfit is dead last in the Eastern Conference, even behind the poor Buffalo Sabres.

The Columbus Blue Jackets will look to keep up with the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference wild-card race when they host the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.

With points in seven of their past 10 outings, the Canadiens are currently holding down the second wildcard seed in the Eastern Conference, boosted by back-to-back wins over the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.

Montreal moved two points ahead of the New York Rangers, breaking a tie for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. Niko Mikkola and Mackie Samoskevich scored, and Vitek Vanecek made 18 saves for the Panthers (44-26-4), who had won three of five.

The skill and resilience of Montreal's up-and-coming core have fueled an unlikely run and allowed the team to play meaningful April hockey.

The Columbus Blue Jackets' quest to end their four-season playoff drought continues Tuesday when they host the slumping Nashville Predators.