No major news out of Montreal concerning the lineup. McCarthy and Sterling are scratches again in keeping with the coaching staff's tendency to keep the lineup the same after wins. Pascal Dupuis will skate during the warm-up and will be a last minute decision. So Popovic is on defense and the only question is who gets bumped if Dupuis can play. My assumption is one of Boulton and Thorburn will sit with Boulton being more likely to play based on seniority.

Johan Hedberg gets the start in net.

In an odd twist, all three of the Thrashers' wins have come against Original Six teams. Who do they play tonight? An Original Six team.

Rookie goaltender Carey Price is getting the start for Montreal. The Thrashers have a tendency to make rookies look good in net (Ellis in Nashville, Elliot from Ottawa), so hopefully that changes tonight. the Canadiens happen to be on a four-game winning streak and are 2-1-1 at home. the thrashers will have to be disciplined since Montreal has the best power play in the NHL, even without Sheldon Souray.  fortunately their penalty kill isn't so hot, so the Thrashers might be able to take advantage of that if they can draw some penalties. According to The Forechecker's spreadsheet Jim Slater and Bryan Little have drawn the most penalties for Atlanta.

I'm feeling optimistic about this one. If Marian Hossa can get on the board early it'll be Atlanta's game to lose.

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