The Montreal Canadiens (41-18-6) hope to return from their West Coast swing with three of a possible eight points, as they face off at 7 p.m. against an Arizona Coyotes (21-37-7) team that edged them 3-2 in Montreal on February 1, with the help of rarely-used goaltender Louis Domingue.

The Coyotes are near the bottom of the league but remain capable of beating playoff teams, as evidenced by their 3-2 home win over the Vancouver Canucks Thursday, a win which ended a 10-game losing streak.

The Coyotes have traded away several veterans in recent weeks. Antoine Vermette was sent to Chicago, defenseman Keith Yandle went to the Rangers and Zbynek Michalek to the Blues for draft picks.

Carey Price is expected to start for the Canadiens. Sergei Gonchar will likely return to his spot on defence in the place of Mike Weaver while Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau and Manny Malhotra will likely sit out.

The Coyotes have let in 220 goals, the most in the league. Their 142 goals scored puts them ahead only of the Buffalo Sabres. Their -78 goal differential is the second-worst in the NHL.

The Canadiens are coming off losses in San Jose and Anaheim on Monday and Wednesday but came back to salvage a point against the Kings on Thursday, snagging one point in a 4-3 in a shootout in Los Angeles.