Hard hitting Alexei Emelin is expected to be back from his shoulder injury as the Canadiens (43-19-7) take on the Tampa Bay Lightning (42-21-7) in Florida Monday at 7:30 p.m.

Emelin was paired up with Nathan Beaulieu on his right in practice but it was not clear which other defenceman Coach Michel Therrien would sit out to make room for the returning Russian.

Seven defencemen might suit up for the tilt as the Canadiens aim to finally beat their main rival in the division.

Carey Price is a bona fide MVP candidate and one of the favorites to take home the Vezina Trophy, but he hasn't outdueled the Tampa Bay Lightning's Ben Bishop in three matchups this season, even with another top-notch performance last week.

Price will get another crack at the Lightning - and possibly Bishop - on Monday night and try to help Montreal extend its slim Atlantic Division lead by sending Tampa Bay to a season-high third consecutive defeat.

Price stopped 35 of 36 shots against the visiting Lightning on Tuesday but took a 1-0 overtime defeat. Tyler Johnson scored as Tampa Bay (42-21-7) improved to 3-0-0 this season against Montreal (43-19-7) and handed Price a fifth defeat in as many regular-season matchups.

One of the NHL's leaders in most major goaltending categories, Price has a 3.40 goals-against average in the three games against Tampa Bay, his worst showing versus any Eastern Conference opponent.

Montreal has been outscored 12-3 by Tampa Bay since a sweep of the Lightning in last year's playoffs. Bishop, injured for that postseason, has a 0.99 GAA against Montreal this season and is 6-0-1 with a 0.96 GAA in his last seven meetings.

Bishop's 33 wins are five fewer than Price's career high-tying total and neither his 2.32 GAA nor .915 save percentage are in the league's top 10. He has tried to pad those numbers by going 2-0-1 with a 1.29 GAA and a .947 save percentage in his last three games.

Backup goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was in net for a 2-1 defeat to Winnipeg on Saturday. The Jets scored two third-period goals to snap the Lightning's four-game home win streak and send them to just their third defeat in the past 18 contests there.

Tampa Bay had a lead with a little more than 10 minutes to go despite producing a season-low 16 shots, including four in the third period. The loss to Winnipeg and Montreal's 3-1 win at the New York Islanders on Saturday put the Canadiens two points ahead of the Lightning in the Atlantic.

"That was a tough one for us. We've played extremely well at home so for us to lay an egg at some point, you don't want it to happen but I guess it's maybe going to happen at some point," coach Jon Cooper said. "We were playing a really desperate hockey team. They played a playoff-style game. They really, really wanted to win. ... We didn't match anything they brought to the table."

Montreal has won back-to-back road games after losing three in a row. Price stopped 35 shots Saturday and showed his comfort level by participating in a young fan's selfie in the third period.

"Carey Price was Carey Price," coach Michel Therrien said. "He's a dominant player and a special player."

Tampa Bay, among the league leaders with 3.20 goals per game, has a combined four in its last three contests. Johnson, whose only goal in his last six games came at Montreal, has three scores in the past two matchups.

Ondrej Palat has three goals and five assists in his last seven games against the Canadiens including the playoffs but is expected to miss at least two weeks after suffering a lower-body injury in last week's victory in Montreal. The Canadiens and Lightning will meet for the final time in the regular season March 30 in Montreal.

-With a file from The Associated Press