Dustin Tokarski will spell Carey Price in nets Sunday afternoon as the Montreal Canadiens shoot for their sixth-straight victory, this time against the lowly Arizona Coyotes.
Tokarski has gone 5-3-1 with a respectable .917 save percentage and a 2.50 goals against average this season. The 25-year-old from Humbdolt, Saskatchewan won his last start on January 18, a 6-4 decision over the high-powered New York Islanders.
Twenty-four year old Gabriel Dumont, who was recently called up from the AHL Bulldogs, will be in the Canadiens' lineup after racking up 27 points in 40 games in Hamilton this season.
With 67 points, the Canadiens (32-13-3) are one in back of Tampa Bay for the Atlantic Division lead with three games in hand. They are an NHL-best 15-3-1 since Dec. 9.
Montreal has won five in a row, with the last four all coming by one goal.
"We're all making contributions. It's a team sport. Guys are doing their part," Carey Price said. "I'm relying on the guys around me and they're relying on me. Right now, we've got a perfect harmony going."
Montreal had won nine straight in the series before dropping the last meeting, 5-2 at Arizona on March 6. Mike Smith made 24 saves for the Coyotes, improving to 3-1-3 with a 2.20 GAA against the Canadiens.
The Coyotes with 40 points in 49 games,are tied for 27th place in the 30 team league with only Edmonton and Buffalo trailing.
Louis Domingue is tending nets in the place of struggling Mike Smith.
''Where we are with some key veterans out and playing some young players, the bottom line is your goaltender has to be good for you and ours wasn't good," coach Dave Tippett said.
"It's not how we want to be. We want to be a hard team to play against," Michalek said. "I just was embarrassed and I think everybody should feel the same way. There's no excuses."
The Coyotes franchise has been outscored 100-43 in going 1-19-1 with two ties in its last 23 visits to Montreal.
Pacioretty leads the Canadiens with 23 goals and 40 points, 28 of which have come in 24 home games. Montreal is 17-5-2 on its own ice.
Price is hot
The Montreal Canadiens' Carey Price is certainly in the running for the Vezina Trophy, and he's making a case for the Hart Trophy, too.
Price has looked every bit like an MVP against the Arizona Coyotes over the years.
Price has stopped a combined 60 shots in consecutive 1-0 wins over the Rangers on Thursday and Washington on Saturday. He tied Hall of Famer Patrick Roy for fifth on the team's all-time shutout list with 29 after Max Pacioretty scored 3:08 into overtime against the Capitals.
Price has compiled a 1.43 goals-against average in winning five straight and 13 of his last 16 starts. He's surrendered two goals or fewer in all but one of those appearances,
"He's amazing. He's so humble. He just comes to the rink and does his job. A guy like that doesn't have to open his mouth once to be the best leader on this team," Pacioretty, who also provided all the offense against New York, told the team's official website. "The way he shows up, the way he handles himself, the way he carries himself, he's the backbone of this team.
"You get goose bumps when you're stepping out of the tunnel because you want to step up for him."
-With a file from The Associated Press