As for the Canadiens' task for Game 4, it is plain and simple. They have to win, or pack it in. Montreal was without defenseman Mathieu Schneider and left wing Alex Tanguay on Monday night, both key players sidelined by upper-body injuries. Top defenseman Andrei Markov has been out with a lower-body injury that cost him the last four games of the regular season.

Can the Habs fight off elimination and send the series back to Boston, or will the Bruins sweep and move on? With the Bruins being 8-0 in the last eight meetings, the odds seem good for a sweep.

The Boston Bruins, meanwhile, are rolling. The Bruins scored three power-play goals Saturday night before the Canadiens enjoyed their first and only man advantage late in the second game.  Boston has converted four of nine power-play opportunities so far in the series.

The Bruins have successfully killed each of Montreal’s three power-play opportunities through the first two games, including both in Thursday’s 4-2 win in the series opener.

Carey Price started both games in Boston, though he was pulled Saturday after allowing five goals in the first two periods. Jaroslav Halak stopped five shots in the third.

One thing the Habs have going in their favor is the Bruins are only 7-20-1 in the last 28 meetings in Montreal. Bet on NHL hockey with Bodog today.

But if you follow historical trends, they favor Montreal, which has won 24 of 31 playoff series between the two Original Six clubs, including the last three.

A year ago the Canadiens needed seven tough games to beat the Bruins in the postseason.

The Bruins are a big team with seven players with more than 20 goals. They have the league's leading goalie in goals-against average and save percentage in Tim Thomas, and a Norris Trophy candidate in Zdeno Chara. The underdog Canadiens likely start the series without their best defenseman Andrei Markov after barely scraping into the playoffs.

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This is the only meeting between the Original Six clubs this season. Montreal won 4-3 in overtime at home over the Blackhawks on Jan. 8, 2008 in the teams' most recent meeting. The Canadiens have won six of the last eight in the series and three in a row at home.

Carey Price, who has never faced the Blackhawks, is 22-14-9 with a 2.81 GAA this season.

The Canadiens hope to have forward Andrei Kostitsyn back after he missed the last two games with the flu. Kostitsyn has a team-leading 23 goals. Get all your NHL hockey betting in the Bodog Sportsbook now.

The Devils were slight –120 favorites to pot the first goal of the game on home ice, with Montreal at –110. Those odds were pretty close to the moneyline offer of New Jersey –130, but the Habs have scored first in 23 of their 45 games, while New Jersey went up 1-0 in 25 of 46 games. The Devils were arguably a better value with the first-goal prop.

My personal favorite props are the individual matchups, like the one between Montreal’s Alex Kovalev and New Jersey’s Patrick Elias. The Devils sniper was a –170 chalk to score more points than Kovalev.

Atlanta is on a short hot streak of their own after racking up back-to-back wins over Toronto and Nashville. The Thrashers blasted the Predators 7-2 on Saturday. Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and an assist in that game, while Rich Peverley burned his former team with three assists.

The Canadiens and Thrashers faced off in Montreal in December when the Habs edged Atlanta 5-4. Montreal jumped out to a 3-0 lead in that game before nearly blowing it after Atlanta scored three unanswered goal to tie the game 3-3. Montreal quickly bounced back with two more goals to secure the win. Montreal has won their last three matchups with the Thrashers, but they’re just 2-2 in their last four trips to Atlanta.

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Montreal is on a 6-1-1 run, fueled by the return of No. 1 netminder Carey Price (.921 save percentage) following a lower-body injury. But Price is back in the infirmary – although reportedly not with mono as rumors suggest – leaving Jaroslav Halak (.908 SV%) in the crease against the Rangers.

The Habs are also missing Saku Koivu (ankle), Alex Tanguay (shoulder) and Christopher Higgins (shoulder), among others. New York has no major injuries of note heading into Wednesday’s tilt at MSG.

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The biggest hurdle for the Canadiens when they play the Devils has been Martin Brodeur. With Marty injured you would figure Montreal would be golden, but Scott Clemmensen has proven to be just as tough. In the first meeting this season he stopped 25 shots as the Devils posted a 2-1 overtime win.

Cashing in at home is vital for the Devils as the upcoming schedule looks tough. Three of their next four games are in Newark, but the only one of those that isn’t at home is part of a stretch of nine of the next 11 on the road. Get NHL odds with Bodog today.

Montreal has won three straight over Calgary at home since a 3-1 loss on December 13, 2000, are 8-2-3 at home, and haven't lost in regulation at the Bell Centre since a 2-1 defeat to Philadelphia on November 14, going 3-0-3 since.

The over is 6-1 in the last seven meetings in Montreal. Bet on hockey in the Bodog Sportsbook.

The Canadiens (2-0-1) have scored 11 goals in their last two games and have jumped to the top of the Northeast Division. Add the fact that goalie Carey Price has never lost to Boston in the regular season, going 5-0-0 with a 2.17 goals-against average, and everything is pointing to Montreal tonight.

Patrice Bergeron has three assists for Boston in two games in his return to the ice after missing nearly all of 2007-08 due to injury.

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