Pat Hickey points out five things you should know about Tuesday’s matchup at the Bell Centre.

1 The matchup The Canadiens’ drive for a playoff spot stalled with a 4-1 loss to Boston Saturday, leaving the team 35-2 in their last 10 games. They are nine points out of the final wild-card playoff spot. Colorado held a wild-card position in the West with 55 points entering Monday’s game in Toronto, but the race is extremely tight.

2

Nathan vs. Jonathan

Former junior teammates Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin face each other. They led the Halifax Mooseheads to the Memorial Cup in 2013. MacKinnon was the No. 1 overall pick in the NHL draft that year, while Drouin was No. 3. MacKinnon entered Monday’s play sitting No. 2 in the NHL scoring race with 23 goals and 59 points, two points behind Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov. Drouin has six goals and 22 points.

3

What was ailing Price?

Carey Price wasn’t himself at the start of the season and TVA Sports said that was because the goaltender was suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome, a debilitating condition difficult to diagnose and just as difficult to treat.

It’s safe to say Price has recovered because he has handled a heavy workload since Nov. 25, when he returned from a 10-game stay on the injured reserve list. Price has started 22 of the Canadiens’ last 24 games, with an ordinary 10-9-3 record in that span.

4

Pacioretty picks it up

Max Pacioretty has been happy with his game the past month, but it is only in the past two weeks he has regained the scoring touch that saw him reach the 30-goal plateau four seasons in a row. Pacioretty has seven goals in the past seven games and 15 for the season. His recent success is surprising because he finds himself on a line where Paul Byron and Charles Hudon take turns in the faceoff circle.

5

The other guys

The Avalanche finished last season at the bottom of the league. MacKinnon’s career season is part of the reason for the rebound, but Colorado is also getting strong performances from 21-year-old Finn Mikko Rantanen (17 goals and 46 points) and Swede Gabriel Landeskog (16 goals and 34 points). Rantanen has great size at 6-4 and 211 pounds and is developing into a strong power forward in his second

NHL season. Canadiens castoffs Sven Andrighetto and Mark Barberio are also enjoying career seasons.