Stu Cowan looks at five things to know about Thursday's game between the Canadiens and Stars at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).
1. No place like home?
The Canadiens are coming off a 6-3 loss to the Arizona Coyotes Tuesday at the Bell Centre and have the worst home record in the NHL (8-18-2). This is the second of six straight games at the Bell Centre for the Canadiens. They are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games overall and 8-6-1 since Martin St. Louis took over from Dominique Ducharme as head coach. The Stars are on a three-game losing streak, including a 4-0 loss to the Leafs Tuesday in Toronto. They have a 12-15-2 record on the road, are 5-41 in their last 10 games and are in fifth place in the Central Division.
2. Allen back in goal
Jake Allen is expected to make his first start in goal for the Canadiens since suffering a lower-body injury during the first period of a game against the Bruins in Boston on Jan. 12. St. Louis said Allen will come off the injured-reserve list Thursday and that he's 95-per-cent certain the veteran goalie will be able to play, depending on how he feels after the morning skate. Allen has a 5-16-2 record with a 3.15 goalsagainst average and a .901 save percentage. Samuel Montembeault made his fifth straight start in goal for the Canadiens against the Coyotes and was pulled following the first period after allowing four goals on seven shots. Cayden Primeau replaced him and stopped 10 of the 11 shots he faced. Montembeault has a 7-13-5 record with a 3.71 GAA and a .894 save percentage. Allen's return means Primeau will be headed back to the AHL'S Laval Rocket.
3. Second meeting
This is the second and last meeting between these teams this season. The Canadiens beat the Stars 5-3 in Dallas on Jan. 18. Christian Dvorak scored two of the seven goals he has this season in that game, while Montembeault stopped 48 of the 51 shots he faced. Dvorak hasn't scored another goal since, playing only three more games after facing the Stars before suffering an upper-body injury that has sidelined him since Jan. 24. Dvorak took part in the full Canadiens practice Tuesday morning, but still hasn't received the green light to play.
4. Goal Caufield
Cole Caufield scored two goals in eight seconds late in the second period Tuesday night against the Coyotes. That's one more goal than he scored in 45 games with Ducharme as head coach. Since St. Louis took over, Caufield has 10-9-19 totals in 15 games. Nick Suzuki leads the Canadiens in scoring with 1627-43 totals, followed by Artturi Lehkonen (13-15-28), Caufield (11-16-27), Josh Anderson (15-924) and Mike Hoffman (11-12-23).
5. Shooting stars
Joe Pavelski, at age 37, leads the Stars in scoring with 23-37-60 totals, followed by Jason Robertson (30-25-55), Roope Hintz (23-2649), Tyler Seguin (18-14-32) and Jamie Benn (14-17-31). Former Canadien Alexander Radulov has 3-15-18 totals in 52 games in the final season of his five-year, Us$31.25-million contract. The 35-year-old can become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Seguin ($9.85 million), Benn ($9.5 million), Pavelski ($7 million) and Radulov ($6.25 million) account for 40.1 per cent of the Stars' salary cap.