Montreal (30-21-7) at Pittsburgh (27-25-6), 7:00 pm EST

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- The Montreal Canadiens are hoping to hang

on to a playoff spot. The Pittsburgh Penguins are just looking

to stay in the race.

The Penguins will seek their first win under new interim coach

Dan Bylsma on Thursday, when they host the struggling Canadiens.

Bylsma, who replaced fired Michel Therrien, was unsuccessful in

his debut as Pittsburgh suffered a 3-2 shootout loss to the New

York Islanders on Monday.

The former coach at the Penguins' AHL affiliate in

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Bylsma takes over a talented Penguins'

squad that made it to the Stanley Cup Finals last season. But

Pittsburgh has not lived up to its talent this campaign.

Despite a combined 46 goals and 155 points from All-Stars Evgeni

Malkin and captain Sidney Crosby, the Penguins sit in 10th place

in the Eastern Conference - six points out of the final

postseason spot.

Montreal, which is 3-10-1 over its previous 14 contests, holds

the sixth spot in the East.

Andrei Kostitsyn scored a goal and set up another during

Wednesday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Washington Capitals.