The Tampa Bay Lightning visit the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday in a key late-season matchup in the Atlantic Division.

Both teams enter the night tied for second place in the standings with just four games remaining. The winner will be one step closer to securing home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Tampa Bay dropped the first two games of their final road trip, falling 4–2 to the Buffalo Sabres on Monday and 6–2 to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. After Pontus Holmberg left Tuesday’s game with what looked to be a long-term injury, getting out of Montreal with a healthy lineup would be considered a plus.

The trip wraps up on Saturday against the Boston Bruins before the Lightning return home for their final two regular-season games against the Detroit Red Wings on Monday and the New York Rangers on Wednesday.

Head coach Jon Cooper ruled out Brandon Hagel for Thursday, adding that he remains hopeful he can return during one of the final three regular-season matchups. Thursday will mark the fifth consecutive game Hagel’s missed due to an undisclosed injury.

Anthony Cirelli is expected to be back in the lineup soon after missing the last two games with an undisclosed injury.

Declan Carlile has been activated off injured reserve after being sidelined since mid-March with a lower-body injury. Conor Geekie and Jakob Pelletier remain on the active roster.

Some encouraging news on the depth front, with Dominic James and defenseman Max Crozier continuing to skate with the team and trending toward a return in the near future.

Puck drop is at 7p.m. EST.