SHARKS (18-11-1) at CANADIENS (19-6-4)
7:30 p.m. ET; SNE, RDS, CSN-CA, NHL.TV
Sharks team scope
Center Logan Couture will be in the San Jose Sharks lineup when they try to extend their three-game winning streak Friday, against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. Couture left San Jose's 4-3 overtime win at the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday after he was cross-checked in the back of the head by forward Mike Hoffman, who was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct at 7:50 of the third period. "I woke up and obviously my neck was a little sore from getting cross-checked in the back of the head, but other than that I felt fine," Couture said after he took part in the morning skate at Bell Centre. "I'm good to play [Friday]." Couture, who has nine points (five goals, four assists) in his past nine games, said the cross-check stunned him, and though he did not return to the game, was ultimately cleared Wednesday. "Afterwards I had to go through all the concussion protocol, everything," Couture said. "I spent time with their doctor. Thankfully I was lucky, he thought and I thought I was all right, so he cleared me. It was too late to come back [to the game], by the time that was done it was the end of regulation and I'd missed 15 minutes, so I wasn't going to come back."
Canadiens team scope
Canadiens goaltender Carey Price will make his second attempt at getting his 250th NHL win Friday. Price is 16-3-2 with a 1.80 goals-against-average and a .940 save percentage in 21 starts, following a 2-1 overtime loss against the Boston Bruins on Monday. His 249 wins rank fourth in Montreal history, nine behind Ken Dryden, third with 258 wins. Jacques Plante holds the Canadiens record with 314 wins, and Patrick Roy is second with 289. Montreal is 3-0-2 in its past five games, and 4-1-2 in its past seven games at Bell Centre since winning its first 10 home games. After outscoring their opponents 15-3 in lopsided wins against the New Jersey Devils and Colorado Avalanche to open their four-game homestand, the Canadiens went 0-for-5 on the power play against Boston on Monday, and have one goal in their past 15 power-play opportunities. Montreal lost centers Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais to knee injuries that will sideline each for 6-8 weeks during a 2-2-1 road trip prior to this homestand. "Obviously they're really good players, and especially they're really good players on power plays, but we just can't sit back and wait and hopefully they're going to come back," coach Michel Therrien said after the Canadiens optional morning skate in Brossard, Quebec. "No, we have to find solutions and we're working through that."
Sharks projected lineup
Patrick Marleau -- Joe Thornton -- Joe Pavelski
Kevin Labanc -- Logan Couture -- Mikkel Boedker
Timo Meier -- Chris Tierney -- Joonas Donskoi
Micheal Haley -- Tommy Wingels -- Melker Karlsson
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon -- David Schlemko
Scratched: Joel Ward, Dylan DeMelo, Matt Nieto
Injured: Tomas Hertl (knee)
Canadiens projected lineup
Max Pacioretty -- Tomas Plekanec -- Alexander Radulov
Paul Byron -- Torrey Mitchell -- Brendan Gallagher
Artturi Lehkonen -- Phillip Danault -- Andrew Shaw
Nathan Beaulieu -- Zach Redmond
Scratched: Mark Barberio, Sven Andrighetto, Michael McCarron
Injured: Alex Galchenyuk (knee), David Desharnais (knee), Greg Pateryn (ankle)
Status report
Meier, 20, the No. 9 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, will make his League debut. He had 15 points (nine goals, six assists) in 17 games with the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League when he was recalled Thursday. "The last couple of weeks he's been a dominant player down there, so he deserved the call and to get rewarded for that," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. ... Ward is being left out of the lineup for the first time this season. "There's no easy way, those aren't easy conversations," DeBoer said. "He's a proud guy, he's a great player, he's a great teammate and he was a key guy for us last year on the run. So those aren't easy and we don't take them lightly, but those are the decisions we have to make." ... McCarron may make his season debut for Montreal, though Therrien said his lineup will be a game-time decision.
Who's hot
Burns has seven points (four goals, three assists) in a six-game point streak and 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in his past 12 games. … Pavelski has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in his past 14 games, with points in 12 of them. … Pacioretty has nine points (seven goals, two assists) in his past five games. … Plekanec has six points (one goal, five assists) in his past four games. … Byron has five points (three goals, two assists) in a four-game point streak. … Mitchell has two goals and two assists in a three-game point streak.
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