Some news and notes ahead of a busy hockey weekend:
• This is how desperate the situation has become for the Canadiens after dropping their first two games out of the break: In order to have just a 60% chance of grabbing a wild-card berth, Montreal needs to go 18-9-4 in its final 31 games. Not impossible, but with each game that Carey Price remains on the sidelines the ship is veering hard towards the rocks. If the Habs are going to right their course, it has to be this month. They have 11 games remaining on their February schedule.