The Montreal Canadiens hope to aid their push for home ice in the first round of the playoffs when they host the New York Islanders in Thursdays game at the Bell Centre. Viewers in the Habs region can watch the game on TSN starting at 7:30pm et/8:30pm at and listen to it on TSN Radio 690. Montreal will face Tampa Bay in the first round of the playoffs and currently holds a three-point lead over the Lightning for second place in the Atlantic Division and home-ice advantage in the best-of-seven series. However, Tampa Bay has three games left in the regular season compared to two for the Canadiens. The Habs are closing their regular-season slate with two straight on home ice and will host the New York Rangers in their 82nd game on Saturday. Montreal is 22-12-5 as the home team this season. The Canadiens lost for just the second time in nine outings on Wednesday, but they still picked up a point in a 3-2 overtime loss at Chicago. Peter Budaj misplayed a harmless Patrick Sharp shot into the game winner at 43 seconds of OT, giving the Blackhawks a come-from-behind victory at United Center. Marian Hossa tied the game inside the final minute with the extra attacker, then Sharp won it when his contested, rolling shot from between the circles trickled up Budajs stick. Instead of trapping it, the Habs netminder tried to shake it away, and instead whacked it into the net for Chicagos winning goal. "We were in a position to get two points, but I really liked the way we played," Montreal head coach Michel Therrien said. "On the last two goals, it was some bad coverage in front of the net. Im sure on the last goal, the winning goal, (Budaj) certainly would like to see that shot again, but those things happen." Dale Weise and Francis Bouillon scored for the Canadiens, while Budaj took the loss despite 25 stops. The Islanders are out of the playoffs for the sixth time in seven seasons after making an appearance last spring. The club has lost three straight and has been outscored by a combined 8-1 margin over the last two games. After losing 4-0 in Columbus on Sunday, New York was dealt a 4-1 setback by the visiting Ottawa Senators in Tuesdays season finale at Nassau Coliseum. Jason Spezza scored twice, including the go-ahead goal in the third period to lift the Senators to the win and drop New Yorks record this season on Long Island to 13-19-9. "We had some problems here at home," said Islanders coach Jack Capuano. "Thats something we have to straighten out if we want to make the playoffs." Next season marks New Yorks last campaign at the Coliseum, as the club is scheduled to move to Brooklyns Barclays Center at the start of 2015-16. Frans Nielsen scored for the Islanders, while Anders Nilsson made 28 saves in a losing effort. New York will play three games on the road to complete its schedule and is 18-18-2 as the visiting team. After tonights tilt at the Bell Centre, the Isles will visit New Jersey on Friday before ending the campaign Sunday in Buffalo. Montreal has won three straight against the Islanders overall, but New York has claimed three of the past five meetings in Quebec. Boston Bruins at Winnipeg Jets The Boston Bruins will try to move closer to just the second Presidents Trophy in franchise history on Thursday night as they take on the Winnipeg Jets. Viewers in the Jets region can watch the game on TSN starting at 6:30pm ct/7:30pm et and listen to it on TSN Radio 1290 in Winnipeg. The Bruins lead the NHL with 114 points, two ahead of the idle Anaheim Ducks with a game in hand. Boston has already locked up the top seed in the Eastern Conference and has not finished a season as the top points earner since 1989-90, when it lost to the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Finals. With nothing to play for down the stretch, the Bruins have lost three of their last four games, but they are 1-1-2 in that stretch and have earned a point in 19 of their previous 20 games (16-1-3). Boston is coming off Tuesdays 4-3 shootout loss to the Minnesota Wild, yielding the game-tying goal with 1:05 left in regulation before getting shut out in the tiebreaker. Loui Eriksson, Reilly Smith and Patrice Bergeron lit the lamp for the Bruins, while Tuukka Rask made 21 saves. "I felt we were a little sloppy tonight. We werent very sharp in our passing and our playmaking," Bruins head coach Claude Julien said. Both forward Jarome Iginla and defenseman Kevan Miller missed a second straight game, while David Krejci, who leads the NHL with a plus-39 rating, was scratched from the game for rest. Both Iginla and Miller practiced on Wednesday and could be game-time decisions. The Bruins will host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday before ending the regular season at the New Jersey Devils on Sunday. Rask figures to get some rest over that time, but could start tonight and is 8-4-0 lifetime versus the Jets with a 1.98 goals against average and two shutouts. Winnipeg comes in having lost four of its last six games and will miss the playoffs for a seventh straight season. The Jets are also banged up as both Andrew Ladd (undisclosed) and Dustin Byfuglien (upper body) will miss the clubs final two games of the regular season, while goaltender Al Montoya and defensemen Zach Bogosian and Keaton Ellerby are questionable due to injury. Though Winnipeg lost a 1-0 decision to Minnesota on Monday, it marked a solid NHL debut for Michael Hutchinson as he posted 16 saves. The 24-year-old Hutchinson, a third-round pick by Boston in 2008, began the season in the ECHL before putting up solid numbers with the St. Johns IceCaps of the AHL. "Everyone hopes to play a game in the NHL every season but realistically I didnt think itd be possible," admitted Hutchinson. "Im very fortunate to have been in some good situations and I was able to play well this year and I was just happy to get a shot." Winnipeg ends its regular season on Friday at the Calgary Flames and Hutchinson may get another start tonight. The Jets have lost three of four and six of their last nine versus the Bruins, including a 4-1 setback in Boston on Jan. 4. Torey Krug scored twice and had an assist for Boston, while Rask posted 36 saves. Byfuglien had the lone Winnipeg goal and Ondrej Pavelec made 25 saves in defeat. The Bruins have lost five of their last six road meetings with the Winnipeg/Atlanta franchise. China Shoes Black Friday .Cullen scored the go-ahead goal at 13:47 of the third period and Nashville beat the slumping Dallas Stars 3-2 on Thursday in a game that wasnt decided until the last shot of the night. Wholesale Shoes Black Friday . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night. https://www.cheapshoesblackfriday.com/ .com) - A pair of Eastern Conference rivals will meet on Saturday as D. Fake Shoes Black Friday . The 33-year-old Spaniard, who held the lead since the second round, turned in a solid final round that featured six birdies and two bogeys to finish on 22-under 266. The victory is Garcias first this year with his last win coming at the Johor Open, an Asian Tour event in Malaysia last December. Wholesale Shoes Black Friday Free Shipping . The two-time Olympic halfpipe gold medallist informed ESPN on Monday he plans to compete in Apsen, Colo.Theres a reason there hasnt been a meaningful work stoppage in pro football for almost 27 years, and its not because this is a sport where the players have nothing to complain about. The very nature of the sport makes it difficult - some might say near impossible - to keep players united during a work stoppage because work stoppages are always about making sacrifices in the short term to benefit in the long. And for a great number of players in a sport with short careers and non-guaranteed contracts, there is no long term. But perhaps even more difficult to overcome is the fact that in football a small number of players on every team are paid far more than the rest, especially the large number of players on every team who will earn at or near the league minimum. And it is those star players, who already enjoy the biggest paydays and the most job security, wholl gain the most as the result of a successful work action. Look at any roster in either the CFL or NFL and youll probably be surprised to earn how many players are earning at or near the league minimum, which this NFL season will ranges between $420,000 and $645,00 for players from zero to three years of service in the league. In the CFL, that figure will go from $45,000 to $50,000 for this season based on what the parties have agreed to so far during current CBA negotiations. Since payrolls for CFL teams arent public, lets use an NFL team as an example to illustrate the payroll dynamics in pro football, which are similar in both leagues, albeit on a different scale. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers enters this season with an average salary of $22 million, nearly double that of anyone else on the team. Among Packers currently under contract, there are only four with an average salary of more than $7 million season, and another four at more than $4 million. There are eight players listed at between $2 million and $4 million, and 67 whose average salary is less than $1 million, 49 of whom are due to earn less than $600,000. The numbers in the CFL are obviously smaller but the manner in which they compare to one another is similar, with star quarterbacks earning roughly $500,000 per season while a large portion of each roster earns less than $60,000 per season. The truth is that whatever gains are made for the players in either league usually mean the rich will get richer. For example, the NFL will operate this season with a salary cap of $133 million dollars. But if that figure was suddenly increased to $200 million, the primary beneficiaries would be the Peyton Mannings, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Bradys and Richard Shermans of the world, while the leaggues rank and file would essentially remain un affected.dddddddddddd Same thing in the Canadian Football League - where if the CFLPA were to get its wish and have the salary cap jump immediately from $4.4 million to $5.8, the benefits would go to players such Ricky Ray, Darian Durant and the rest of the players whom fans pay to see. Of course theres another dynamic in the CFL game that doesnt exist south of the border. And thats that starting Canadian players - the ones mandated by the leagues quota system - also stand to benefit handsomely from any increase because of the laws of supply and demand. But the question becomes how do you convince the great number of players earning at or near the league minimum - young American players or backup Canadians - to commit to a work stoppage when theres little or no chance many of them will benefit from it? Standing up for a much higher minimum salary might help boost support among the rank and file, but that never seems to be the priority in either league. And therein lies the challenge of trying to keep a union full of professional football players all on the same page during a negotiating process. Consider that, despite having the leverage of being able to shut down the most profitable sport in North America, NFL players werent much interested in testing the resolve of their membership by missing paycheques when the league locked out its players during the off-season three years ago. They settled before that could happen. In Canada, the CFLPA has made a lot of noise about being disappointed in the leagues various offers this spring. But it hasnt said anything about having all of its membership on side, or being unbreakable, or being willing to miss game cheques in order to reach their goals in negotiation. The truth is that if the CFLPA were to strike a portion of the season, a great number of players will never get that money back - even if the owners were to capitulate completely. Many would simply be out of the league before they could benefit or would be left to watch the windfalls go to star players while they continue to earn similar amounts. All of these dynamics play to the owners advantage. And in the CFL, where were talking about players needing money to simply pay for the cost of living, the advantage is even greater. Will we see a CFL players strike later this month? Perhaps while its just training camp being missed, when no one has to make a true financial sacrifice to benefit the group for the long term. But in a sport where the rewards of such an action are likely to wind up in the hands of a select few, expecting anything more may be asking too much. ' ' '