The Montreal Canadiens seemingly swooped in at the final hour to acquire winger Thomas Vanek in an effort to improve their playoff chances. Vanek is expected to make his Habs debut tonight when the club looks to push its unbeaten streak over the Phoenix Coyotes to 15 straight games. Canadiens defenceman Josh Gorges is returning to Montreal on Thursday to have a hand injury reevaluated by team doctors. Watch the game live on TSN Habs tonight at 9pm et/10pm at. You can also listen to the game live on TSN Radio Montreal 690. The Canadiens posted a 4-3 shootout win over the NHL-leading Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night hours after getting Vanek from the New York Islanders in exchange for prospect Sebastian Collberg. Montreal will also part with a 2014 second-round pick should it make the playoffs while also getting a fifth rounder back from New York. That seems like a safe bet with Vanek in the fold. The 30-year-old Austrian winger is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer, but he could help Montreal in its push to the playoffs this spring. Vanek has 21 goals and 32 assists over 60 games this season with the Islanders and Buffalo Sabres. "The most important thing is to make the playoffs and right now I have a chance to do so. This is why we play," Vanek said on Montreals website. "Anything can happen in the playoffs, especially when you have a goalie like Carey Price, who I think is one of the best in the league. Ive played with Ryan Miller and Carey is just as good." Montreals win last night has the club in second place in the Atlantic Division with 77 points, three ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs and four up on the fourth-place Tampa Bay Lightning. While Vanek mentioned playing with Price, the Habs netminder has missed all five games since the league resumed action following a break for the Winter Olympics. Price aggravated a lower-body injury during that tournament and it is unknown when he will return to action. Peter Budaj started the first four games in Prices absence and finally got a game off last night. Dustin Tokarski made his first NHL appearance of the season and stopped 39 shots before halting four of the six skaters he faced in the shootout. After Saku Koivu failed on his attempt for Anaheim in the tiebreakers sixth round, Andrei Markov fired a shot that beat Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller five-hole to improve the Habs to 6-1-1 in their last eight games. "He played unbelievable," Markov said of Tokarskis play. "He made great saves to keep us in the game." Brendan Gallagher registered a goal and an assist, while Max Pacioretty and Brian Gionta also scored for the Canadiens, who were coming off a 2-1 setback in Los Angeles on Monday that opened a four-game road trip. The swing ends on Saturday versus San Jose. Budaj is likely to return to net tonight and is 8-3-3 lifetime versus the Coyotes with a 2.70 goals against average. Montreal will try to avoid its first loss in this series since a setback on the road on Dec. 9, 1998. The Canadiens have gone 11-0-0 with three ties in the 14 meetings since, winning five times and posting one tie in the desert over that span. The Coyotes can ill-afford to see that winless streak extended as they come in one point back of the Dallas Stars for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference. Phoenix snapped a four-game slide on Tuesday with a 1-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks. Antoine Vermettes 22nd of the season, scored in the first period provided Mike Smith with the only support he would need, as the 31-year-old netminder turned aside 23 shots, 11 in the third period, to secure his third shutout of the season and 27th of his career. "It was kind of a sloppy hockey game, but we won," Phoenix head coach Dave Tippett said. "Thats all we need right now." The Coyotes finish off a three-game homestand tonight before hitting the road for four in a row and should have Martin Erat in the lineup tonight after picking up the winger in a trade with the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. Erat notched one goal and 23 assists in 53 games with the Caps this season. Smith is 2-1-3 with a 2.22 GAA in seven career meetings with the Canadiens. Gordan Giricek Jersey .Before a raucous sellout crowd, the Hawks won for the 29th time in 31 games to extend their Eastern-best record to 36-8.As usual, pretty much everyone chipped in.Four starters were in double figures and backup point guard Dennis Schroder led a spurt at the start of the fourth quarter that helped the Hawks pull away. Juan Carlos Navarro Jersey . 2015 Oscar nomination pending. Here is an open letter from Steven Stamkos to his fans: When I shot this final Moment Zero film last August, it was a fun few days on set with Coke Zero and Jordan Eberle in my hometown of Markham. https://www.cheapgrizzlies.com/ . The Wild, playing their first game since leading scorer Mikko Koivu broke his ankle Saturday at Washington, have won three straight for the first time since Nov. 1-5. Koivu underwent surgery on Monday and is expected to miss at least four weeks. Wholesale Grizzlies Jerseys . -- On any given day here at his companys Silicon Valley headquarters, Vivek Ranadive is ready to compete against any employee who wants to challenge him to any contest. Solomon Hill Jersey . "Im very pleased to be able to add a quarterback with Adrians experience and skill set," Calgary head coach and general manager John Hufnagel said in a statement.With the 2014 CFL Draft set to take place next Tuesday in Toronto, CFL on TSN analyst Duane Forde breaks down the top prospects. Today, he looks at the offensive line. 1. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (OT, McGill) You Should Know: Over the course of his university career, Duvernay-Tardifs commitments to medical school and the family business frequently limited him to one practice per week, yet he was still the Metras Trophy winner as the Top Lineman in CIS football in 2013. The Good: His combination of size, athleticism, strength, intelligence, and untapped potential make him the most intriguing offensive line prospect produced by the CIS since Mike Schad in 1986. The Bad: Hes projected as a 4th round pick in the NFL Draft so whoever picks him wont have him for at least another year - if ever - especially considering his desire to finish med school. 2. David Foucault (OT, Montreal) The Good: At 67 and a relatively lean 320 lbs., he moves well, making him a potential ratio-breaking offensive tackle. The Bad: Despite all of his obvious tools, Foucault has yet to be consistently dominant at the university level. 3. Matthias Goossen (OC/OG, Simon Fraser) The Good: Combining toughness and intelligence, this three-time All-GNAC selection has played every position on the O-Line during his four years as a starter. The Bad: Despite having always played in Canada, he has never faced defenders who are a yard off the ball, as SFU and British Columbia high schools both play under American rules. 4. Pierre Lavertu (OC, Laval) The Good: Quick, strong and smart, he was a three-time All-Canadian and four-time All-RSEQ selection while anchoring the nations best collegiate O-Line. The Bad: His ceiling likely isnt as high as those ranked ahead of him. That said; hes as CFL ready as any prospect in the Class of 2014. 5. Tchissakid Player (OG, Northwestern State) The Good: Although he played at a smaller school, this 66, 300 lbs. guard is the only NCAA Division 1 player in the entire draft class. The Winnipeg-born, Texas-raised lineman was a three-year starter for the Demons. The Bad: A hamstring injury suffered at the Toronto Regional Combine prevented him from participating in the main CFL Combine, which kept scouts from comparing him head to head with other top prospects. Other Contenders: - Jas Dhillon (OG, British Columbia) - 2013 Canada West All-Star; former DL, 2013 was his only year on offence- Terry Hart (OG, St. Francis Xavier) - 2013 AUS All-Star; 32 bench press reps tied Lavertu atop O-Line group at CFL Combine- Kyle Paterson (OG, Regina) - from same hometown (Weyburn, SK) and college as CFLers Brendon LaBatte and Brett Jones; 5.22 second 40-yard dash and 30 bench press reps at CFL Combine- Quinn Everett (OG, Mount Allison) - college defensive lineman shows potential as a guard; dominated the O-Line testing at the Montreal Regional Combine - Aaron Wheaton (OG, Toronto) - 65", 295 lbs.; participated in 2013 East West Bowl Also On The Radar (alphabetically): Ahmed Abusafeyeh (Tiffin/Windsor AKO Fratmen), Kwinton Albino (Manitoba), Stephen Armstrong (Mount Allison), Lane Bryksa (Saskatchewan), Renaud Lafrance-Longtin (Sherbrooke), Fréderik Landry-Simard (Concordia) Analysis: During the 2013 season, the CFL made two significant changes to the leagues draft eligibility rules. Under the old system, all players became draft eligible four years after joining a college program. Now, prospects at U.S. schools become draft eligible upon completion of their college eligibility, eliminating redshirt juniors ("futures") from the draft. Those at Canadian schools now become draft eligible three years after using their first year of CIS eligibility. In other words, if a player redshirts in his first university season, his draft year gets postponed by a year (i.dddddddddddde. hed now be draft eligible after his fifth year instead of his fourth). In this "transition year", no position group was impacted more by the rule changes than the offensive line. No fewer than five NCAA Division 1 O-Linemen, including outstanding UNLV tackle Brett Boyko, and a handful of top CIS hogs, like Calgarys All-Canadian guard Sukh Chung, were reclassified from 2014 to the 2015 draft class. In addition, a CFL policy requiring "non-resident" Canadians to apply for their non-import status (even when they clearly qualify) led to Penn States Winnipeg-born star guard John Urschel also being excluded from this draft class. As a result, what wouldve been a bumper crop of high end offensive line prospects was reduced to just four (Duvernay-Tardif, Foucault, Goossen, and Lavertu), followed by a lot of uncertainty about the next tier of prospects. Bear in mind that while the eligibility rules have changed, the CFLs need for non-import offensive linemen hasnt, and the effect on this years draft process will be twofold. First, with Duvernay-Tardif most certainly NFL-bound, the demand for the other top linemen will be intense. For teams whose need is more immediate, theyll look to Lavertu and Goossen, as their learning curves wont be as steep as Foucaults. Regardless of the order, those three could easily be the first three players off the board and will surely all be Top Five selections. Secondly, with the leagues constant need for non-import O-Linemen, teams looking for OL depth will be forced to reach for lower ranked prospects (i.e. draft them earlier than their ability suggests they should be picked). As for Duvernay-Tardif, the gap between the top four or five O-Line prospects and the rest of the class means that his NFL interest shouldnt cause him to fall as far as he would have in a deeper draft pool. As a precedent, Ill point to the 2005 CFL Draft. Much like the Class of 2014, there werent a lot of "cant miss" offensive line prospects. A few days before that draft, the clear No. 1 prospect, Toledo tackle Nick Kaczur, had been selected in the 3rd round of the NFL Draft. Despite the limited supply of upper echelon O-Linemen, the demand for non-import blockers remained the same, as eight of the first nineteen selections were offensive linemen, including Kaczur, who went 9th overall. Simply put, the Toronto Argonauts, who chose him, felt that the likelihood of Kaczur returning to Canada within a few years was greater than the likelihood of the linemen who were still available developing into quality starters within the same time frame. In the same draft a similar line of thinking led to the second-ranked O-Lineman, Chris Best, going 4th overall despite having already committed to a Masters degree program that would keep him from turning pro until two years later. Godfrey Ellis was chosen 10th overall even after measuring in at 510 at the Combine. The fact that Jeff Keeping, a college tight end, had never played O-Line didnt stop him from being drafted - as a guard - 18th overall. John Comiskey went one spot later even though he hadnt played a single snap in the previous season. Fast forward to 2014, where the point is this. The top offensive linemen will be snapped up early. Once Lavertu, Goossen, Foucault, and Player are gone, teams will have to evaluate the likelihood and timeline of Duvernay-Tardif becoming a CFL lineman vs. the likelihood and timeline of the same happening for the remaining O-Linemen on the board. The "tipping point" could be reached by the end of Round 1 and probably no later than Round 3. ' ' '