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. Air Max 270 Outlet . Levante, which had lost five straight including a Copa del Rey game last weekend, fell behind at its Ciutat de Valencia stadium when Ionut Sapanura opened the scoring for Elche in the 26th minute. Vapormax Prezzo Basso .Y. - His opponent couldnt stop him, and LeBron James didnt quite know what to think when his coach tried. http://www.airmaxshoponlineitalia.it/ . Louis Cardinals have agreed to a one-year contract. Air Max 97 In Offerta .com) - The Oklahoma City Thunder will try to get back on track Monday night when they welcome the Minnesota Timberwolves to Chesapeake Energy Arena. Air Max 95 Scontate Uomo . Ferrer will play Mikhail Youzhny on Sunday after he defeated Dmitry Tursunov 6-2, 6-4 in an all-Russian semifinal. "Youzhny is a good player," Ferrer said. ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Nathan MacKinnon and his equally skilled Colorado linemates Gabe Landeskog and Paul Stastny were too fast for Minnesota in the first two games. In losing twice to the Avalanche, the Wild found themselves flat-footed at the wrong times and letting their young, potent opponent dictate the pace and flow. So how to change the direction of the series? Going home is a good place to start. After MacKinnon, Landeskog and Stastny combined for four goals and six assists Saturday in Game 2, the Wild will now have the benefit of the last change in Game 3. That means coach Mike Yeo can match Matt Cooke, Erik Haula and Nino Niederreiter with the MacKinnon express, a mix of grit and speed that could help the Wild stem the tide a bit. "Im a third-line player for a reason and I feel like thats the best way Im able to contribute," Cooke said Sunday. He added: "Obviously I want that matchup." Here are five more things to know about the series as it shifts Monday for Game 3: WHOS IN WILD NET?: The Wild survived injury and illness involving their top three goalies this season, surging into the playoffs behind fourth option Ilya Bryzgalov. But Bryzgalov was pulled from Game 2 in the second period. Darcy Kuemper entered and stopped all 14 shots he faced. Asked after practice Sunday who will get the assignment, Yeo was glib. "Yes, we will," the coach said, smiling. Bryzgalov has plenty of past post-season experience with Philadelphia, Phoenix and Anaheim, but that includes plenty of goals given up, too. "If that were what we were choose to do it would be because, first off, he made some big saves in the game. I dont think we should forget about that. We werent playing our game in front of him. And this is a guy whos played a lot of good hockey for us," Yeo said. Kuempers performances in January and February are another reason the Wild were able to make it this far. He slumped a bit in late March and then suffered a concussion. Kuemper said he knocked the rust off in practice last week and felt in full rhythm Saturday iin his first action in three weeks.dddddddddddd. "If I do get the start Im really excited. Its a big game for the team, and Im going to do my part and Im sure everyone else is going to do their part," he said. VARLY MEANS VICTORY: Semyon Varlamov led the NHL this season with a whopping 41 victories, but the Avalanche won Game 1 without a strong showing by their goalie. Varlamov was much better in Game 2. "We were a little nervous in the first game. Some of us never played in the playoffs. It was pretty tough to start. When youre nervous you sometimes try to do different things," Varlamov said. Coach Patrick Roy didnt need the relief, though. "A lot of people thought a lot about the first game but, hey, he played well enough to win," Roy said. "I had no doubt in my mind he was going to play a really solid game. He was sharp. He made the key save. I have so much confidence in him and faith in him." BACK HOME: The Wild finished 26-10-5 at Xcel Energy Center this season, the seventh-best record in the league. For fans who havent celebrated a series victory by this team since 2003, anticipation for this first home game will be high. The shift in vocal support from one side to the other always has the potential to impact a playoff series. "You can feel it, just the atmosphere, when you walk into that rink," Yeo said. OLD PALS: MacKinnon, like many NHL stars, spent two years at Minnesota prep school Shattuck St. Marys, which is in Faribault about 50 miles south of St. Paul. MacKinnon said several of his friends from those days will be coming to the game. THE MATH: Teams that win the first two games in a best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoffs series have an all-time series record of 287-45, a winning percentage of .864. That doesnt bode well for the Wild, but the Avalanche would of course be unwise to rely on the law of averages to advance them to the next round. "We just want to remain focused," Roy said. "Cant make a conclusion after only two wins. Now all weve earned is a chance to win Game 3 tomorrow." ' ' '