"As Tomas Plekanec emerged from the shower following the Canadiens' 4-2 win over the New York Islanders Thursday, he approached a reporter and asked: "How did the other teams do tonight?"
"It's not good," was the reply.
The results Thursday night provided an example of the task that lies ahead as the Canadiens battle to earn a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. While the Canadiens won a third consecutive game for the first time since Oct. 29, they only moved one point closer to the eighth and final playoff spot because most of the teams ahead of them picked up points.
The New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Florida all won, while New Jersey, Tampa Bay and Washington each picked up a point while losing in overtime or a shootout.
The one exception was the Toronto Maple Leafs, who will be home to the Canadiens Saturday at the Air Canada Centre (7 p.m., CBC, RDS, TSN Radio-990). The Leafs lost to Philadelphia in regulation and dropped to eighth place in the East with 62 points, nine more than the Canadiens.
The last time the Canadiens and Leafs met was on Jan. 21 at the ACC, and the Canadiens were 3-1 winners. That cut Toronto's lead over Montreal to eight points, but the Leafs have a 5-2-1 record since that game and the Canadiens are 5-3-0."
