The Montreal Canadiens seemingly swooped in at the final hour to acquire winger Thomas Vanek in an effort to improve their playoff chances. Jozy Altidore Jersey . 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. Matt Besler USA Jersey . Malone will become an unrestricted free-agent and as per the collective bargaining agreement, the Lightning will be responsible for two-thirds of the remainder of his contract over twice the length of the rest of the deal. Juan Agudelo USA Jersey .com) - Robert Upshaw made a putback jumper to put 17th-ranked Washington ahead with 1:27 remaining in the game and the Huskies held on to beat Eastern Washington 81-77 on Sunday. http://www.soccerusateamonline.com/David-Bingham-America-Jersey/ .com) - The NFL is investigating whether the New England Patriots intentionally deflated balls during Sundays AFC Championship Game against Indianapolis.Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - John Klingberg scored twice as the Dallas Stars ended a four-game skid with a 5-4 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. Erik Cole and Ales Hemsky each tallied a goal and an assist and Trevor Daley also lit the lamp for the Stars, who have earned points in 11 of their last 12 games against the Senators. Mike Hoffman, Jared Cowen. Clarke MacArthur and Milan Michalek all scored for the Senators, who have lost four of their last five. Robin Lehner allowed all five goals on 29 shots in defeat. Dallas seized control of the game with a four-goal second period. Daley beat Lehner with a rising slap shot from the point and Klingbergs wrister off the rush made it a 3-3 game at 8:42. Cole gave the Stars the lead after he tipped in Alex Goligoskis point shot on the power play and Klingberg capped the frenetic frame with his second of the night, a snap shot from the edge of the right circle for a 5-3 lead with nine seconds remaining in the middle stanza. Ottawa got within a goal after Michalek whacked a loose puck into the net off a scrum in front six minutes into the third. The Senators pulled Lehner with under two minutes to play, but were unable to net the equalizer. Andrija Novakovich USA Jersey. Hoffman took a stretch pass from Bobby Ryan in the neutral zone, raced into the Dallas zone up the right side and wristed a shot that beat Lehtonen stick side for an early Ottawa lead 4:57 into the first. The Senators took a 2-0 lead on the power play as David Legwand slid a pass over to MacArthur, who wristed a shot past Lehtonens blocker at 10:30 of the opening stanza, chasing Lehtonen from the game. Hemsky got the Stars on the board with a blast from the right side with 3:52 to play in the first, but Cowen countered with a wrister 1:47 later to restore Ottawas two-goal lead. Game Notes Dallas forward Jason Spezza played his first game against the Senators since he was traded from Ottawa last July. Spezza spent his first 11 seasons with the Senators ... Ottawa has not won in Dallas since a 4-2 victory on Dec. 7, 2007 ... The Stars improved to 6-1-0 in their last seven home games against the Senators ... Dallas forward Vernon Fiddler was a late scratch due to a lower-body injury. ' ' '