Scoreboard watching

Scott Gomez, when discussing the four-day break between games the Habs just began, figured one of the more positive aspects of it will be that it will allow their Eastern Conference rivals to catch up in the games played department.

That way, Gomez figured, the Canadiens would have a better idea of where they stand.

"It'll be nice to see after everyone catches up instead of always looking at the board and seeing they have all these games in hand," he said after Saturday night's overtime loss to the Devils.

Well, Scott, I don't know if you'll be entirely satisfied come Thursday, because most of the teams in the hunt for the final four playoff spots will have only played one game by the time the Canadiens face the Stars.

Two of the eight other teams in contention played Sunday, with Ottawa losing 4-1 to Carolina and Tampa Bay finishing a 4-2 win over New Jersey that began Friday night. By Thursday night's games, only the Senators and the New York Islanders will match the Canadiens 47 games played this season.

Here, then, is a little scoreboard-watching guide for the next couple of days:

Boston: playing 45th game Wednesday at Anaheim.

NY Rangers: playing 46th game Tuesday against New Jersey

Ottawa: playing 47th game Tuesday at Atlanta

Philadelphia: playing 45th game Tuesday against Dallas

NY Islanders: playing 47th game Tuesday against Detroit

Atlanta: playing 45th game Tuesday against Ottawa

Tampa Bay: playing 45th game Tuesday against Washington

Florida: playing 46th game Wednesday against Washington