Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz will not play in Thursday's game against the visiting Montreal Canadiens due to an upper-body injury.

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Wyatt Johnston is expected to center the top line with Hintz out. Rookie forwards Matej Blumel and Justin Hryckowian will play in the bottom six with forwards Mason Marchment (face) and Tyler Seguin (hip) each continuing to recover from surgery. -- Taylor Baird

The Dallas Stars face the Montréal Canadiens Thursday night for second and final time this season. Entering Thursday's match, the Stars are 28-14-1 while the Canadiens are 21-18-4. The last time the two teams faced off on Jan. 11 in Montréal, Dallas earned a 2-1 shootout win.

Hintz (upper body) will not be in the lineup Thursday against the Canadiens, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports. Hintz was injured in the opening period against Toronto on Tuesday, and did not return.

For people wanting to place a bet on the upcoming game between the Dallas Stars and the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday at 8:00 PM ET, is Roope Hintz a player who is a good bet to light the lamp? We analyze all the numbers in the piece below.

Despite not having their best game after a big win in Washington the night before, the Canadiens were able to hold the Dallas Stars to just one goal through regulation on Saturday, and Patrik Laine’s power-play goal was enough to make that count for a point as the Habs fell in the shootout.

The Toronto game was a bounce-back for the Stars, who saw their seven-game winning streak end in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators. Dallas got on track Tuesday, as Logan Stankoven's tally midway through the first period was the first of four unanswered goals for the Stars.

Colorado coach Jared Bednar has stressed the importance of winning games within the division, so Saturday's game against the visiting Dallas Stars has more meaning for both teams.

The Canadiens won 3-1 over Dallas in the rematch of Saturday night's exciting shootout win for Dallas. In the second low-scoring, competitive game in less than a week, the Montreal Canadiens avenged the loss from Saturday with a 3-1 win in Dallas Thursday night.

He left the game after just fourt shifts and 2:27 of ice time. The Stars said their leading scorer is dealing with an upper body injury. With Hintz not on the bench, Wyatt Johnston is filling in for Dallas’ star forward on the top line.

BOTTOM LINE: The Montreal Canadiens will look to keep a three-game win streak going when they host the Dallas Stars. Montreal has gone 11-7-2 in home games and 20-18-3 overall. The Canadiens have gone 16-7-1 when scoring three or more goals.