Montreal Canadiens vs Dallas Stars live stream: Watch online free 8:30 ET Thursday for the second and final meeting of the season.

The 23-14-4 Montreal Canadiens will go on the road as one of the top teams from the Eastern Conference vs the 20-12-7 Dallas Stars. Last time these two teams met in late October, it was a 2-1 victory for the Canadiens in Montreal. Watch the free live stream online as the Stars look to avenge the one-goal loss in Dallas.

Former Canadiens forward Erik Cole that has helped drive the Stars' recent surge; he has five goals and eight points his past six games while Dallas has won three of its last four and five of its last seven games.

"There was a stretch where we were playing a pretty good brand of hockey and collecting some points and we weren't gaining any ground, and it was almost disheartening," Cole told the Dallas Morning News following a 3-2 win at home against the Los Angeles Kings on New Year's Eve. "I think that instead of winning a game and looking to see if we gained any ground, we just decided to forget about that and focus on our play. If we just focus on that and just focus on every night winning games and just playing hard for each other and playing the right way, then one day we'll wake up and be in fifth or fourth or whatever."

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Montreal is coming off two straight losses, one of which was in overtime to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Canadiens allowed four goals in the third period, forcing the tie before losing out on a point in OT.

"We were ready to play, but we lost discipline and momentum from our team," Montreal coach Michel Therrien told NHL.com. "We have been disciplined most of the time, and this is the first time I have seen that. There were some calls that were hard to take."

Injury report, according to NHL.com:

"The Stars are without defensemen Sergei Gonchar (concussion), Stephane Robidas (leg) and Trevor Daley (ankle). ... The Canadiens are missing right wing George Parros (concussion) and defenseman Davis Drewiske (shoulder)."