Boston Bruins' Milan Lucic and Montreal Canadiens' Josh Gorges will battle for playoff position when the Canadiens host the Bruins on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday. (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press)

The Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins both find themselves — for now, anyway — on the right side the playoff bubble in the Eastern Conference and will look to use their match on Saturday on Hockey Night in Canada (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 6:30 p.m. ET) as a springboard for the stretch drive.

The race to the post-season is a tight one — the two historic rivals sit a mere two points apart in the standings as the Canadiens (34-29-6) sit in a tie for sixth with Philadelphia, just ahead of the Bruins (30-24-12) who are clinging to the eighth and final playoff spot.

With a mere 13 games remaining, including Saturday's tilt in Montreal, the Canadiens would like to roll into the postseason having thoroughly wiped the floor with those Bruins who dispatched them in last year's playoffs, while setting a new season-high win streak.

Thursday's 5-4 shootout win over the Edmonton Oilers pushed the Habs closer to the elusive five-in-a-row mark they haven't hit since October of 2008.

"We have the two points so we're happy, but we have to play better," defenceman Andrei Markov said. "We'll be happy if we make the playoffs. That's our goal. That's why we have to play hard every game."

Montreal has been the more consistent of the two Northeast Division rivals as of late — picking up wins in five of their last six games and taking four wins in five tries over Boston this year.

Savard's injury hurting Bruins

Meantime, the Bruins are on a seven-game road trip that has since seen them split the first four games and also lose a key part in centre Marc Savard, who is out indefinitely with a concussion. Savard, who was taken off the ice on a stretcher after being hit by Matt Cooke, had 33 points in 41 games this season for a team struggling to find scoring.

"It's really hard to replace Marc," said defenceman Zdeno Chara. "He's a unique player, an unbelievable playmaker. Patrice [Bergeron] is realizing he has to carry the offence, and he's doing a really good job. He's really playing on top of his game."

A combination of inconsistency and injuries have plagued both Montreal and Boston, but it's also something Boston's head coach Claude Julien says his team will need to overcome if they want to play well into the spring.

"If we can build a little consistency in our game it would be important," Julien said. "It's been a struggle all year with the injuries to these key players. We have to really pick it up as individuals and as a team."

With files from Associated Press