MONTREAL - It’s a battle for first place, if you can believe it.

They’re two of the CFL’s coldest teams – the Montreal Alouettes are on a four-game skid, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats have dropped three straight – yet the East Division’s top spot will be up for grabs when they meet Saturday afternoon at Molson Stadium.

"That's crazy, huh?” said Alouettes safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy. “We lost four games in a row, they lost three, and you're telling us that we're one game away from first place?

“There's a lot at stake.”

A Montreal (5-6) victory would lift the Alouettes into a first-place tie with Hamilton (6-5) in the wide-open East. And the return of several starters, including Dequoy and star Canadian receiver Tyson Philpot, should provide a much-needed boost.

Philpot could only watch from t

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