Game 70: Montreal Canadiens vs. Carolina Hurricanes
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Hurricanes region: FanDuel Sports Network South
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
The Montreal Canadiens managed one shot in the first period when they played the Los Angeles Kings on the road on March 7. It was an opponent the Habs had struggled against for years, unable to penetrate the neutral-zone forecheck of a team with solid defensive structure, especially whenever the Kings were able to play with a lead and really clamp down defensively with no further need to press for offence. On that night, adjustments were made, the Canadiens ended up with 11 shots and two goals in the each of the final two periods, and claimed a needed regulation win after a couple of crushing losses in California.
Two weeks later they were in a similar situation, trailing 2-1 to a New York Islanders team that is comfortable playing with slim margins thanks to the fourth-lowest goals-against average in the league, and unable to get anything going in the second period. It took them 13 minutes of the long-change frame to figure things out, but once they managed to get into the offensive zone they stayed there for the rest of the period, using a flurry of chances to tie the game, draw a penalty, and take a lead. With the code of the defensive pressure cracked, it was no contest in the final 20 minutes as the Canadiens were unrelenting in adding four more goals on 12 shots.
A divisional matchup with the Ottawa Senators in between those defensive puzzles also had the Habs trailing after a period of play. The task that night was to find a way back into the contest versus the squad that leads the NHL in expected goals against, and once again they found their second-period offence to eventually come away with the comeback victory.
Those three results since the trade deadline are proof that the Habs are no longer fazed by a tough defence, having the depth of puck-moving talent to get through a defensive wall that they would have bashed themselves against repeatedly in the past until the clock expired on a frustrating loss.
Tonight the Canadiens welcome the Carolina Hurricanes to the Bell Centre, a team that won nine consecutive games against them following Montreal’s appearance in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, with four shutout victories in that time. Despite Carolina sitting atop the Eastern Conference with 96 points and being the league’s best team in expected-goal share, the Habs will be confident in their ability to overcome another defensive juggernaut.
Tale of the Tape
| Canadiens | Statistics | Hurricanes |
|---|---|---|
| 38-21-10 | Record | 45-19-6 |
| 49.2% (21st) | Expected-goal share | 55.7% (2nd) |
| 3.51 (3rd) | Goals per game | 3.50 (4th) |
| 3.23 (25th) | Goals against per game | 2.90 (8th) |
| 25.4% (3rd) | PP% | 23.0% (9th) |
| 76.5% (27th) | PK% | 79.7% (15th) |
| 1-0-0 | Head-to-Head Record | 0-1-0 |
| Cole Caufield (43) | Most goals | Seth Jarvis (29) |
| Nick Suzuki (61) | Most assists | Sebastian Aho (47) |
| Nick Suzuki (85) | Most points | Sebastian Aho (72) |
As the Canadiens begin their rise to contender status, the tides may have begun to turn in this head-to-head matchup following that nine-game losing streak. Montreal won both home games in the season series last year. Like they did versus the Islanders on Saturday, they scored seven times the first time they met the Hurricanes this year, taking advantage of Jaccob Slavin’s absence to post the most goals Carolina has allowed this season.
That game in Raleigh on New Year’s Day also featured five goals by the Hurricanes. The Habs haven’t been allowing such a total recently (outside of games versus San Jose and Anaheim anyway), playing arguably their best defence of the season. Carolina has been an offensive force since the Olympics, however, scoring at least four goals in 10 of the 13 games since Slavin returned from Milan with his gold medal. Their average of exactly four in that span is the best in the league, followed by the Buffalo Sabres at 3.93 and the Canadiens at 3.75.
The Hurricanes have also given up four on six occasions, being an unusually high-event team over the past month. The third-worst save percentage in the NHL of .861 since the Olympics is the most significant factor in their defensive struggles as they still have the eighth-best expected-goals-against average at five-on-five in that time. The penalty kill, the standard of the league for several years, being 24th at 75.7% dating back to February 26 is providing another source of offence for opponents.
The Canadiens finally got rewarded on Saturday for all the scoring chances they’ve been generating for a couple of weeks, no fewer than 30 in all situations in any of the past five games. Seeing another 12 goals on the game summary might be a bit of a stretch, but considering the type of offensive looks each club has been generating with regularity, the well-established defensive form of the Hurricanes and the more recently discovered structure the Canadiens have developed will be subjected to a stress test tonight.
