Canadiens vs. Hurricanes: Game thread, rosters, lines, and how to watch

Montreal Canadiens vs. Carolina Hurricanes

How to watch

Start time: 7:30 PM EST / 4:30 PM PST
In Canada: TSN2, TSN Direct (English), RDS, RDS Direct (French)
In the Hurricanes region: Fox Sports - Carolina
Elsewhere: NHL.tv/Rogers NHL Live

After losing four games in a row, the Canadiens are falling back from the top seeds in the Atlantic Division, just hanging onto the final wild-card position after being fairly comfortably in a playoff position just one week ago. Allowing too many goals has been the biggest issue facing the team, though in recent games goal-scoring has become an issue as well.

Tonight, they get a player back who should help with both. After missing more than 11 months with first a foot injury and then a knee operation, Shea Weber will take his spot on the top pairing, providing what the team hopes is reliable presence in the defensive end and a terrifying one at the other.

Despite this being his third season in Montreal, tonight’s will be just his 105th game for the team. He does have 23 goals and 58 points in that time, and that’s something the Canadiens will hope to see again right away, especially on one of the league’s worst power plays.

The Carolina Hurricanes don’t fare much better with the man advantage. In fact, scoring goals in general has been difficult for the club over the last several seasons. They always take a lot of shots (they lead the league at just a shade under 40 per contest) but just haven’t been able to convert them into goals. The Canadiens will hope that continues for at least one more game.

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup

Forwards

Defencemen

Goaltenders

Carolina Hurricanes projected lineup

Forwards

Defencemen

Goaltenders