Game Thread: Habs vs. Canes - Surge or Tropical Depression?
After being blanked last week in back-to-back games,by the Canadiens and the Buffalo Sabres, the Carolina Hurricanes dug out of their rut with wins against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Philadelphia Flyers.
Canes coach Paul Maurice felt the team hit rock bottom in their game against the Habs, and sees the team turning in a positive direction. We'll see how big of a turn it is tonight.
The Canadiens fired 36 shots at Cam Ward, in their 4-0 win last Wednesday. Mike Cammalleri, Yannick Weber, P.K. Subban and Travis Moen factored in the goal scoring that night.
One thing Maurice did was abandon the experiment of playing Eric Staal on the wing. The Hurricanes captain picked up a pair of assists against the Leafs on Sunday, his only points in his last four games. On the plus side, he did shave 3 points off his appalling plus/minus, since his last meeting with the Habs, and now sits at minus-15.
Jeff Skinner leads the Canes in scoring, with 21 points, and was a huge factor in their last two victories.
Ward stopped 53 of 57 shots, in the Canes' last two wins, and will be looking to atone for his shaky outing against Montreal last week.
There are no expected changes on the Canadiens forward lines, and Hal Gill returns to the defense corps. Gill was paired up with Yannick Weber during Tuesday's practice. Frederic St. Denis, who has impressed since his call up from the Hamilton Bulldogs, will be the odd man out.
The Canadiens also got some more good news Tuesday, when Andrei Markov was cleared for contact. It won't be until December though, when Markov is expected to return to action.
Carey Price, who blanked the Hurricanes last week, gets the call in goal.
MONTREAL CANADIENS PROJECTED LINEUP
Forwards
Mike Cammalleri - Tomas Plekanec - Brian Gionta
Max Pacioretty - David Desharnais - Erik Cole
Lars Eller - Scott Gomez - Travis Moen
Mathieu Darche - Petteri Nokelainen - Aaron Palushaj
Defensemen
Josh Gorges - P.K. Subban
Hal Gill - Yannick Weber
Goalies
Carey Price - Peter Budaj
CAROLINA HURRICANES PROJECTED LINEUP
Forwards
Jeff Skinner - Eric Staal - Tuomo Ruutu
Alexei Ponikarovsky - Jussi Jokinen - Chad LaRose
Jiri Tlusty - Brandon Sutter - Patrick Dwyer
Brett Sutter - Tim Brent - Anthony Stewart
Defence Pairings
Goaltenders
Cam Ward - Brian Boucher
Canadiens vs Hurricanes coverage
Hurricanes talk at Canes Country