The Montreal Canadiens will take on the Carolina Hurricanes for the first time this season on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre. The last time the two teams met was in March 2024. Samuel Montembeault was in the net in a 3-0 loss, although the final lamplighter was scored in an empty net.
Rod Brind’Amour’s men are currently second in the Metropolitan division 14 points behind the dominating Washington Capitals. The Canes have not been on fire of late however, they are 5-4-1 in the last 10 duels and have lost their last game 6-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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Carolina has won the last nine games against Montreal, which has only won one of the last ten tilts. Martin St-Louis’ men will be without Kirby Dach for the game. The center is currently dealing with a lower body injury that is still being evaluated. As a result, Owen Beck has been called up from the Laval Rocket.
St-Louis has said Montembeault will be in net for a second game in a row. The Becancour native has never beaten the visitors, he’s 0-5-1 with a 3.46 goals-against average and a .905 SP. Still, Jakub Dobes will have to wait some more to get another opportunity.
There’s no word yet on who will be tending the Hurricanes’ net. Pytor Kochetkov was on duty in Toronto on Saturday night and finished the game with a .857 SP. He was in net on March 30, 2024 when the Canes beat the Canadiens 3-0 and it was his only game against Montreal. Brind’Amour’s other option, often-injured Frederik Andersen also has a great record against the Habs, he’s 14-4-2 with a 2.27 GAA and a .928 SP. Edit: Andersen will be on duty.
Patrik Laine is the most productive Canadiens’ forward against the Carolina outfit, having notched 10 goals and nine assists in 23 games. Brendan Gallagher comes in second place with 14 points in 28 games, but he wasn’t at Sunday’s skills competition or at Monday’s practice. With Mrs. Gallagher due to deliver the couple’s first child in March, we may just be on baby watch. David Savard completes the top three with 11 points in 44 duels.
It could be a tough game for the first line, captain Nick Suzuki has one point in 12 games against the visitors, Cole Caufield has been blanked in six games, just like Juraj Slafkovsky in three tilts.
Meanwhile, Sebastian Aho is the main threat the Canadiens will have to worry about, the former Hab…