Armia Returns | PREVIEW: CAR @ MTL

By
Cole Jurzyniec
-
0
34

GAME DAY PREVIEW | Montreal Canadiens vs Carolina Hurricanes: Preview, TV, Start Time, Statistical Match-up, Projected Lines, Starting Goalies, Keys to Victory, Habs Tickets

Game Preview 

A Look Back

The Ivy league product, Sean Farrell, opened the scoring with his first NHL goal on his very first professional shot.  It was the Anton Lundell and Matthew Tkachuk show Thursday evening, all five goals coming from both Panthers. Rafael Harvey-Pinard found his fifth goal in four games but was not enough as Florida; itching for a wild card spot, took the win.

Last game: MTL 2  FLA 5  F

For a complete game recap: Farrell’s First NHL Goal | RECAP: MTL @ FLA

Players to Watch

  • Joel Armia
    The 29-year-old Fin has been sidelined since February 21st, with the red-hot Harvey-Pinard out with an undisclosed injury, Armia will be inserted and have a chance to close out the season with the team.
  • Sean Farrell
    As cliché as it sounds, ‘put pucks on net’ is exactly what the rookie did to find his first NHL career goal.  It wasn’t a hard shot by all means, but they don’t ask how, they ask how many.  With some confidence instilled into the youngster, there could be some production at the back-end of the season.
  • Mike Matheson
    The Point-Claire native has really found his stride with the club and been contributing on the stat sheet. The 6-foot-2-inch defender has 11 points in the last 10 games (3G-8A). With a new tailored squad next season, the offensive-defensman should be seen playing big minutes.

Keys to Victory

  • Grab momentum
    The Canadiens need to find a way to acquire energy after a goal. They seemingly shutdown after netting the primary goal versus Florida and let them skate circles around them. The Hurricanes are nothing to scoff at and will run four lines hard.
  • Clog the lanes
    Carolina is tied for third with an average of 34.7 shots per game, the Habs need to block all shooting lanes and alleviate the pressure off of Sam Montembeault.
  • Find the offense
    The Canes are defensively minded and nearly sit at the top in every categorical stat line. Finding production early and leaning into the momentum will benefit the Canadiens.
Statistical Matchup for Game 77
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC | April 1, 7:00 PM ET | TV: CITY, SNE, TVAS, ESPN+, BSSO

2022-23  statistics
HURRICANES CANADIENS
103 (2nd) Points (rank) 66 (28th)
47-18-9 Record 30-40-6
L2 Streak L2
4-5-1 Last 10 4-6-0
3.23 (15th) GF/G (rank) 2.82 (26th)
2.60 (2nd) GA/G (rank) 3.67 (27th)
20.4 (19th) PP% (rank) 17.4 (27th)
83.6 (2nd) PK% (rank) 73.2 (29th)
53.1  Faceoff % 48.7
Pre-game 
Rafael Harvey-Pinard on winning Molson Cup for March

  • “It’s a great honor for me. If you had told me in January that I was going to win that cup, I wouldn’t have believed it. So it’s a great accomplishment for me.”
Projected Forwards, Defense and Goaltenders (subject to change)
Forwards
Martinook – Aho – Necas
Teravainen – Kotkaniemi – Puljujarvi
Noesen – Staal – Fast
Drury – Stepan – Jarvis		 Drouin – Suzuki – Ylonen
Farrell – Belzile – Hoffman
Pezzetta – Evans – Gallagher
Gurianov – Pitlick – Armia
Defensemen
Slavin – Burns
Skjei – Pesce
Gostisbehere – Chatfield		 Matheson – Kovacevic
Edmundson – Barron
Harris – Wideman
Out of the lineup
Scratched: Stastny, Coghlan, de Haan,
Injured: Kase, Pacioretty, Svechnikov		 Scratched: Tierney
Injured: Byron (hip), Price (knee), Monahan (lower-body), Slafkovsky (lower-body), Caufield (shoulder), Xhekaj (upper-body), Dvorak (lower-body), Guhle (lower-body), Anderson (lower-body), Dach (upper-body), Harvey-Pinard (undisclosed), Savard (undisclosed)
Goalies
Antti Raanta Sam Montembeault
Record: 16-2-3
GAA: 2.32
Sv%: .907
SO: 3
Alternate: Frederik Andersen		 Record: 15-15-3
GAA: 3.30
Sv%: .904
SO: 0
Alternate: Jake Allen
 Game Expectations
The Habs have handled top-end teams this season with authority and certainly haven’t laid down.  They’ve met every team with a commendable effort and the Hurricanes will be bringing the energy, prepping for playoff hockey.

Bottom Line

With six games remaining, the Habs will be looking to fly into the off-season on a positive note, picking up a few wins, notably at home, would be a great way to close out the regular season.
 Video Highlights

Follow @AllHabs on Twitter

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR