GAME DAY | Canadiens – Hurricanes: Preview, Prediction, Lines, Goalies, TV

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Sam Gerber
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Game Preview by Sam Gerber
Last game: MTL 1  EDM  4  

The Canadiens were unable to comeback after a bad first period that saw them down by two goals. Perimeter shots once again held the Habs to limited scoring chances. But four points out of six for the Habs on the Western road trip was a positive going into the Christmas break.

For a complete recap: Canadiens – Oilers: Over As Soon As It Started

Players to watch

  • Noah Hanafin
    Hanifin is in his 3rd season in the NHL and should easily beat his previous season points productions. He is a big, puck moving defenseman who can skate, the ideal partner for Shea Weber.
  • Jeff Skinner
    Skinner is a highly talented winger that isn’t as noticed as much around the league because he plays in a smaller market. The Habs will keep an eye when he’s on the ice.
  • Sebastien Aho
    Aho is one of the Hurricanes youngest players but is also one of the most talented. Aho plays on the first line and is very talented on the power-play.

Keys to Victory

  • Maintain high energy
    After a couple days off, one team always look a little sluggish against the other. The Habs need to come out fast and make the Hurricanes look like the sluggish ones.
  • Feed off the crowd
    Over the next few games the Habs will see tons of Habs fans in the crowd making noise. Habs need to feed off them and give them something to cheer about.
  • Play desperate hockey
    The Habs will need to be an above .650 level team for the rest of the season to make the playoffs and will need to play some desperate hockey for that to happen.
Matchup by All Habs staff
PNC Arena, Raleigh, NC | December 27, 7:00 PM ET | TV: TSN2, RDS, FS-CR

2017-18 statistics
HURRICANES CANADIENS
39 (18th) Points (rank) 36 (25th)
16-12-7 Record 16-16-4
9-7-3 Home/Away 8-8-4
5-3-2 Last 10 5-4-1
2.74 GF/G 2.69
3.03 GA/G 3.14
15.5 PP% 18.9
77.1 PK% 77.1
 54.35  CF%  51.14
 
Projected forward lines, defense pairings and goaltenders
Forwards
Aho – Staal – Teravainen
Skinner -Rask – Lindholm
McGinn – Ryan – Williams
Nordstrom – Kruger – Di Giuseppe		 Pacioretty – Drouin – Byron
Galchenyuk – Danault – Shaw
Lehkonen – Plekanec – Gallagher 
Deslauriers – Froese – Carr
Defensemen
Slavin – Pesce
Dahlbeck – Faulk
Hanifin – van Riemsdyk		 Alzner – Petry
Benn – Jerabek
Morrow – Lernout
Out of the lineup
Scratched: Jooris, Fleury
Injured: Stempniak		 Scratched: De La Rose, Hudon
Injured: Weber, Hemsky, Montoya, Schlemko
Goalies
Cam Ward Carey Price
Record: 8-2-1
GAA: 2.79
Sv%: .911
SO: 1
Alternate: Scott Darling		 Record: 11-10-2
GAA: 3.04
Sv%: .904
SO: 1
Alternate: Antti Niemi
 What to Expect
The Habs d-core will be missing multiple players to start off the road trip. Petry will need to continue to elevate his game while the others need to step up. Both teams may come out of the break a little slow which will make for an eventful first period. 

Prediction: Canadiens 3  Hurricanes 2 

Which ever team gets their legs first should be able to take the game over.
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