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

Sam Gerber

6 years ago

Game Preview by Sam Gerber

Last game : MTL 1 MIN 7 Montreal was embarrassed in Minnesota. From the start, the Habs failed to play their style and found themselves chasing the game. To make matters worse, the Canadiens took bad penalties, and the penalty-kill didn’t do its job. Antti Niemi did not have a strong performance either. He has struggled since the pre-season. It was a surprise to see him get pulled in the third when the game was out of reach. Carey Price came in and stopped every shot he faced. It was likely Price who made the decision to come into the game to bail out his goaltending partner.

For a complete game recap: Minny Special Teams are Dominant in Rout of Habs

Players to watch

Shea Weber
Weber was not the ‘Man Mountain’ that fans expect. Weber is still getting back into game shape and this was his first road trip, so it’s nothing to be concerned about.
Jeff Petry
Petry has to be a difference maker. Against Minnesota, Petry had a bad game, failing to deliver coverage in his zone. The Habs have to start making Petry accountable for his mistakes.
Artturi Lehkonen
Lehkonen plays a great two-way game and does a lot of little things. He may not always get credit but he is playing the right way. Points will come.

Keys to Victory

Win special teams
The Habs have to start winning the special teams battle. It has been a failure all season and is reason why the Habs are a bubble team to make the playoffs.
Put the puck in the net
The Canadiens must start scoring again. It’s that simple.
Dictate the style
Montreal must play their style and execute it for a full game in order to win.

Matchup by All Habs staff
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC \| December 13, 7:30 PM ET \| TV: TSN2, RDS, FS-CR
	2018-19 statistics
HURRICANES	2018-19 statistics	CANADIENS
30 (23rd)	Points (rank)	35 (15th)
13-12-4	Record	15-11-5
6-7-1	Away/Home	8-6-2
5-4-1	Last 10	4-5-1
2.45	GF/G	3.13
2.76	GA/G	3.13
16.0	PP%	13.6
80.0	PK%	79.0
57.22	CF%	53.81

eSAT Analytics by Mathieu Chagnon

Projected forward lines, defense pairings and goaltenders
Forwards
Martinook – Aho – Teravainen Svechnikov – Wallmark – Williams Kuokkanen – Rask – McGinn Foegele – Bishop – Di Giuseppe	Drouin – Domi – Shaw Tatar – Danault – Gallagher Byron – Kotkaniemi – Lehkonen Agostino – Chaput – Peca
Defensemen
Slavin – Pesce De Haan – Faulk Fleury – Hamilton	Kulak – Weber Reilly – Petry Juulsen – Benn
Out of the lineup
Scratched: van Riemsdyk Injured: Staal, Ferland, McElhinney	Scratched: Hudon, Deslauriers, Schlemko Injured: Armia
Goalies
Petr Mrazek	Carey Price

Record: 4-5-2 GAA: – 2.55 Sv%: – .895 SO: 0 Alternate: Scott Darling	Record: 11-8-4 GAA: – 2.89 Sv%: – .904 SO: 1 Alternate: Antti Niemi

What to Expect by Sam Gerber

The Habs have tweaked the lines once again. It’s a minor swap with Matthew Peca coming into the lineup for Nicolas Deslauriers. On the defense side, David Schlemko will be a healthy scratch with another opportunity going to Mike Reilly. Reilly needs to take advantage of this chance. He has the talent to be a top six defenseman on the Habs but he needs much better decision-making. The Habs have also made a change to their power-play, going back to two defensemen. The power-play has been dreadful all season and the Habs are desperate to find a solution. The Hurricanes struggle to score goals and the Habs can’t make it easy for them. After an embarrassing game against the Wild, the Habs have to have a strong start and come out flying.

Highlights from the NHL

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2018-19 statistics