CANADIENS
Montreal

HURRICANES
Carolina

Lineup

Forward lines and defense pairings 

[one_half]Byron – Galchenyuk – Gallagher
Pacioretty – Danault – Shaw
Desharnais – Plekanec – Terry
Hudon – Mitchell- Carr[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Emelin – Weber
Markov – Petry
Beaulieu – Pateryn
[/one_half_last]

Goaltenders

Montoya
Price

Scratches

Sven Andrighetto, Alexander Radulov, Joel Hanley

Injured Reserve

Zach Redmond, Artturi Lehkonen, Brian Flynn

Game Report

The Canadiens have lost three straight games. Fans are starting to discuss similarities between the sliding squad this year and the one who experienced total collapse last season. And December is right around the corner.

Brendan Gallagher is in a gazillion game slump. Max Pacioretty, the 40-goal scorer, is looking a little less sniperish than usual. Alex Galchenyuk, the apparent number one centre, is playing less minutes than the teacher’s pet.

And the backup goalie is looking rather leaky. 

Going into the game against Carolina, Michel Therrien said, “If you slide a little, you’re in trouble. The most important thing tomorrow is to win the hockey game.” 

So by Therrien’s definition, the Canadiens are in trouble.

After the streak-busting loss by a 10-0 score to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Canadiens have sputtered. The team’s confidence has taken a hit and their cloak of invincibility has been shattered. They have lost the ability to intimidate opponents by their record alone.

To avoid jumping off a bridge, Habs fans point to the big difference from last year to this year: a healthy Carey Price.

So we’re back to that.

The success of the Canadiens is back to resting on one player. And breaks, at least according to the coach. After the game Michel Therrien, “We’ve played good hockey in recent games. But you need breaks to win.”

So Price and puck luck. Is that a recipe for Stanley Cup success?

~~~

▲     Shea Weber, Alexei Emelin

▼     Greg Pateryn, Al Montoya

1.  Ron Hainsey  CAR
2.  Victor Rask  CAR
3.  Cam Ward  CAR

• “We played a really good road game. When you’re on the road and you give up 18 shots and you’ve got over 30, usually you win those types of hockey games. The effort was there. You need puck luck, and we don’t have puck luck lately.”

Quotes courtesy of NHL.com