What - Game 81 (47-28-5)
When - 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 16
Where - Centre Bell; Montreal, QC, Canada
How to Watch - FanDuel Sports Network South, Sportsnet, SN1, RDS
The Carolina Hurricanes could very well help determine the final playoff spot as they face the Montreal Canadiens (39-31-11) tonight in Canada.
The Canes, who are coming off of a 4-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs are resting a plethora of starters including their entire top line, top two shutdown forwards and top two defensive defensemen.
The Canadiens, who are winless in their last three games, need just a single point to clinch the East's final wild card spot and won't have a better chance at it than facing a thin Canes squad.
However, if the Canes do win in regulation, it will open the door for the Columbus Blue Jackets to be able to leapfrog the Habs with a regulation win on Long Island.
It all comes down to tonight.
MTL or CBJ?: The Carolina Hurricanes Could Decide The Final Playoff Spot
The <a href="http://thn.com/carolina" target="_blank">Carolina Hurricanes</a> clinched a playoff berth a long, long time ago at this point and while Wednesday's game might not matter much to them, there's a whole heck of a lot riding on it for two other fanbases.<br><br>What looked like an easy clinch for the <a href="http://thn.com/montreal" target="_blank">Montreal Canadiens</a> just a few days ago now looks like it could be a massive choke in the works.<br><br>After rattling off six straight wins, the Habs have now lost three straight and sit only two point ahead of the surging <a href="http://thn.com/columbus" target="_blank">Columbus Blue Jackets</a> with only a single game remaining on their schedule.<br><br>That game? <br><br>A date with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Streaks
- None
Milestone Watch
- Brent Burns is one assists shy of 100 assists as a Carolina Hurricane.
- Logan Stankoven played in his 100th career NHL game Sunday against the Maple Leafs.
Game Notes
- Carolina is 1-1-0 against Montreal this season, having lost 4-0 on Feb. 25 in Montreal and won 4-1 on March 28 at Lenovo Center.
- The Hurricanes are 17-2-1 against the Canadiens in their last 20 meetings.
- Both Skyler Brind'Amour and Domenick Fensore are in line to make their NHL debuts tonight.
Key Matchups
Projected Starting Goalies
- Pyotr Kochetkov: 27-15-3; 0.898 Sv%; 2.59 GAA
- Sam Montembeault: 30-24-7; 0.901 Sv%; 2.83 GAA
Leading Scorers
- Goals - Seth Jarvis (32) / Cole Caufield (37)
- Points - Sebastian Aho (74) / Nick Suzuki (87)
Power Play
- Carolina - 18.6% (26th)
- Montreal - 20.3% (21st)
Penalty Kill
- Carolina - 84.1% (1st)
- Montreal - 80.9% (9th)
Hurricanes Projected Lineup
Andrei Svechnikov - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Taylor Hall
Eric Robinson - Mark Jankowski - Jack Roslovic
William Carrier - Skyler Brind'Amour - Logan Stankoven
Tyson Jost - Bradly Nadeau
Dmitry Orlov - Brent Burn
Shayne Gostisbehere - Sean Walker
Riley Stillman - Scott Morrow
Domenick Fensore
Pyotr Kochetkov
Frederik Andersen
Injuries and Scratches: Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, Jackson Blake, Jordan Staal, Jordan Martinook, Jaccob Slavin, Jalen Chatfield, Jesper Fast (neck)
Canadiens Projected Lineup
Cole Caufield - Nick Suzuki - Juraj Slafkovsky
Brendan Gallagher - Christian Dvorak - Josh Anderson
Patrik Laine - Alex Newhook - Ivan Demidov
Emil Heineman - Jake Evans - Joel Armia
Mike Matheson - Alexandre Carrier
Kaiden Guhle - Lane Hutson
Jayden Struble - David Savard
Sam Montembeault
Jakub Dobes
Injuries and Scratches: Oliver Kapanen, Michael Pezzetta, Josh Roy, Kirby Dach (LBI)
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