What - Game 36 (18-13-4)
When - 7 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 28
Where - PNC Arena; Raleigh, NC
How to Watch - Bally Sports South
The Carolina Hurricanes came out of the holiday break hot and will look to keep that mojo going as they host the Montreal Canadiens (15-13-5) tonight at PNC Arena.
Last night, the Canes seemingly scored at will against the Nashville Predators, defeating them by a final score of 5-2.
The Hurricanes have to hope they've saved some goals for tonight though.
In net for Carolina though is projected to be Antti Raanta.
After being sent down to the AHL for two games, the Canes recalled Raanta for the back-to-back and they'll see what he can manage.
This could perhaps be the very last chance Raanta gets to stick around.
The Canadiens are a team that lacks a lot of high-end talent and whose depth is depleted by injury, despite that, they've managed to hold off a free-fall quite well.
They won their last game before the break 5-2 over the Chicago Blackhawks and have points in their last five straight.
Sniper Cole Caufield has been surprisingly cold this year, but 2021 first-round pick Juraj Slafkovsky has been heating up.
Streaks
- Sebastian Aho (2g, 3a) has scored in back-to-back games
- Michael Bunting (2a), Seth Jarvis (1g, 2a), Stefan Noesen (1g, 1a) and Andrei Svechnikov (1g, 3a) all have points in back-to-back games.
Milestone Watch
- Sebastian Aho recorded his 500th career point Wednesday night against the Nashville Predators
Game Notes
- Carolina has an all-time record of 81-103-20-7 against Montreal
- The two teams will play three times this season, with games also on March 7 (home) and March 30 (away)
- The Canes swept the season series last year (3-0-0) and are 14-1-1 in the last 16 meetings.
Key Matchups
Starting Goalies
- Antti Raanta: 6-5-1; 0.854 Sv%; 3.61 GAA
- Sam Montembeault: 7-4-3; 0.907 Sv%; 2.86 GAA
Leading Scorers
- Goals - Sebastian Aho (14) / Nick Suzuki (10)
- Points - Sebastian Aho (35) / Nick Suzuki (30)
Power Play
- Carolina - 25.6% (6th)
- Montreal - 17.7% (22nd)
Penalty Kill
- Carolina - 82.5% (10th)
- Montreal - 73.0% (29th)
Hurricanes Projected Lineup
Andrei Svechnikov - Sebastian Aho - Teuvo Teravainen
Michael Bunting - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Martin Necas
Jordan Martinook - Jordan Staal - Seth Jarvis
Stefan Noesen - Jack Drury - Jesper Fast
Brent Burns - Jaccob Slavin
Brady Skjei - Brett Pesce
Dmitry Orlov - Jalen Chatfield
Antti Raanta
Pyotr Kochetkov
Injuries and Scratches: Tony DeAngelo, Brendan Lemieux, Frederik Andersen (blood-clotting issue)
Canadiens Projected Lineup
Cole Caufield - Nick Suzuki - Juraj Slafkovsky
Sean Monahan - Jake Evans - Josh Anderson
Joel Armia - Christian Dvorak - Brendan Gallagher
Emil Heineman - Mitchell Stephens - Jesse Ylonen
Michael Matheson - David Savard
Kaiden Guhle - Justin Barron
Jayden Struble - Johnathan Kovacevic
Sam Montembeault
Jake Allen
Injuries and Scratches: Cayden Primeau, Michael Pezzetta, Gustav Lindstrom, Tanner Pearson (UBI), Kirby Dach (knee), Jordan Harris (LBI), Rafael Harvey-Pinard (LBI), Alex Newhook (LBI), Chris Wideman (back)
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