Goalie Cayden Primeau entered the COVID-19 protocol, so Sam Montembeault will get the call with Michael McNiven as the backup.
Article content
Here are five things you should know about the Canadiens-Hurricanes game at PNC Arena Thursday (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM):
Advertisement
Article content
The matchup: This is the second of three meetings between these teams and the Hurricanes have a 1-0 edge after beating the Canadiens 4-1 at the Bell Centre on Oct. 21. The Canadiens are coming off a 5-4 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning Tuesday. They have collected three of a possible four points in the their last two starts, but remain in the Atlantic Division cellar with a 7-21-4 record. The Hurricanes will be looking for their third consecutive win and they have a 21-7-1 record. That’s good or a .741 winning percentage — the second-best in the NHL behind Tampa Bay’s .742.
The goalies: Cayden Primeau was scheduled to start for the Canadiens, but the team announced Wednesday that Primeau and Paul Byron are the latest players to enter the COVID-19 protocol. That means Sam Montembeault will get the call with Michael McNiven as the backup. Montembeault is coming off the OT loss in Tampa, where he gave up five goals on 37 shots. He has a 1-4-2 record with a 3.83 goals-against average and an .892 save percentage. Carolina’s Freddy Andersen has some of the best numbers in the NHL, with a 16-5 record and a 1.93 GAA, but he’s in the COVID protocol and Montreal will face Antti Raanta, who has a 4-2-1 record with a 2.37 GAA.
Advertisement
Article content
Big guns are silent: Some of the Canadiens’ young prospects came up big in Tampa. Rafael Harvey-Pinard scored in his first NHL game and defenceman Corey Schueneman had an assist in his debut. Rookie Lukas Vejdemo scored and defenceman Kale Clague picked up his first NHL goal. Ryan Poehling had an assist a won better than 50 per cent of his faceoffs. But the top line of Jonathan Drouin, Nick Suzuki and Brendan Gallagher failed to produce. Suzuki is the Canadiens’ top scorer, but he has gone five games without a point, while Drouin has one goal and one assist in that span. Gallagher, who was coming back after missing seven games in the COVID protocol, did find the back of the net, but he was robbed after the on-ice official and the war room in Toronto ruled that he was guilty of goaltender interference.
Advertisement
Article content
Protocol changes won’t help Canadiens: The NHL and the NHLPA made changes in the COVID protocol Wednesday, reducing the isolation period following a positive test from 10 days to five. But Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme said the changes won’t affect the Canadiens because they are still bound by provincial and federal health mandates. Montreal added Primeau and forward Paul Byron to the COVID protocol Wednesday, bringing the number of Canadiens players on the list to 11.
Hurricanes return to health: Speaking of COVID, Carolina is missing Andersen in goal, but Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Jordan Staal are among the Hurricanes returning from the protocol. Aho is Carolina’s leading scorer with 15 goals and 17 assists in 26 games. Teuvo Teravainen has 23 points, including seven goals, and Svechnikov has nine goals and 21 points. And let’s not forget former Canadien Jesperi Kotkaniemi. He was lured away from Montreal with an offer sheet worth US$6.1 million. That’s a lot more than he’s worth, but the Finn does have seven goals — that’s as many as Canadiens leader Josh Anderson — and he has added six assists. And you have to remember he’s only 21.
phickey@postmedia.com
twitter.com/zababes1
Canadiens at Hurricanes: Five things you should know - Montreal Gazette
Read More
No comments:
Post a Comment