Hurricanes vs Canadiens: Preview

Carolina Hurricanes vs Montreal Canadiens
April 7, 2016 - 7:00 pm ET
PNC Arena - Raleigh, NC
Fox Sports Carolinas - 99.9 FM - WRALSportsFan app
SB Nation Rival Blog - Eyes on the Prize

Vital Statistics

*Stats from NHL.com and War on Ice

Game Notes

• There's one more game left after tonight for the Carolina Hurricanes, but tonight will be the last time to see them live and in person at PNC Arena and bid them a fond farewell for the season. There will be ample time in the post-season to reminisce the highs and lows but this is a vastly different hockey squad than the one that took the ice on Oct. 10 and most of those differences are cause for celebration as the team carries positive momentum into the off-season.
• The Canes and Canadiens met for the first time this season on Dec. 5. At that time, the Habs were the best team in the Eastern Conference and one point off the best record in the NHL. The Canes, meanwhile, had fallen to last place in the league after three straight losses and a few fresh faces from the AHL arrived to bring energy to the lineup. The shake-up worked, as the Canes went on to win that evening and amassed four straight months of solid performance and a 27-16-12 record that had them at least mathematically hanging around a playoff spot as recently as this past weekend. The Habs, on the other hand, imploded due to a several injuries among other challenges, and they now sit among the bottom third in league standings, eight points behind the Canes (though it should be noted that they have a win against the Canes during that time period, a 2-1 shootout win on Feb. 7).
• The Canadiens are coming off two losses to the Florida Panthers, and with an injured list that's as long as the active roster. They've hit a franchise record this season with 15 different defensemen playing on their roster at some point during the season. Carey Price and P.K. Subban were both officially shut down for the season yesterday, so we won't see them tonight. All Star of soon-to-be-movie-fame John Scott was called up for Tuesday's game at Bell Centre, but he's been reassigned and won't be in the lineup either. Instead fans will get to experience Charlie Lindgren, who will be making his NHL debut in the crease for Montreal. Lindgren was signed by the Habs as a free agent on March 30 after posting a 30-9-1 record this season for the St. Cloud State Huskies.
• Alex Galchenyuk leads the Habs with 28 goals, Tomas Plekanec leads with 38 assists, and King Clancy nominee Max Pacioretty leads with 59 points (27g, 32a).
• The Canes took the day off yesterday after Tuesday's emotional shootout win in Boston. Sergey Tolchinsky was reassigned to Charlotte so he could help the Checkers last night (unfortunately it was in a losing effort), so the team will need to make a recall this morning for a forward spot. Stay tuned for lineup news after the team skates at 10:30 am.
• Jeff Skinner has three points (2g, 1a) in his last three games and is two goals shy of 30 for the season. Elias Lindholm is three points shy of 100 career NHL points. Jaccob Slavin has points in two straight games and, with his goal Tuesday night, has matched Noah Hanifin with 20 points on the season. Both Slavin and Hanifin also have game-winning shootout goals to their credit this season, the only Canes players to hold such an honor.
• Update 11:30 am: Derek Ryan has been recalled from Charlotte to take the revolving spot at forward. Cam Ward confirmed as starting goaltender.

Projected Lineups

Hurricanes (4/7 morning skate)

Joakim Nordstrom - Jordan Staal - Patrick Brown
Jeff Skinner - Victor Rask - Riley Nash
Chris Terry - Elias Lindholm - Derek Ryan
Nathan Gerbe - Jay McClement - Brad Malone

Jaccob Slavin - Justin Faulk
Noah Hanifin - Brett Pesce
Ron Hainsey - Ryan Murphy

Cam Ward
Eddie Lack

Injuries and scratches: James Wisniewski (IR ACL), Andrej Nestrasil (fractured vertebra), Phillip Di Giuseppe (upper body), Michal Jordan (healthy)

Canadiens (4/7 morning skate)

Max Pacioretty - Alex Galchenyuk - Brendan Gallagher
Lars Eller - Tomas Plekanec - Daniel Carr
Phillip Danault - David Desharnais - Sven Andrighetto
Paul Byron - Torrey Mitchell - Mike Brown

Andrei Markov - Greg Pateryn
Alexei Emelin - Ryan Johnston
Joel Hanley - Darren Dietz

Charlie Lindgren
Mike Condon

Injuries and Scratches: Carey Price (IR MCL), Brian Flynn (IR), Tom Gilbert (IR lower body), Jeff Petry (IR lower body), Mark Barberio (upper body), Victor Bartley (lower body), Nathan Beaulieu (broken thumb), Brian Flynn (lower body), Brett Lernout (lower body), Lucas Lessio (lower body), P.K. Subban (neck), Stefan Matteau (healthy)

Storm Debris

• Canes Gameday Hub [CH.com].
• The Canes may look different the next time they play at home [N&O].
• The signs of progress in Carolina (have to hit the translate button on this one) [Journal de Quebec].
• From his hometown paper, Tarrytown's Brett Pesce is thriving in his first NHL season [Hudson Independent].
• Canadiens will use a team-record 15th defenseman this season [Eyes On The Prize].
• Shane Doan thinks he has a solution to end tanking for draft picks, and here's how the draft order would change if his ideas were implemented [Today's Slapshot].
• Finally, if the finality of the season has you feeling a bit down, here are a couple of hockey-playing dachshunds to make you feel better. [SBNation].