Carolina Hurricanes Roadtrip Ends in Montreal
The Carolina Hurricanes are hoping to jump on the Canadiens early like they did against Winnipeg on Friday night. Their fans are just hoping they can do a better job of keeping the lead.
The Hurricanes definitely came out swinging against the Jets, a complete 180 from their effort against the Flames two nights before. The first two goals took all of 1:34. By the 10:04 mark they had tallied four, after chasing starting goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff after the third goal. It looked like a rout until the Jets woke up, and the Canes seemed to slow down. Winnipeg came back hard, and made it a 4-3 game going into the last few minutes of regulation. Fortunately Jordan Staal and Andrej Nestrasil combined for a nifty 2-on-1 to make the final score 5-3.
The Canadiens are on an ugly 6-20-1 slide, after a tremendous start to the season that saw them go 19-4-3. At that time they were being spoken of as odds on favorites for a deep playoff run. Since then it’s been nothing but bad news, bad luck and bad decisions for this team. Add to all that the fact that their all star goalie, Carey Price, is probably out for the season, this is a team deciding now whether to hang tight with what they have, or shed everything and make a run for the #1 draft pick next year.
We’ll say it again, and probably repeat it all the way to March. These are games that the Hurricanes need to win.
More from Cardiac Cane – Carolina Hurricanes Defeat the Winnipeg Jets
Game Information
Carolina Hurricanes at Montreal Canadiens
Sunday, February 7, 2:30 pm
Centre Bell, Montreal, Quebec
Fox Sports Southeast – 99.9 FM The Fan (note game time and channel)
Season Records
Carolina Hurricanes – 24-21-8 – 56 points – 6th in Metro – 10th in Eastern – 3 pts out of Wild Card
Montreal Canadiens – 25-24-4 – 54 points – 5th in Atlantic – 12th in Eastern – 4 pts out of Wild Card
Team Records – Last 10-20-30 Games with Points %
Carolina Hurricanes – 6-3-1 (65%) – 11-6-3 (63%) – 16-10-4 (60%)
Montreal Canadiens – 2-7-1 (25%) – 5-14-1 (28%) – 8-20-2 (30%)
Team/Game Notes
The Montreal Canadiens ended a four-game losing streak with a 5-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Bell Centre on Saturday.
had a goal and three assists, while
and
each had a goal and an assist in the game, which also ended a five-game home losing streak. Montreal has not won consecutive home games since a four-game winning streak from Nov. 20-27.
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The Caniac’s really want to see the team that played the first half of the game against Winnipeg on Friday. In the first half of the game they were controlling the puck, moving it effortlessly, gaining the offensive zone with power, and finishing scoring opportunities when they were there. It was fun to watch. We need to see the former team on the ice against the Habs, not the latter.
The Canes are still solidly in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt, only three points back of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are sitting third in the Metro Division.
Next: Checkin' in With the Checkers - All Star Edition
The Hurricanes tried a different type of pre-game warm-up before the Winnipeg game, and word is they are going to try it again in Montreal. Instead of a pre-game skate or practice the team went curling. Yup, curling.
If it works, we at Cardiac Cane say, pick up a broom and start sweeping.
Go Canes!