Carolina Hurricanes Leave Montreal with a Big Win

Carolina Hurricanes take their point streak north to Montreal

Carolina Hurricanes game in Montreal was the 4^th of a weeklong 5 game road trip.  The Canes haven’t been playing the best of hockey but keep finding a way to win.

The Goalies:

Carey Price:  All Montreal fans got a scare on Wednesday when Coach Claude Julian announced after practice that all-star goalie Carey Price “wasn’t 100% healthy”.  Hurricanes fans were hoping for another backup to continue the streak (both points and backup goalies).

On game day, Canadian fans were delighted to find out Price would get the start.  This ends the backup goalie streak for Carolina.  Carey Price is back to normal this season and is playing great.  The Hurricanes didn’t get a lot of pressure on him, especially in the 2^nd period.

But the 3^rd period when given the opportunity Carey Price didn’t get the job done. What was seen from him wasn’t his normal game.  Are there unknown issues with Price’s health leading up to the playoffs?

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Eddie Lack:  Eddie finally got another chance to prove his worth to Coach Peters. The ongoing saga between the two is office water cooler material still.   Whether this game changed Coach Peters mind isn’t up to the Caniacs (who are cheering Lack on) but something us fans will never understand.

There were times in the 1^st that Eddie looked out of control and other times where he looked solid.  The second period pretty much was Eddie’s step up moment.  He literally kept the Hurricanes in the game.  The 3^rd period Eddie Lack continued being stellar.

Even during Montreal’s PP, Eddie was in charge.  As the game wore down, Eddie Lack stepped up.  For Caniacs, Eddie is taco heaven.  We will wait until Saturday in New Jersey to see what Coach Peters thinks.

How I saw it:

The Hurricanes started better than the last couple of games and had some good chances but just couldn’t seem to hit the net.  And I mean that literally. Montreal seemed to get things going after the first 5 minutes and soon after with some good pressure score.

After the goal, the Canadians really picked it up and continued with a lot of energy.  Hurricanes Derek Ryan’s good play drew a holding penalty by Alexei Emelin to change the momentum. The Carolina Hurricanes started the PP with good pressure and was rewarded when Elias Lindholm continues his point streak and scored.

The first half of the second was all Eddie Lack.  The Hurricanes just couldn’t get things going and the Canadians really took over.

It didn’t get much better the second half of the 2nd and Montreal just kept on pushing until Lee Stempniak surprises the Canadian fans.

Good news, Eddie Lack’s hard work starts to pay off when in the early parts of the 3^rd   Jeff Skinner, lead by Derek Ryan, connects with Stempniak for a big goal.

The rest of the 3^rd was a back and worth game.  Late in the game, the Canadians pulled all-star goalie Price.  That’s when Jeff Skinner takes advantage of this mistake and sealed the deal for the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Wrap Up:

For all Hurricanes fans, there is no way not to be excited about this win.  The Carolina Hurricanes started the game looking outplayed even though the team’s effort was there.  Montreal was the better team. The 2

The 2^nd period was an exhibition of Montreal’s talent taking control.  The young Canes defense stuck to their guns and prevailed.  Eddie Lack again showed all of us his willingness to put all the negativity behind him and focus on the task at hand.

Next: Hurricanes Sign Janne Kuokkanen

Veteran play from Lee Stempniak surfaced in this game to lead Carolina to the win.  The Hurricanes are playing to their strengths and relying on their excellent defense to create offense.  I am excited and can’t wait for Saturday.  See you in New Jersey.