The Carolina Hurricanes (35-10-8) welcome the Montreal Canadiens (23-27-4), who will be out to build on their winning run, at PNC Arena on Thursday. Montreal is playing their first of four games on the road coming off a 4-0 win over the Blackhawks on Tuesday, their third consecutive win.
The Canadiens committed seven penalties in the game, though they held Chicago without a power play goal. Four players found the net for the Canadiens.
Jonathan Drouin had three assists to lead the team in scoring. Jake Allen recorded his zeroth shutout of the season with an impressive 22 saves.Carolina is returning home for a five-game homestand after a 3-2 win over the Capitals on Tuesday.
Stefan Noesen, Brent Burns, and Paul Stastny each scored once for the Hurricanes. Noesen added an assist to lead the team in scoring. Frederik Andersen saved 34 of 36 shots in the win (.944%).
HEAD TO HEAD
The Hurricanes won all three games between the teams last season, including a 4-0 victory in their final meeting in March, their third straight win against Montreal. Five players had two points for Carolina. Andersen saved 32 shots to earn the shutout win.
FACING OFF
Montreal is averaging 2.67 goals per game for the season, 28th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Hurricanes team that is allowing 2.68 goals a game (7th).
Meanwhile, Carolina has found the net 3.30 times a game on average, 10th in the league, and the Canadiens are allowing opponents to score 3.59 goals per game (26th).
Carolina averages more shots per game (34.9) than most teams in the league, ranking third, though the team’s 9.6% shooting percentage is 21st.
With an average of 28.0 attempts, Montreal ranks 30th.Don’t be surprised to see a few power play opportunities for the Hurricanes, as the Canadiens are averaging 4.63 penalties per game, second-most in the NHL. The visitors’ 12.83 penalty minutes a game ranks first-highest.
The home team has been penalized 3.85 times a game (14th) for an average of 8.11 minutes (25th). The Hurricanes’ 20.22% power play percentage ranks 20th in the league, while the Canadiens are 27th with a conversion rate of 16.67%.
While efficient on the power play, Montreal has been less successful at penalty killing, as the away team owns the league’s fourth-lowest PK% at 73.68%. Carolina’s 81.77% ranks seventh in the NHL.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 42 points this season, Nick Suzuki is the top skater for the Canadiens. He has 17 goals and 25 assists in 54 games. In the net, Sam Montembeault (11-10-2) is Montreal’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 3.17 GAA and a .909% save percentage. Allen (11-17-2) leads the Canadiens in games played in goal.
He has a GAA of 3.53 and a save percentage of .892%.Martin Necas (47 points), Sebastian Aho (46), and Andrei Svechnikov (43) lead the Hurricanes in scoring.
Necas has 21 goals and 26 assists, while Aho has 23 goals and 23 assists in 46 games. Svechnikov has 19 goals and 24 assists. Pyotr Kochetkov (10-4-5) has the best goals against average for Carolina at 2.33. He has a save percentage of .913%.
HOME AND AWAY
Montreal is 9-13-3 away from home this season. Carolina is 17-6-2 at home this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Carolina Hurricanes -2.5 (+105)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
