2023-24 Regular Season, Game 62: Hurricanes vs. Montreal Canadiens (Pregame)

The Hurricanes have been left stewing on one of their toughest losses of the season on Saturday afternoon. They entered the third period with a 3-0 lead against the Winnipeg Jets, but the wheels fell off, leading to five unanswered goals and a loss. After a scoreless first period, the Canes kicked things into high gear midway through the second. Martin Necas, who had a goal overturned in Columbus the game prior, buried a shot from the left dot past Connor Hellebuyck to finally get on the board. Less than six minutes later, Teuvo Teravainen made it 2-0, scoring in the slot to help Andrei Svechnikov earn his 300th NHL point. Svechnikov recorded point #301 in the final minute of the period, feeding Sebastian Aho on the power play to make it 3-0 before the end of the second. With Carolina riding high, the Jets quickly brought them down to earth in the third period. Winnipeg scored three times in 5:40, capped off by a power-play tally from Mark Scheifele to tie the game and stun the Caniacs. With the momentum in the Jets' camp, it felt like their win was inevitable. Pyotr Kochetkov practically gave it to them. As Kochetkov came out to play a puck away from a Jet, Sean Monahan was there to pick up the loose puck, scoring with 3:13 left to give the Jets their first lead of the game. Nino Niederreiter added one more into the empty net as the Jets shocked the Canes 5-3 in Raleigh.

The Opponent: Montreal Canadiens (24-28-10, 58 Points- 7th in the Atlantic Division)

Last Meeting- The Hurricanes got off to a fast start when the Canadiens came to town after Christmas. Playing the second half of a back-to-back, Andrei Svechnikov started things 1:35 into the contest, getting the Canes out to an early lead. Jesper Fast added to the lead to make it 2-0, but the Canadiens turned things around quickly. Mitchell Stephens got Montreal on the board 1:09 after Fast's tally, and Mike Matheson scored on the power play with less than four seconds left in the period to tie things up. Fast put the Canes back in front with his second of the game 89 seconds into the second period, but Josh Anderson tied it again 25 seconds into the third period. With time winding down in the third, Svechnikov broke the stalemate with 6:09 left. To complete the hat trick, Svechnikov buried an empty netter from the defensive zone to seal a 5-3 victory. Sebastian Aho finished the night with four assists, and Brent Burns added a trio of helpers.

Since We Last Met- Wins have been hard to come by for the Canadiens lately. They're just 9-14-5 since visiting Raleigh in late December, and they've won just three times in their last 12. Overall, the Canadiens own the Eastern Conference's worst goal differential (-45). Their offense and defense are in the Bottom 7 in the league. Their penalty kill is the fourth-worst in the NHL. Only 14 of their 24 victories have been in regulation, the third-fewest in the league. It has been another tough year in Montreal. They've already made one big move, sending Sean Monahan to Winnipeg a few weeks ago, and more are likely to come with the deadline looming. Still, the young core they've built in recent years has been solid, especially their top line. Captain Nick Suzuki continues to rule the roost, leading the team in goals (25) and points (61) and tied for the lead in assists (36) with Mike Matheson. Cole Caufield is second on the team in goals and points, proving that last season's numbers weren't fraudulent. They were a big part of their huge win on Tuesday night in Nashville, snapping the Predators' eight-game win streak with a 4-3 overtime victory, extending their point streak to four games. If they can sort out their injury troubles and find consistent goaltending, Montreal could be in business in the future. 

Stories/Keys of the Game

1. Saturday's Loss Was Just One Loss

Losing the way the Canes did on Saturday was not fun to watch, and I imagine it was even less fun for the group on the ice. It also didn't help that they had to sit on it for a few days. The truth is that it still counts as one loss in the standings and nothing more. There is no time to be down and out about it. There are still 21 games left in the season and some business left to attend to before the 82 games are up. The Canes can't allow the one loss to snowball into something more than it was. This is still one of the hottest teams in the league over the last two months. They've done an insane amount of work to get themselves in this position. One bad loss to the Jets doesn't change that.

2. The Canes' Top Line is Sizzling...

Since dominating the Blackhawks on February 22, the offense hasn't been going at the pace we'd grown used to seeing. Over the last six games, the Canes have scored just 14 goals. Half of those goals have come from Sebastian Aho (4), Teuvo Teravainen (2), and Andrei Svechnikov (1). This trio has combined for 14 points during that time, with Aho and Svechnikov notching five points each. Five of those points came in the loss on Saturday. The good news is that they've stepped up and taken charge. The bad news is that this isn't a sustainable way to win games. Martin Necas has been doing his part, but the rest of the group needs to find a way to get going.

3. So is Montreal's

The trio of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky have been the only consistent group for the Canadiens for the last little bit. Almost every night, you can expect them to make some magic. Since January 11, they've combined for 29 goals and 65 points, accounting for almost half of the team's goal production during that span. Suzuki is leading the way with 13 goals and 27 points, while Caufield and Slafkovsky have eight goals each. While things have remained a little more consistent for Suzuki and Caufield, Slafkovsky isn't producing much as of late. He had just one point in the team's last seven games, scoring a goal in Florida last Thursday. I would imagine we see the Staal line shadowing them tonight, but I also wouldn't be surprised if we see best on best with them battling the Aho trio.