Canadiens Pre Game

Canadiens Game 64: Guhle & Barron Out, Defence Pair Shuffle

Published

1 year ago

March 7, 2023

The Montreal Canadiens (26-33-4) have returned home after a long road trip to face the sizzling-hot Carolina Hurricanes (41-12-8) on Tuesday night. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

After three consecutive losses on their western road trip, the Montreal Canadiens make their way back home for a few games and will be looking to get back to their winning ways.

The Canadiens have had difficulty scoring more than three goals a game of late, and the drying up of their offensive ability likely comes from the many big-time injuries at forward.

However, the Canadiens’ defensive brigade has stepped up in a big way of late to help them generate some offence, starting with Mike Matheson.

The 29-year-old has two goals and two assists in his last five games, which was tops for the Canadiens offensively during their west-coast road trip.

The veteran defender has flourished into the unquestioned No.1 defenceman for the Habs and continues to put up inspiring performances, especially when the puck is on his stick.

Nick Suzuki has also picked up the pace as of late, posting two goals and two assists in his last five games.

He seemed to have played his best hockey since the injury to Cole Caufield next to rookie Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, and head coach Martin St-Louis decided it was time to put them back together.

On a line completed by fellow rookie Jesse Ylönen, the trio performed admirably well against the Vegas Golden Knights and put on a ton of pressure; resulting in some timely offence.

Jake Allen is expected to man the Canadiens’ net tonight after some impressive performances in San Jose and L.A. over the last week.

The Canadiens veteran goaltender continues to put up one of the more underrated seasons, despite his base statistics, figuring in the top-15 in the NHL for goals saved above expectation.

They’ll look to build on their performance in Sunday’s game as they look to match up against one of the top teams in the NHL.

There’s A Storm Brewin

The Carolina Hurricanes are one of the top teams in the NHL again this year, and much of it has come from their ridiculous offensive depth.

At forward, Sebastian Aho, Martin Necas and Andrei Svechnikov continue to lead the team offensively; forming a potent trio, especially on the power play, that is driving defensive brigades crazy as of late.

Their secondary scoring has been spotty so far this season, but Teuvo Teravainen and Jesperi Kotkaniemi have begun to generate consistent offence lately.

Kotkaniemi, fresh off a five-point game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, is currently piloting the Hurricanes’ second line and doing a fine job over the last two months.

The former 3rd overall pick has garnered 23 points in his last 30 games after a disastrous start to the season; showing that he may very well have the second-line potential he was drafted for.

But the biggest surprise so far this season has been the resurgence of veteran defenceman Brent Burns.

The 37-year-old, who was acquired from the San Jose Sharks in a cap-clearing move, has been the Hurricanes’ most dominant offensive defenceman, posting 12 goals and 38 assists for 50 points in just 61 games.

The Hurricanes don’t seem to have many weaknesses at the moment; as the team is one of the favourites for BetMGM Ontario.

Your pre-game analysis below:

Montreal Canadiens Injuries

Chris Wideman (Week-To-Week)
Joel Armia (Day-To-Day)
Justin Barron (Injured)
Kirby Dach (Out Indefinitely)
Brendan Gallagher (Injured Reserve)
Jake Evans (Injured Reserve)
Arber Xhekaj (Injured Reserve)
Juraj Slafkovsky (Injured Reserve)
Cole Caufield (Injured Reserve)
Sean Monahan (LTIR)
Carey Price (LTIR)
Paul Byron (LTIR)

Carolina Hurricanes Injuries

Jake Gardiner (LTIR)
Ondrej Kase (LTIR)
Max Pacioretty (LTIR)

Montreal Canadiens Previous Lineup

LW	C	RW
Cole Caufield	Nick Suzuki	Juraj Slafkovsky
Brendan Gallagher	Alex Newhook	Joel Armia
Jesse Ylonen	Jake Evans	Josh Anderson
Michael Pezzetta	Christian Dvorak	Rafael Harvey-Pinard