Hurricanes look to end funk at Montreal
Perhaps a visit to Montreal will help the Carolina Hurricanes end their current rough patch. Looking to avoid a third straight defeat, the visiting Hurricanes aim to continue their recent dominance of the Canadiens on Saturday night. After managing only Sebastian Aho's 36th goal in Tuesday's 4-1 home loss to Dallas, Carolina didn't score until Teuvo Teravainen tied Friday night's visit from Colorado with two in the third period. However, the Hurricanes allowed the go-ahead goal with 2:37 left in regulation to fall 3-2 against one of the hottest teams in the NHL. Two points out of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, Carolina has dropped three of the last four. Each defeat came at home, but the Hurricanes have won two straight and four of the last five on the road, where they'll begin a six-game trip Saturday. "We still have a lot of confidence in these guys," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said in the postgame press conference Friday. "We've got to turn the page, because the games come fast and furious. "We're hitting that kind of bump in the road right now. ... We've got to find a way to get it done." Carolina has won eight of the last nine meetings with Montreal, totaling 30 goals during that stretch. Seven of those goals came in two home wins over the Canadiens this season. The Hurricanes' lone defeat over that span came on their last trip to Montreal, 6-4 on Dec. 13, 2018. The Canadiens remain a longshot to reach the postseason, but their most pressing issue at the moment is avoiding a third straight defeat. Since Carey Price made 30 saves during a 3-0 win at Ottawa last Saturday, he's allowed four goals each in losses to Vancouver and the New York Rangers. In both contests, Montreal failed to hold 2-0 leads. The Canadiens led 2-1 in the third before the sizzling Rangers scored four times to win 5-2. Montreal's 73 goals allowed in the third period rank among the most in the NHL. "We really have to learn how to play with a lead. It's our biggest problem," forward Phillip Danault told the Canadiens' official website. "We have to find a solution. We can't be afraid to play with a lead. "We have to learn to be stronger mentality, to play hard and to not  our heels." Max Domi, meanwhile, has done his best to help the Canadiens at the offensive end with three goals and three assists in the last four games. Domi had a goal in the Canadiens' 3-1 loss at Carolina on New Year's Eve. Montreal backup Charlie Lindgren made 33 saves in that contest, but he last started on Feb. 4. Price stopped 40 shots during a 4-3 shootout defeat to the Hurricanes in the Oct. 3 season opener. With Carolina's injury situation in net well-documented, Anton Forsberg made 29 saves on Friday in his first 2019-20 appearance after being recalled from Charlotte of the AHL last weekend. Alex Nedeljkovic, recalled the same day as Forsberg, saved 12 of the 16 shots he faced versus Dallas in his second career start. Sebastian Aho has 12 goals with nine assists during a 14-game point streak. He recorded a goal versus Montreal in December. Teravainen, meanwhile, has three goals in three games. --Field Level Media |