CAR@MTL: Charlie takes on the Canes

BROSSARD - Charlie Lindgren will be making his first start since February 4 on Saturday, and he'll have a big cheering section encouraging him as he does.

His teammate with both the Laval Rocket and Canadiens, Jake Evans, is one of his biggest supporters, and is looking forward to the Minnesotan backstop getting another chance to prove his worth.
"I'm really excited for him. He's been such a great guy. We've gotten pretty close the past year and a half here, so I'm happy for him," beamed Evans of Lindgren, who beat the Devils 5-4 in a shootout in New Jersey earlier in the month. "He works hard every day, he does that extra work, and he's just trying to get better. For him to get the shot tonight, it's going to be awesome."

Although head coach Claude Julien hasn't deployed Lindgren very often since his recall on December 14, he has certainly liked the way the 25-year-old prepares himself and approaches the game.
"He's a good practice goalie. We're seeing him make some big saves. He's working hard and he has a great attitude. Our hope right now is that he can come in and play the same way he's been playing in practice," outlined the Canadiens bench boss. "When a goaltender hasn't played in a while, you have to understand that he's going to maybe have challenges, but we need to be good in front of him, to allow him to find his way through the game tonight and feel comfortable."

If the Habs are to be strong in front of Lindgren, they'll have to find a way to sustain pressure and avoid the breakdowns that have resulted in squandered leads and missed opportunities to climb the standings.
Julien believes it's a matter of sharpening their mental game.
"They need to have that confidence to continue to play the same way, which is: if you're playing with the puck, as long as you're attacking, they're not going to score. A lot of it is about confidence," shared the coach. "Yesterday, we showed our third period and where we were backing off and giving them the ice that they were looking for. Hopefully tonight, there's a change if it comes to that situation again."

The Hurricanes are currently two points out of a playoff spot, but hold three games in hand on the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second Wild Card position. Julien expects Carolina to come out swinging.
"They're an extremely aggressive team. They attack and they put a lot of pressure. They're one of the teams that put a lot of pressure on the penalty kill," described Julien of Carolina, which is tied for third in the NHL with 0.14 shorthanded goals-for per game. "If we manage things the right way, we can take advantage of our strengths to exploit their weaknesses."
Ouellet approaches a return
After getting clearance for contact at practice the day before, defenseman Xavier Ouellet is awaiting the final green light for game action from the team's medical staff.

Both he and Julien said that Ouellet would be seeing the doctors right after their media availability. It's likely the 26-year-old rearguard will face the Hurricanes on Saturday, and Ouellet says he feels ready to jump right in.
"I had a full practice yesterday. We worked on game situations at 5-on-5 in the defensive zone. I don't think there's anything that resembles a game situation more than that," explained Ouellet, who has one assist and a plus-2 differential in seven games with Montreal. "I reacted well and I feel good today."

The Canadiens-Hurricanes showdown is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Bell Centre. For tickets to the game,
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