20220331-mtl-car-game-preview-en

RALEIGH - The Canadiens will be looking for a first win on their current four-game road trip - and a first win against the Hurricanes this season - on Thursday at PNC Arena.

SHOP: Montreal Canadiens Grey Distressed Logo T-Shirt
The game in Carolina is the third stop of a trip which saw the Habs fall 3-2 to the New Jersey Devils in a shootout on Sunday, and 7-4 to the Florida Panthers in regulation on Tuesday. Montreal showed resolve in both games, battling back from multi-goal deficits before ultimately falling short.
Most recently in Sunrise, three goals over the span of 1:42 late in the second period allowed the Habs to rally from a 4-1 scoreline and tie things 4-4 heading into the third. But the Panthers replied with a pair of unanswered goals plus an empty netter in the final frame to hand Montreal just a third regulation loss in its last ten games (3-3-4).

Condensed Game: Canadiens @ Panthers

Chris Wideman, Joel Edmundson, Laurent Dauphin, and Christian Dvorak were the Canadiens goalscorers in Florida. Wideman and Dauphin each registered multi-point nights, while Justin Barron earned his first NHL point with an assist on Edmundson's tally. Wideman and Dvorak meanwhile are both on four-game point streaks. Jake Allen made 39 saves in his 30th start of the season.
Jake Evans for his part left the game in the third period with an upper-body injury but will be back in the lineup on Thursday.
Tyler Pitlick will make his return from injury in Carolina, replacing Mathieu Perreault. Pitlick had missed two games since suffering an upper-body injury against the Maple Leafs on Saturday.
Allen will get the start in goal.
At the other end of the ice, the Hurricanes are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss in Tampa on Tuesday.
Nino Niederreiter, Seth Jarvis, and Sebastian Aho all found the back of the net for the Canes, but three power play goals by the Lightning, including the OT winner, gave Tampa the edge.
Aho's goal was notably his 30th of the season and extended his point streak to five games; Teuvo Teravainen is likewise on a five-game point streak, while Ian Cole has points in his last three.
Former Hab Jesperi Kotkaniemi was not in uniform against the Lightning after suffering an undisclosed injury on Monday. The Canes count one other former Hab on the roster in recently acquired forward Max Domi.
The Hurricanes are currently first in the Metropolitan Division with a 44-15-8 record, including just nine losses on home ice, but are 4-3-3 in their last 10.
Thursday's game is the final meeting this season between the Canes and Habs. Carolina took the first two contests 4-1 and 4-0 on Oct. 21 and Dec. 30, respectively.
Broadcast information
Game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at PNC Arena.
Watch all the action TSN2 and RDS, or listen on the radio on TSN 690 and 98,5 fm.
SkipTheDishes