Recap: 'Shorthanded' Canes Held Off By Habs

MONTREAL - With seven regulars out of the lineup, a youth-heavy Carolina Hurricanes club came up just short against the desperate Montreal Canadiens in a 4-2 loss at Bell Centre on Wednesday.

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Needing one point to clinch the NHL's final playoff spot, the Habs came out firing and broke the ice at 3:50 through Kaiden Guhle's first of two tallies on the night. But six minutes later, the Canes punched back as Taylor Hall banked in a shot from the right circle, sending the teams to intermission knotted at one apiece.

An antsy Quebecois crowd provided the soundtrack for a tense second stanza in which the teams traded power plays and chances to no avail for much of the frame. Inside the final four minutes, however, the Canadiens gave their hometown faithful back-to-back bolts of energy with two goals separated by just 2:26 to take a 3-1 lead into the third.

Despite the deficit, Carolina continued to push and halved the Habs' lead when Tyson Jost poked home a loose puck in the crease with 5:50 remaining in regulation. Unfortunately, that was as close as the Canes could come, and a Montreal empty-netter sealed the Canadiens' victory in the final moments.

Pyotr Kochetkov took the loss in net, allowing three goals on 20 shots. He has now dropped four of his last six starts.

Stats & Standouts

• Welcome to The National, Skyler Brind'Amour and Domenick Fensore! The duo became the fifth and sixth skaters to make their NHL debuts in a Canes sweater this season, joining Jackson Blake, Juha Jaaska, Justin Robidas and Ryan Suzuki.
• Brind'Amour, 25, logged 15:28 and recorded one block and one hit. The Raleigh native is the sixth North Carolina-born player to appear in an NHL game, and the eighth player in league history to have his father as his head coach.
• Fensore, 23, led all Carolina defensemen with five shots on net while skating 17:13. In his second year in Chicago, the 2019 third-rounder ranks second among the team's defensemen with 32 points, trailing only Scott Morrow.
• Bradly Nadeau made his season debut after being named to the AHL's 2024-25 All-Rookie Team earlier in the day, ripping a team-leading six shots on net and posting his first NHL point with an assist on Tyson Jost's third-period goal.
• Riley Stillman also returned to the Canes' lineup for his fourth showing of the season, posting four hits to lead the Canes' blueliners.
• William Carrier recorded 10 hits for his second performance this season with a double-digit total in that category. He is one of just two NHLers with two 10-hit games this season, and leads the Hurricanes with 153 on the year despite missing 39 games.

They Said It...

Rod Brind'Amour following the contest...

"We were shorthanded, for sure, but the compete level was pretty high. I think that's what allowed us to hang in there and make it an even game. It could have went either way. Their skill got us at the end of the day with a couple of good plays, but we were just competing hard. We killed a couple of penalties that kept us in the game."

Rod Brind'Amour when asked what he thought of the four call-ups in the contest (Brind'Amour, Fensore, Nadeau, and Stillman)...

"They equipped themselves well. It's a tough environment to walk into, but I thought all of them did a nice job."

Bradly Nadeau after earning his first NHL point...

"I got fortunate that it went behind Montembault, and Josty just came to clean up the rebound... When that happens, there are a lot of emotions that go through it. Obviously, your team scored, so you're back in the game there, and you get your first NHL point. It's a lot of emotion, but hopefully it's one of many."

Skyler Brind'Amour after making his NHL debut...

"It's been a lot of emotions. [I'm] kind of all over the place. It was a lot of fun. Obviously, it's the best league in the world. It's tough to jump in and get your feet wet with that kind of environment tonight with playoffs on the line for them, but it was really cool to be able to do that. I'm just so grateful for everybody that's helped me get to this point."

What's Next?

• The Canes will fly to Ottawa post-game before concluding their regular season on Thursday against the Senators.
• Next Game: Thursday, April 17 at Ottawa | 7:00 p.m.
• Next Home Game: Date TBA | Round 1, Game 1 vs. New Jersey | Time TBD | Tickets | Parking