Canadiens at Hurricanes preview

CANADIENS (0-0-0) at HURRICANES (0-0-0)
7 p.m. ET; FS-CR, TSN2, RDS, NHL.TV

The forward signed a five-year, $42.27 million offer sheet by Montreal on July 1. It was matched by Carolina on July 7.
Four players acquired in the offseason will make their debuts with Carolina: forwards Ryan Dzingel and Erik Haula and defensemen Jake Gardiner and Joel Edmundson.
Forward Nick Suzuki, selected by the Vegas Golden Knights with the No. 13 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft and traded to Montreal on Sept. 10, 2018, is slated to make his NHL debut.
Montreal defenseman Cale Fleury, a third-round pick (No. 87) in the 2017 draft, is set to make his NHL debut against his brother Haydn Fleury, a defenseman for Carolina. It would mark the first time since April 3, 2017, that brothers faced off as opponents, with one making his League debut -- forward Alex Nylander debuted with the Buffalo Sabres against William Nylander, a forward for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Players to watch

Canadiens forward Max Domi had an NHL career-high 72 points (28 goals, 44 assists) last season.
Hurricanes center Jordan Staal will begin his tenure as captain, replacing
Justin Williams
, who has stepped away from the NHL this season. Staal served as Carolina's co-captain with Justin Faulk in 2017-18.

They said it

"The finish hasn't been at its best, but the chances are there, the entries are better, the loose puck recoveries are better. Right now, I would say if we can get some confidence and finish on those opportunities, our power play should be much better than it was last year." -- Canadiens coach Claude Julien
"We brought in quite a few new faces. In the preseason, a couple guys didn't even get to play here at the end. So there's a little uncertainty on how everybody's going to mesh, but there's only one way to find out." -- Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour

Canadiens projected lineup

Tomas Tatar -- Phillip Danault -- Brendan Gallagher
Artturi Lehkonen -- Max Domi -- Nick Suzuki
Jonathan Drouin -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- Joel Armia
Paul Byron -- Nate Thompson -- Jordan Weal
Victor Mete -- Shea Weber
Ben Chiarot -- Jeff Petry
Brett Kulak -- Cale Fleury
Carey Price
Keith Kinkaid
Scratched:Nick Cousins, Mike Reilly, Christian Folin
Injured: None

Hurricanes projected lineup

Brock McGinn -- Sebastian Aho -- Nino Niederreiter
Teuvo Teravainen -- Jordan Staal -- Andrei Svechnikov
Ryan Dzingel -- Eric Haula -- Jordan Martinook
Warren Foegele -- Lucas Wallmark -- Martin Necas
Jaccob Slavin -- Dougie Hamilton
Joel Edmundson -- Brett Pesce
Jake Gardiner -- Haydn Fleury
Petr Mrazek
James Reimer
Scratched:None
Injured:Trevor van Riemsdyk (shoulder)

Status report

Van Riemsdyk wore a yellow, non-contact jersey during the morning skate.

Stat pack

Montreal is 4-0-1 in its past five season openers. … Chiarot will make his Canadiens debut after five seasons with the Winnipeg Jets. … Aho began last season with a 12-game assist streak. … Svechnikov had three goals in three games against the Canadiens last season.