It is only game 14, but lineup card looks like one of the those midseason stretches where you are trying to get by with a lineup that looks a lot different than the 20 you talked about in preseason.

The Canes will play their 2nd game minus Joni Pitkanen and Tim Gleason on the back end and minus Jeff Skinner up front (plus Tuomo Ruutu who has been out so far and will continue to be). Montreal is most recently minus Brendan Gallagher (concussion) and Cary Price (flu) I believe.

You get no adjustments in the final standings for injury excuses, so you just have to forge forward. The Canes are a bit lucky that the injury bug bit them with decent timing having played last Thu, playing today and not having another game until Thu again. So they buy themselves a full week to heal people with only 2 games, and they already managed a win in the first one.

Keys to the game from a Canes standpoint:

1) Enough defense. Last Thu Canes coach Kirk Muller used youngsters Michal Jordan and Bobby Sanguinetti together just like they spent most of the fall in Charlotte. It worked well at home. Some combination safe/solid play, limited minutes (about 12 each) and some ability to pick spots/hide them at home helped. This will be trickier on the road where Montreal will be able to better dictate matchups. I will be curious to see if Muller leaves the pair together entirely or does some mixing and matching as the game goes on to buy minutes without risking unfavorable matchups.

2) Same offense. I said prior to the season that this was very much a Canes team built to win 5-4. We have seen a few of those games, and it could take one of those again. The top line of Tlusty/EStaal/Semin is as good as any in the NHL right now. They played well but were quieter on the score sheet in the Leafs win last Thu. With a couple days off they should be fresh and need to be a factor the entire night. Same goes for Joe Corvo who has been incredibly good since returning to the lineup bringing a ton of offense with very limited offset in terms of defensive play or turnovers.

3) Cam Ward. He always plays well in Montreal. Here is hoping that he will be there to hold the fort and keep his team in the game if the makeshift blueline hits a couple rough patches.

Any kind of points on the road are good points, especially in a shortened season. Style points count for nothing. Hopefully the Canes can go find a way just as have been doing regularly of late.

For a quick heads up when I post a blog follow me on Twitter at CarolinaMatt63.

Go Canes!

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