Montreal Canadiens Appear to be Making Change on the Blue Line Ahead of Game 1

For the fourth time in the last 16 years the Montreal Canadiens have reached the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and will meet a team they have not faced in the postseason in two decades - the Carolina Hurricanes. 

The last time Carolina and Montreal met in the playoffs was 2006 when the Hurricanes defeated the Canadiens in six games in the first round enroute to eventually winning their first and only Stanley Cup in franchise history. This time, the Canadiens are undoubtedly hoping for a better outcome as they face a Hurricanes group that hasn't played a game since May 9th - nearly two weeks ago.

While the Hurricanes might be rusty out of the gate tonight, it's going to be a tough test for Montreal as Carolina has cruised into the Eastern Conference Final with ease, going 8-0 in the first two rounds against the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers. Meanwhile for the Hurricanes, Montreal's speed could cause them some problems and for Rod Brind'Amour's group, they're going to be challenged a lot more in this series than they were against the Senators and Flyers.

Looking back on Game 7 against the Buffalo Sabres, the Canadiens have a lot they need to clean up, especially in their own zone. One issue the Canadines had in both Games 6 and 7 was after they took the lead, they sat back with zero urgency, essentially parking the bus, to borrow a term from soccer (football), allowing the Sabres to get sustained pressure for 30-45 seconds and giving up the lead in both games. In Game 6, they were unable to overcome the Sabres, with seven unanswered goals scored by Buffalo, but in Game 7, Alex Newhook played the role of hero, once again, sending Montreal to the Eastern Conference Final.

Against Carolina, the Canadiens cannot afford to do that as the Hurricanes have too many offensive weapons to make them pay, should they sit back after taking the lead. Much like the first round against Tampa Bay, Montreal is up against another solid netminder in Frederik Andersen, who has been outstanding in the Stanley Cup Playoffs thus far registering a 1.12 GAA, .950 save percentage and two shutouts in eight games. Montreal needs to capitalize on their chances when they get them, especially on the power play, because if Andersen is able to sustain this level of play, they might not need see a lead too often.

Martin St. Louis appears to make lineup change ahead of Game 1

In Game 7 on Monday night in Buffalo, the Canadiens played the majority of the game with just five defenseman as Arber Xhekaj took just five shifts in the contest, equaling 1:52 of ice time. After hitting season-low in ice time last game, it appears that Arber Xhekaj will be in the stands for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final.

According to TVA Sports' Felix Seguin, Arber Xhekaj was on the ice this morning with the extras - Patrik Laine, Brendan Gallagher and Joe Veleno, indicating that he will be a healthy scratch tonight against the Hurricanes. With Xhekaj on the outside looking in, it appears that Jayden Struble will draw back into the lineup for his first game action since Game 7 against the Tampa Bay Lightning back on May 3rd.

Meanwhile, it looks like Oliver Kapanen will play in tonight's game after being inserted into the lineup by Martin St. Louis for Game 7 in Buffalo. The 22-year-old rookie has gone pointless in five Stanley Cup Playoff games thus far after registering 37 points in 82 games during the regular season.

We'll have to wait and see if there are any surprises in warm up tonight and what the lines & defensive pairings end up looking like, but I wouldn't expect much change, aside from Jayden Struble's return.

Puck drop for tonight's game in Raleigh, North Carolina is set for 8 pm ET on CBC and Sportsnet in Canada, along with TNT in the United States.