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Pregame: Canadiens vs Hurricanes |
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Tonight’s visitors at the Bell Center have got a 7-2-1 record in their last 10 games on top of having won the last eight games against the Canadiens and nine of the last 10 duels with Montreal. While we do not know who will man the net for the Habs tonight, we know Kaiden Guhle won’t be playing. The 22-year-old blueliner will have a night off tonight thanks to the Players’ Safety Department after being assessed a one-game suspension for slashing Travis Konecny from the bench in the Canadiens’ win over the Flyers on Thursday. It’s a shame Guhle decided to do that as he’s been red hot of late and had a three-game point streak, scoring five points over the last three games.
Montreal’s two goaltenders have yet to taste victory against the Hurricanes, Sam Montembeault has featured in six games against the Carolina outfit and has a 0-4-1 record to show for it with a 3.72 GAA and a .901 SP. As for Cayden Primeau, he faced the Hurricanes once and lost the decision with a 4.01 GAA and a .867 SP. At the other end of the spectrum, Frederik Anderson has taken on the Canadiens 20 times throughout his career posting a 14-4-2 record with a 2.27 GAA and a .928 save percentage. The veteran netminder was however in net for Carolina’s 4-0 victory over the Red Wings and Rod Brind’Amour has been alternating between Anderson and Pyotr Kochetkov of late. If he keeps it up, Kochetkov should face the Canadiens for the first time.
Meanwhile, Juraj Slafkovsky will try to keep his point streak going, he currently has points in the last nine games, getting two goals and eight assists in that span. The young Slovak is celebrating his birthday today and is therefore not a teenager anymore, which means that he won’t be able to improve the record he set himself for the most points in a season by a teenager with the Canadiens which stands at 41. As for captain Nick Suzuki, he’s got five points in his last three games and has a streak of his own to keep going. Even the Canadiens could keep their streak going if they manage to win and make it four games in a row tonight.
The Canadiens won’t be taking part in the playoffs this year, meaning they are in the last stretch of this season, but a lot of their prospects are involved in postseason action. Most importantly, Lane Hutson is trying to qualify for the Frozen Four finals this weekend with Boston University. If his team is through, he won’t be available to sign his entry-level contract until April 13th. While Hutson could technically choose to return next year to play another NCAA season, Kent Hughes has made it clear he expects him to sign at the end of this season. Should he sign on April 13th, he could be available for the Canadiens’ last two games of the year against the Detroit Red Wings.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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