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Here are five things you should know about the Canadiens-Carolina Hurricanes game at the Bell Centre Thursday (7:30 p.m.,TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio):
The matchup: This is the second of three games between these teams and the Hurricanes were 2-1 winners at the Bell Centre on Nov. 27. That was the night when defenceman Shea Weber returned to the lineup after nearly a year off and he showed no signs of rust. Unfortunately for the Canadiens, Carolina goaltender Curtis McElhinney was even better, stopping 48 shots to ensure the victory. Montreal is coming off a 7-1 loss in Minnesota Tuesday, while the Hurricanes lost 4-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Raleigh.
Carolina Hurricanes at Canadiens: Five things you should knowBack to video
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Gut check: After Tuesday’s loss, feisty winger Brendan Gallagher said Thursday’s game can go either way. He said the Canadiens can crash or they can show some character with a comeback performance. The Minnesota game exposed the Canadiens’ lack of size up front and the Wild did a good job of not allowing the Habs to use their speed. While Montreal outshot Minnesota for most of the game, the Canadiens only had a couple of Grade A scoring chances and no odd-man rushes.
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Special-team woes: The much-maligned Montreal penalty-kill was outstanding Sunday in Chicago, limiting the Blackhawks to one goal on eight opportunities. But it was back to normal vs. the Wild, which had four power plays and scored on all of them. The dreadful performance dropped the Montreal PK to 26th in the NHL with a success rate of 76 per cent. The power play is even worse, ranking 30th and converting at a 13.5-per-cent clip.
Shaw on a streak: Andrew Shaw picked up an assist on the Canadiens’ goal by Jeff Petry and he extended his consecutive-games scoring streak to five. He has one goal and four assists in that span. Shaw has 18 points in 27 games after scoring 20 points in 51 games last season. Petry is also putting up points. He has five goals and 22 points, and he’s ahead of last season when he had a career-high 42 points. On defence, he’s minus-3 but that’s much better than last season when he finished at minus-30.
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The other guys: Look for McElhinney to make a return appearance for the Hurricanes, who are five points behind Montreal in the wild-card race with two games in hand. McElhinney, who missed a week with a lower-body injury, has a 7-3-1 record with a 2.36 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage. Sebastian Aho, a 21-year-old Finn, leads the Hurricanes in scoring with 28 points, including eight goals. Michael Ferland is the Hurricanes’ top goal-scorer with 11. Russian Andrei Svechnikov, who was the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, has six goals and 13 points.
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