The Bell Centre gets its home opener on Tuesday night, and the opponent could hardly be more loaded with baggage for the Canadiens: the Carolina Hurricanes, the team that sent Montreal packing in the Eastern Conference Final just over four months ago.
That’s the backdrop for a night that already carries the usual opening-night buzz. The crowd, the presentation, the video montage - all of it tends to crank the volume up in Montreal. If the Canadiens can turn the page on that playoff exit against Carolina, the building figures to get even louder.
Montreal enters at 1-0-1, but the early-season rhythm hasn’t been there yet. The top six was hardly a factor in Toronto, and in Pittsburgh on Saturday the Canadiens let a period slip away in the second frame. That kind of uneven start leaves Martin St-Louis with decisions to make.
One lineup note is already clear: Oliver Kapanen does not appear ready to return, based on this morning’s practice. The Canadiens also announced that Ivan Demidov will miss two to four weeks, which opens the door for Xhekaj to get in.
At morning skate, the lines were as follows:
Last season, Montreal handled Carolina well in the regular season, winning all three matchups. The Canadiens beat the Hurricanes 3-1 on the road in late March, followed that with a 5-2 home win on March 24, and then grabbed another road victory, 7-5, in early January. In those three games, Montreal outscored Rod Brind’Amour’s club 15-8.
This is also the 221st meeting between the two teams. The Canadiens hold a 115-76-20-9 record in the series.
In goal, Jakub Dobes got the first two starts of the season, and even though his Pittsburgh outing wasn’t his best, his playoff work should have him lined up to start the first home game. He’s 3-0-0 in the regular season against Carolina with a 2.67 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage.
Samuel Montembeault, meanwhile, is 2-6-1 against the Hurricanes with a 2.91 GAA and a .914 save percentage in 10 career games.
Carolina no longer has Frederik Anderson, and the crease now belongs to Pyotr Kochetkov and Brandon Bussi. Kochetkov played the last game, while Bussi handled the first two and is viewed as the team’s current top option.
Kochetkov has a 1-1-0 record against Montreal with a 1.50 GAA and a .936 save percentage. Bussi has dropped his only regular-season game against the Canadiens and owns a 6.17 GAA and a .727 save percentage.
Neither goalie faced Montreal in last spring’s playoff series.
Up front, Chris Kreider has been Montreal’s most productive player against Carolina, with 30 points - 17 goals and 13 assists - in 43 games. Phillip Danault sits second with 13 points in 25 games, and Nick Suzuki is third with 11 points in 18 games.
For the Hurricanes, Sebastian Aho leads the way against the Canadiens with 30 points in 25 games. Jordan Staal follows with 24 points in 57 games, while Taylor Hall and Nikolaj Ehlers are tied at 23 points, with Hall doing it in 30 games and Ehlers in 24.
The teams have split their last 10 meetings right down the middle, five wins apiece. Montreal has won the last four regular-season matchups, while Carolina has taken the last four playoff games.
Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM, though a delayed start is expected because of the Canadiens’ usual home-opener show. Eric Furlatt and Peter MacDougall will be the referees, with Jeremy Faucher and Caleb Apperson working the lines. The game will air in French on RDS and in English on TSN 2.
In Other News...
Canadiens Suddenly Have A New Lineup Concern Beyond Demidov
The Canadiens lineup picture has taken on a little more haze heading into a busy stretch against the Nashville Predators and Detroit Red Wings. Demidov is already out with an injury, and Oliver Kapanen has also been missing from several practices, leaving head coach Martin St-Louis with more uncertainty than he likely wanted at this point in the schedule.
Kapanens absence has added another layer of intrigue because the Canadiens have not offered much to explain it, and the timing matters with games coming up quickly. St-Louis now has to keep sorting out combinations and depth options while trying to cover for Demidovs absence, and the clubs next few days may say a lot about how flexible the roster really is. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens May Have Found The Answer To A Big Top-Line Debate
Juraj Slafkovskys place in the Montreal Canadiens lineup has been one of the more interesting debates around the clubs recent stretch, and it took a twist when he was shifted onto the top line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. The move came with Ivan Demidov sidelined, forcing the Canadiens to adjust their forward combinations and giving Slafkovsky a chance to show how he fits beside the teams two most established finishers.
The appeal is obvious: Slafkovskys size, puck protection and improving play can help drive a line that already has skill to burn, while the alternative is sending him back down to a second unit where he might carry more of the puck and the playmaking load. Montreal now has a decision to make about whether the experiment is a short-term fix or something worth keeping in place once the roster is back closer to full strength. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Suddenly Face A Goalie Decision They Didn't Expect
A routine practice took an unwelcome turn for the Canadiens when Sam Montembeault went down with a non-contact right leg injury, and the team is expected to update his status later. For a club that had not exactly planned on revisiting its crease chart this way, the timing matters, especially with the goaltending picture still being shaped by what Jakub Dobe does with his opportunities.
Jacob Fowler is the name that naturally enters the conversation if Montreal needs help from Laval, where the young netminder has already made a strong impression in limited looks at both the NHL and AHL levels. If Montembeault is sidelined, the Canadiens could be looking at more than a short-term patch, with a possible extended evaluation in the crease depending on how Dobe holds up in the meantime. [Read more 🡒]