MTL@CAR: What you need to know

RALEIGH – The bleu-blanc-rouge look to wrap up their four-game road trip on a high note in North Carolina on Thursday.  

Here’s what you need to know heading into the game:  

1. Following a pair of shootout losses at the start of the voyage, the Canadiens’ efforts finally paid off in a 4-3 overtime win over the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday. Martin St-Louis' troops first erased a 2-0 deficit with goals from Brendan Gallagher and David Savard. With the Preds up 3-2 in the third period, Joshua Roy notched the equalizer to force overtime. It only took Nick Suzuki 17 seconds to give the Habs a W and snap Nashville’s eight-game win streak. Jake Allen turned aside 25 shots.

2. A well-rested Hurricanes contingent welcome the Canadiens at PNC Arena on Thursday. Rod Brind’Amour’s squadron have had more than enough time to recover from their most outing on Saturday when they dropped a 5-3 decision to the Winnipeg Jets. The Club ranks second in the Metropolitan Division with 78 points (36-19-6). Keep an eye on Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis and Martin Necas who lead the team in points with 64, 48, and 43, respectively.  

3. If one word could describe this trip so far, it’s “milestone”. Kaiden Guhle and Jesse Ylönen played in their 100th-career NHL game against the Florida Panthers on Feb. 29, and then Juraj Slafkovsky achieved the same against the Tampa Bay Lightning two days later. On Tuesday, Suzuki’s OT winner against Nashville was his 100th in the League. With an assist on that goal, Cole Caufield reached the 50-point plateau for the first time in his NHL career. 

4. The Canadiens held a practice at the Hurricanes’ arena on Wednesday. Slafkovsky and Alex Newhook did not participate, taking therapy days instead. St-Louis confirmed that Samuel Montembeault will get the start. Any other changes to the lineup may be known during his pregame press conference streamed live on the team’s accounts on YouTube, Facebook and X. 

5. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET. Catch the game on TSN2 and RDS, or listen in on TSN 690 or 98,5 fm.