Offence the primary concern for Habs
The Canadiens are home to the Carolina Hurricanes Thursday (7:30 p.m., Sportsnet East, RDS, TSN-690 Radio). Here are five things you should know:
1. Hurricanes pose a threat: Carolina has points in nine of its last 10 games and is 6-1-3 after beating Florida 4-3 Tuesday. The Hurricanes have a slim hope of grabbing a wild-card berth and they have a history of playing well against Montreal. The teams split their previous games this season with Carolina winning 3-2 at home Nov. 18 and Montreal winning 2-1 Nov. 24 at the Bell Centre.
2. Top guns silenced: After several weeks of wondering about the lack of secondary scoring, folks are now asking where the primary scoring has gone. In their last 10 games, the top line of Max Pacioretty, Alex Galchenyuk and Alex Radulov has produced only three goals. If Wednesday’s practice was any indication, Phillip Danault will be back on the top line in Galchenyuk’s place.
3. Chucky back on the wing: Galchenyuk was not only bounced off the top line, but he also found himself moving back to left wing. He’ll be on a line centred by Andrew Shaw with Artturi Lehkonen on the right side. Shaw has played centre before in Chicago and is a capable faceoff man, but he said the challenge for him will be playing defence in the Canadiens’ zone.
4. Price not 100 per cent: Carey Price practised Wednesday, but he wasn’t in the dressing room after the 40-minute session and coach Claude Julien hedged on his choice of a starting goalie. Without going into any details, the coach said Price wasn’t 100 per cent. The expectation is Price will be ready to go, but Julien said he would wait until Thursday before making a decision.
5. Skinner thrives on left: Carolina’s Jeff Skinner was drafted as a centre and like Galchenyuk there was a clamour from fans to see him in the middle. With two guys named Staal at centre, the Hurricanes moved him to the wing and he has found a comfortable home on the left side. He is Carolina’s top scorer with 28 goals and 51 points.