What to know about Thursday’s game at the Bell Centre (7:30 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio),

1 The matchup

The Hurricanes are one team standing between the Canadiens and a playoff berth, but both teams are probably looking at an early end to the season. Montreal had a muchneeded win over Colorado Tuesday, but they are only 4-4-2 in their last 10 games and remain nine points out of a playoff spot with 46 points. Carolina, which lost 3-1 to Pittsburgh Tuesday, has a fourpoint edge on Montreal and has a 3-6-1 record in its last 10 games.

2 Drouin line leads way

Jonathan Drouin says Tuesday’s 4-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche wasn’t his best game as a Canadien, but it was certainly one of his most productive as he scored a goal and added two assists. More importantly, he wasn’t on the ice for either of the Colorado goals and he won eight of his 11 faceoffs. Drouin’s linemates, Alex Galchenyuk and Nicolas Deslauriers, each scored. Drouin appears more comfortable in the middle and the addition of Deslauriers added toughness to the line. He leads the NHL with 4.3 hits a game.

3 Max provides example

Captain Max Pacioretty was held off the scoresheet Tuesday but made an impact by doing a variety of good things. He took seven shots, four of which were on net. He contributed to a penalty-killing unit that stymied the Avalanche on four occasions. Pacioretty is often regarded as a perimeter player who rarely gets involved in the physical game, but he used his size to good advantage as he delivered five hits. Pacioretty was also credited with two takeaways and finished with a plus-2 rating.

4 Who’s in goal?

It’s a pretty good bet Carey Price will start for the Canadiens before he heads to Tampa for the NHL All-Star Game. Price has taken only two nights off since Nov. 25. The situation isn’t as clear with the Hurricanes. Scott Darling was supposed to step into the No. 1 role, but veteran Cam Ward has been getting more work of late. Ward has only one win in his last five starts (1-4) but he has a winning record against Montreal.

5 Injury update

The Hurricanes are without Sebastian Aho, their leading scorer with 16 goals and 37 points. The 20-year-old Finn was hit by Calgary defenceman Mark Giordano on Jan. 14, suffering a concussion. There was also knee-to-knee contact that caused an injury. Defenceman Shea Weber (foot) and forwards Andrew Shaw (lower body) and Phillip Danault (concussion) are out of the Canadiens’ lineup. The team is hoping some of them will return after the all-star break, but none are skating.