Montreal Canadiens (7-21-4, seventh in the Atlantic) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (21-7-1, first in the Metropolitan)
Raleigh, North Carolina; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Carolina hosts Montreal looking to extend its three-game home winning streak.
The Hurricanes are 9-4-0 in Eastern Conference games. Carolina has scored 95 goals and ranks eighth in the league averaging 3.3 per game. Sebastian Aho leads the team with 15.
The Canadiens are 2-5-2 against opponents from the Atlantic. Montreal averages 9.3 penalty minutes per game, the seventh-most in the Eastern Conference. Michael Pezzetta leads the team serving 28 total minutes.
In their last meeting on Oct. 21, Carolina won 4-1. Aho totaled two goals for the Hurricanes.
TOP PERFORMERS: Aho leads the Hurricanes with 15 goals and has 32 points. Nino Niederreiter has five goals and five assists over the last 10 games for Carolina.
Nicholas Suzuki leads the Canadiens with 12 total assists and has 18 points. Jonathan Drouin has three goals over the last 10 games for Montreal.
LAST 10 GAMES: Hurricanes: 6-4-0, averaging 3.1 goals, 5.3 assists, 3.5 penalties and 9.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.1 goals per game with a .915 save percentage.
Canadiens: 2-6-2, averaging 2.2 goals, 3.7 assists, 3.6 penalties and 8.3 penalty minutes while allowing 3.3 goals per game with a .910 save percentage.
INJURIES: Hurricanes: Frederik Andersen: out (covid-19), Seth Jarvis: day to day (health protocols), Martin Necas: day to day (upper body), Brett Pesce: out (covid-19 protocols), Sebastian Aho: day to day (health protocols).
Canadiens: Mike Hoffman: out (health protocols), Artturi Lehkonen: out (health and safety protocols), Christian Dvorak: out (lower-body).
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