Montreal Canadiens (18-38-11, eighth in the Atlantic) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (44-15-8, first in the Metropolitan)
Raleigh, North Carolina; Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The Metropolitan-leading Carolina Hurricanes host the Montreal Canadiens.
The Hurricanes are 23-11-6 in Eastern Conference games. Carolina has scored 224 goals and ranks third in the Eastern Conference averaging 3.3 goals per game. Sebastian Aho leads the team with 30.
The Canadiens are 7-10-3 against opponents from the Atlantic. Montreal averages 10.1 penalty minutes per game, the fifth-most in the league. Michael Pezzetta leads the team serving 68 total minutes.
In their last matchup on Dec. 30, Carolina won 4-0. Jaccob Slavin recorded a team-high 3 points for the Hurricanes.
TOP PERFORMERS: Tony DeAngelo leads the Hurricanes with a plus-24 in 49 games this season. Seth Jarvis has five goals and three assists over the last 10 games for Carolina.
Mathieu Perreault leads the Canadiens with a plus-four in 20 games this season. Cole Caufield has six goals and four assists over the last 10 games for Montreal.
LAST 10 GAMES: Hurricanes: 4-3-3, averaging 3.2 goals, 5.8 assists, 4.2 penalties and 10.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.2 goals per game with a .916 save percentage.
Canadiens: 3-3-4, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.7 assists, 3.9 penalties and 7.8 penalty minutes while allowing 3.3 goals per game with a .909 save percentage.
INJURIES: Hurricanes: Jordan Martinook: out (undisclosed), Jesperi Kotkaniemi: day to day (lower body), Ethan Bear: day to day (lower-body).
Canadiens: Tyler Pitlick: day to day (upper body), Brendan Gallagher: out (lower body), Jeff Petry: out (lower body), Michael Pezzetta: day to day (upper-body).
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