MONTREAL – The Carolina Hurricanes will stick to the same recipe that’s earned them 11 postseason wins on Friday, as they try to close out the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5.
Sebastian Aho, Jordan Staal and Logan Stankoven each found twine for the first time this series as three of the Canes’ four lines lit the lamp in a Game 4 romp in Montreal, and it’ll once again take the full cast of skaters to pick up “the hardest win to get” as they aim to claim the Eastern Conference crown.
The fourth goal in that game came off the stick of Andrei Svechnikov, who has now found twine in back-to-back contests. Tallying in tonight’s tilt would give him goals in three straight, matching the longest playoff goal streak of his career.
On the blue line, the Canes’ defense corps will look to continue being an engine in all three zones. K’Andre Miller has earned widespread praise in recent games, showing off his offensive chops with a pair of assists while impeding progress the other way.
Frederik Andersen is expected to chase his 12th win of the postseason this evening, which would mark his most in one playoff run in his career. After establishing franchise records in both shutouts during a single playoff run (3) and career shutouts by a Hurricanes goaltender (5) on Wednesday, Andersen leads all playoff goaltenders with a 1.44 GAA.
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Tonight’s Projected Lineup…
Forwards
Svechnikov – Aho – Jarvis
Hall – Stankoven – Blake
Ehlers – Staal – Martinook
Carrier – Jankowski – Robinson
Defense
Slavin – Chatfield
Miller – Walker
Gostisbehere – Nikishin
Starting Goaltender
Andersen
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Injuries
N/A
Scratches
Nicolas Deslauriers
Pyotr Kochetkov
Jesperi Kotkaniemi
Mike Reilly
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PP1: Aho, Ehlers (Staal), Jarvis, and Svechnikov with Gostisbehere
PP2: Blake, Hall, Jankowski, and Stankoven with Miller
Jordan Staal has been taking the faceoffs to start most power plays. If he wins it, he’ll stay on the ice. When the puck comes out of the zone, he jumps off, and Nikolaj Ehlers jumps on with the first unit. If he wins it for the second unit, Mark Jankowski jumps on when Staal goes off.
