South Raleigh News

The Carolina Hurricanes faced a challenging night in Montreal as they were defeated 4-0 by the Canadiens. Goaltender Sam Montembeault played a crucial role for Montreal, stopping all 20 shots from Carolina at Bell Centre.

The Hurricanes found themselves behind early, with two deflections giving the Canadiens an initial lead. Despite limiting Montreal to just two shots in the second period, Carolina conceded another goal on a power play. In the third period, despite hitting the post multiple times during their own power plays, the Hurricanes were unable to score and allowed another goal on a man advantage.

Frederik Andersen returned to action for Carolina, stopping 14 of 18 shots. The game marked his third consecutive defeat without receiving any scoring support from his team.

Carolina's head coach Rod Brind'Amour commented on the team's struggles: "It's been a bit of the same story... A couple of weird bounces there off the start and you're behind the eight ball." He acknowledged that special teams need improvement but praised their penalty kill efforts.

Team captain Jordan Staal echoed these sentiments, emphasizing defensive shortcomings: "We're starting off games down a couple and chasing is never a recipe for success."

Brind'Amour also noted changes in team dynamics: "(We gave up) under 20 shots again tonight... To me, if you look at the identity of our team, it's definitely changed in the last couple of weeks."

Staal highlighted difficulties playing away from home: "We've got to find a way to be better on the road... We've got to find ways to slow them down and keep the puck out of our net."

The Hurricanes will have Wednesday off before returning for Whalers Night against Buffalo at Lenovo Center on Thursday.