The Montreal Canadiens came into Friday night's game against the Carolina Hurricanes with a 1-1-1 record in their last three contests and losses in their last two. They were without the services of Alexander Radulov (who did not travel with the team because of the flu) or Carey Price who is slated to start Saturday's tilt versus the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Michel Therrien added recent call-up Charles Hudon to the lineup in place of Sven Andrighetto on the fourth line alongside Torrey Mitchell and Daniel Carr.
Coming into this game, Al Montoya was 1-2-1 in his career versus Carolina.