Montreal @ Carolina preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 13, 2018 ) Carolina 4, Montreal 6

Both teams hope to solidify their wild-card position in the Eastern Conference and remain on hot streaks when the Montreal Canadiens visit the Carolina Hurricanes for a critical contest on Sunday. The Canadiens have won three straight games to move three points clear of ninth-place Columbus in the East and remain two behind Carolina, which was victorious for the fifth time in seven contests Saturday with a 5-1 triumph against Minnesota.

Montreal received two goals and an assist from Brendan Gallagher in Saturday’s 7-4 win over visiting Buffalo and has scored 14 times during its winning streak after recording a total of eight tallies during the 1-4-0 slump that preceded it. The Canadiens snapped a five-game losing streak against the Hurricanes with a 6-4 home victory on Dec. 13 as defenseman Jeff Petry scored twice and will need another big effort versus Carolina, which is 21-12-4 at home and just five points out of first place in the Metropolitan Division while sitting fourth. “Our fans are really getting into it and helping us. That was nice to hear,” Hurricanes left wing Teuvo Teravainen told reporters after Saturday’s win. “Every game is huge for us right now. Hopefully, we can keep building here.” The Hurricanes, who have not made the playoffs since 2009, are 10-3-1 in their last 14 overall contests and possess a healthy lineup for the stretch drive.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet, RDS (Montreal), FS Carolinas

ABOUT THE CANADIENS (40-28-7): Gallagher leads the team with a career-high 33 goals and became the fourth Montreal player to reach 50 points Saturday after the Canadiens finished with just two in 2017-18. Max Domi chipped in Saturday with a goal and two assists to increase his team-leading total to a career-best 67 points while Tomas Tatar added three points to move within two of his career high of 56 set in 2014-15 with Detroit. Petry notched an assist in the win over Buffalo to end his 10-game point drought and Jordan Weal, who was acquired from Arizona just before the trade deadline last month, has scored one goal and set up two others in his last two contests.

ABOUT THE HURRICANES (41-26-7): Teravainen reached 70 points for the first time in his career after registering a goal and two assists in Saturday’s win and has collected nine points in his last seven games. Rookie Andrei Svechnikov, who turns 19 on Tuesday, needs one goal to reach 20 after netting four tallies and setting up two others in his last six games while posting a plus-8 rating during that stretch. Veteran Jordan Staal, who missed significant time in January and February with a concussion, has recorded three goals and two assists over his last four contests.

OVERTIME

1. Carolina C Sebastian Aho leads the team with 80 points but has notched only three - all assists - in his last six games.

2. Montreal G Carey Price (32 wins), who could play back-to-back games, is 15-10-2 with a .926 save percentage lifetime versus Carolina.

3. Hurricanes D Brett Pesce recorded a goal and a plus-5 rating in Saturday’s win to push is team-best total to plus-33

PREDICTION: Hurricanes 4, Canadiens 3