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Hurricanes look to start off on right foot, face Canadiens

Oct 3, 2007 - 1:05 PM Montreal (0-0) at Carolina (0-0) 7:00 pm EDT

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) - The Carolina Hurricanes are looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2006-07 season.

Cam Ward will look to get the Hurricanes off to a good start when the club hosts the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday in the regular-season opener for both teams.

Last season, Carolina became just the third team in NHL history to miss the playoffs after winning the Stanley Cup in the previous season.

After becoming just the fourth rookie in NHL history to capture the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2006, Ward struggled in his sophomore season. Despite setting career-bests in wins (30), goals-against average (2.93) and save percentage (.897), he failed to lead the defending champions back to the playoffs.

Ward did have a productive offseason, guiding Team Canada to a gold medal at the 2007 World Championship. He went 5-0-0 with a 2.20 GAA and .915 save percentage in the tournament.

Despite their struggles last season, the Hurricanes still defeated the Canadiens in their last three meetings.

Montreal's squad will look much different in coach Guy Carbonneau's second season.

Sheldon Souray's departure is the most significant loss after the gritty defenseman used his blistering shot to score 26 goals last season. Along the way, Souray set the record for power-play tallies by a defenseman with 19, helping the Canadiens boast the league's best power play at 22.8 percent.

The Canadiens went out and picked up 14-year veteran Roman Hamrlik to replace Souray. The 33-year-old Hamrlik cannot be expected to match Souray's offensive production, but his experience and leadership will be a plus for Montreal. He scored seven goals and 38 points in 75 games with Calgary last season.

The Canadiens have missed the playoffs in five of the past seven seasons and failed to sign free agent Daniel Briere, who declined the team's contract offer in the offseason and opted to play for the Philadelphia Flyers instead.