While tonight’s game against the sport’s most storied franchise will not be broadcast locally because it is a Versus exclusive national broadcast night in the United States, the game is available coast-to-coast across Canada in English on TSN and TSN HD and in French on RDS and RDS HD.

Mike Sundheim

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I haven’t had many chances to blog lately, so here are a few random observations and notes as we prepare for the Habs:

• I have seen a lot of mentions of the Hurricanes’ power-play and special teams in general as major problems for the team during the past few weeks. Actually, the power-play is clicking at a very respectable 21.6 percent over the last eight games. And the penalty kill has eliminated 85.3 percent of opponents’ chances during the same period of time.

• I think it is getting harder and harder to imagine Rod Brind’Amour not ending up in the Hockey Hall of Fame. With his goal on Sunday, the Hurricanes captain passed Joe Nieuwendyk and Mike Bossy to move into 50th place on the league’s all-time scoring list. Add in winning a couple Selke Trophies and captaining a team to the Stanley Cup, and I really think Rod is moving closer and closer to sure-fire Hall of Famer status.

• Cam Ward will start in net tonight looking to continue his success against the Canadiens. Ward exploded onto the scene during the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs by winning four consecutive games after replacing a sick Martin Gerber. Including that series, he is 10-2-2 against Montreal in his career.

• Justin Williams skated again today, and faced his share of media afterwards as the Montreal press corps was waiting for him in the locker room when he came off. It’s pretty hard to fathom what Justin has gone through physically and mentally over the past 12 months. But at the end of the day, there is no doubt that he is one tough cookie. He may still be some time away from hitting the ice in a game, but there is no denying the amount of heart he has shown in busting his tail to rehabilitate his body after serious injuries – twice.

• A few of the fathers are starting to trickle back into town, as the Hurricanes annual Father’s Weekend is upon us. The dads will enjoy Sunday’s home game against Nashville before departing with the team for South Florida, where the Hurricanes will take on the Panthers in Monday night. One dad has been around all month. Floyd Whitney has actually been in press box for every Hurricanes game in November, as he serves as a professional scout for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Media Alert: Cam Ward joined WRAL’s Jason Jennings for a fun piece called “Ask Anything: 10 Questions” last week.