GAME THREAD: NHL: CAROLINA (15-14) at MONTREAL (14-14)

MONTREAL (Ticker) -- Ray Whitney and the Carolina Hurricanesfeel right at home in Montreal.


Whitney scored twice as the Hurricanes cruised past the MontrealCanadiens, 5-1, on Saturday.


Erik Cole, Eric Staal and captain Rod Brind'Amour also talliedfor Carolina, which has won nine straight visits here. TheHurricanes also even their record to 2-2-0 on their currentfive-game road trip.


Andrei Kostitsyn scored for Montreal, which has lost fivestraight at home and four of its last five overall.

"It seems, for some reason, we play better away from home rightnow," Canadiens captain Saku Koivu said. "The focus on thelittle details of the game are better on the road. When we comehome, for whatever reason, we get out of the game plan. We'renot playing the simple, tight, defensive hockey here like we doon road trips."


Cole got the Hurricanes off to a fast start when he took a feedfrom Matt Cullen before firing the puck past the stick side ofrookie goaltender Carey Price at 3:51 of the first period. Itwas Cole's fifth goal of the season and first since November 24.

"Towards the end of the game, I was booing from the penalty boxfor the home fans, just trying to start something," Cole said."Then the crowd turned on (the Canadiens) a little bit. Thisarena is different than others. You've got to continue to putone in the net. In other places, you can slow the game down andlose the crowd early, but here, it takes a little longer."

The Canadiens nearly tied it seven minutes later, when after arapid-fire series of shots at Cam Ward were knocked away. Butthe third-year netminder could not handle a final attempt, asthe puck bounced to his left side and near the goal line beforeMontreal defenseman Mark Streit knocked it into the net.

However, after video review, the replay officials determinedthat Streit used his skate to push the puck over the line,wiping out the tally.


Still in the first session, the Hurricanes increased their leadduring a man advantage.


Justin Williams wristed a shot from inside the blue line thatStaal deflected past Price with 8:47 left. It was Staal's 15thof the season, one shy of team leader Cory Stillman.

Montreal halved its deficit when Kostitsyn was credited apower-play goal after the puck deflected off defenseman TimGleason and past Ward midway through the second period.

Just over two minutes later, however, Chad LaRose gathered apass from Williams, raced up the ice before stopping at the topof the left faceoff circle and fed Brind'Amour in the slot.Carolina's captain hesitated before rifling the puck past Priceto make it 3-1.


"When you get a goal scored on you, you want to get that nextone right away, and fortunately, we did," Brind'Amour said."That kind of got the game back to being our game, and we didn'thave to do too much after that."


Just before the end of the middle session, Whitney gave theHurricanes a 4-1 bulge when he one-timed a shot during a powerplay past the beleaguered young Price with 45 seconds remaining.

Whitney ended any hopes of a comeback for the Canadiens when hescored at 6:28 of the third.


"As a group, we wanted to shoot the puck a lot more," Whitneysaid. "In Tampa Bay the other night, we were kind of on theoutside looking for something better. But a lot of times, goalscome from somebody just getting the puck to the net. This gamegave us something that we needed, but we still have some workahead of us."


The tally capped Whitney's second two-goal game of the season.

"You have to give them credit, they're a good, fast team with alot of offense throughout the four lines," Koivu said. "I thinkthe concern is more about our own effort and the way we areplaying now. We have to find a solution to play like we do onthe road and the way we did here earlier in the season."

Whitney's performance provided plenty of support for Ward, whostopped 35 shots in improving to 7-0-0 lifetime - including theplayoffs - at the Bell Centre.


"There were not a lot of second chances," Hurricanes coach PeterLaviolette said of Ward's play. "He really had to stand out inthe third period when we were going to the box. I thought weplayed well in front of him, but it's a two-way street. Cam didhis job, was aggressive within himself, and overall, it was agood team effort."


Price made 26 saves for the Canadiens before being lifted at thebeginning of the final period for Jaroslav Halak, who made fivesaves.


"I removed (Price) because he was not playing good, the teamwasn't playing good," Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau said. "Ialso wanted to try and get some energy in the team with (Halak)going in. I knew there would be ups and downs with a20-year-old goalie, and right now, Price is down."

Carbonneau also could not understand why Montreal is playing sopoorly at home but will attempt to find some answers startingSunday.


"No day off, here tomorrow at 11 a.m.," Carbonneau said as hewalked out of the postgame news conference.