The Montreal Canadiens pulled off a remarkable 6-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final.
The expectation was that the undefeated Hurricanes would take advantage of the Habs, who were coming off back-to-back seven-game series.
Well, the eye test proved everyone wrong. The Canadiens came out flying, opening up a 4-1 lead after 20 minutes. The opening frame left the Canes reeling and unable to recover.
With such a convincing win in the books, it seems like the Habs are on the road to a major upset. It’s interesting because the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs have not yielded a mind-shocking upset.
Beyond the Anaheim Ducks beating the Edmonton Oilers in the first round, there hasn’t been one series where the underdog has truly prevailed. Incidentally, anyone who watched that Ducks-Oilers series wouldn’t have been shocked to see Edmonton fall.
That aside, the Canadiens are hardly underdogs this postseason. They jockeyed for position with the Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning all the way down to the wire for the Atlantic Division lead.
The Canadiens entered the first round as the third seed in the Atlantic, and proceeded to send the Lightning packing. Then, the Habs knocked off the division winners, the Sabres, in the second round.
Even considering that the Canadiens are the youngest team among the playoff teams this season, they hardly look like greenhorns. This club resembles a battle-hardened team that’s itching to plant a flag.
Canadiens Got Contributions Across the Board
One of the questions surrounding the Canadiens heading into this series was how the top six would fare against Carolina.
Well, the answer to that question was pretty clear. Cole Caufield had a goal and an assist. Nick Suzuki notched three assists, while Juraj Slafkovsky had two goals and an assist. Ivan Demidov also found the back of the net, with depth players Alexandre Texier and Phillip Danault also adding tallies.
The Canadiens showed a full-team effort that left Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour speechless. During an interview on the bench during a stoppage of play, Brind’Amour pretty much admitted what everyone already knows.
Well, the Hurricanes will need to figure out what to do if they want to get past the Canadiens in Game 2.
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Momentum on Habs’ Side
Momentum is an incredibly powerful force in sports. It can shift on a dime. But it can also feel like trying to move a planet from one side to another.
In this series, it seems like the entire weight of the universe is pushing the Canadiens forward. The Hurricanes will have to come out with an impressive showing in Game 2 in order to swing the momentum back in their favor.
That’s no easy task. There are cases in which teams like Montreal have been through so much that going the distance in every series actually helps them build even more momentum instead of grinding them down.
Game 2 on Saturday night will be the most important matchup of the series. Another Montreal victory would represent a mortal wound for Carolina. A Hurricanes victory could make this series another back-and-forth affair for the Canadiens.
But as they’ve shown twice already this postseason, going the distance is no problem.
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