The Montreal Canadiens and the Carolina Hurricanes will kick off the Eastern Conference Final tonight at 8:00. Here's what you need to know ahead of the game.
It’s finally game day for the Carolina Hurricanes and the Montreal Canadiens. The two teams couldn’t have had a more different road to the Eastern Conference Final. The Hurricanes swept both the Ottawa Senators and the Philadelphia Flyers; they didn’t even trail once against the Senators. Meanwhile, the Canadiens needed seven games to dismiss both the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Buffalo Sabres.
The Habs would do well to start strong tonight to take advantage of the fact that their opponents might be somewhat rusty after such an extended break. Carolina might need a bit of time to regain their synchronism. Meanwhile, the Canadiens are coming off an emotive Game 7 win and might still be riding that high.
Montreal couldn’t start strong in their series against the Sabres; they looked like they were still at the speed of the battle with the Bolts. This time around, though, they’re not going from a team that has a slower pace to a high-speed one. Buffalo played a fast game, and so does Carolina. What might help the Canadiens, however, is the fact that the Hurricanes' defense corps is not as offensive as the Sabres’ was.
The battle in net will be interesting. Frederik Anderson has had a great start to the playoffs; he’s 8-0 with a 1.12 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage. In 24 career games against Montreal, he has a 15-7-2 record with a 2.41 GAA and a .918 SV, but he has lost his last two games against the Canadiens this season, one by a score of 5-2 and the other by a score of 3-1.
Meanwhile, Jakub Dobes has been the Canadiens’ MVP so far in these playoffs. He’s 8-6 with a 2.52 GAA and a .910 SV. He was the goaltender who played all three regular-season games against Carolina this year and surrendered eight goals in those duels. The Czech netminder should see a lot of rubber in this series. Rod Brind’Amour’s team shoots often and from everywhere, but that’s not something that will worry the young netminder; he likes seeing a lot of action.
Up front, the Canadiens will need to be mindful of the Canes’ second line formed by Taylor Hall, Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake. The trio has racked up 31 points in eight games so far. Their first line has been quieter; Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis have combined for just 11 points in eight games. Unlike the Canadiens’ top line, however, their differential isn’t that bad; they have a combined plus-two.
In the regular season, Aho had six points against Montreal, Svechnikov five and Nikolaj Ehlers four. The former Winnipeg Jets forward is currently skating on the Canes’ third line with Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook, which proves how much depth Carolina has up front.
As for the Habs, they are led by Lane Hutson, who has 14 points and Nick Suzuki, who has 13. Three players follow with nine points: Alex Newhook, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky. Most of the first line’s points have come on the power play, and at the risk of sounding like a broken record, Martin St-Louis will need more from his top guns at even-strength if the Canadiens are to go to the Stanley Cup Final. At the very least, if they don’t produce, they’ll need to tighten up defensively since they have a combined minus-20 rating.
During the regular season, Suzuki, Slafkovsky, Caufield and Ivan Demidov all put up five points in three games against Carolina. Both Caufield and Suzuki had three goals each, a contribution that would go a long way in this series.
Unsurprisingly, the Hurricanes will have a morning skate at 10:30 today, while the Canadiens will not take to the ice. St-Louis will therefore keep us guessing about his lineup. There’s no doubt that Dobes will be in the net, but will Oliver Kapanen still be dressed? Will Arber Xhekaj play in this series? Less physicality is expected in this series, and perhaps Jayden Struble would be better suited to this match-up.
The game is set for 8:00 PM, and you can catch it on HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, and CBC. Jean Hebert and Garrett Rank will be officiating, while Scott Cherrey and Jesse Marquis will be the linemen. Historically, the team that wins the first game of a best-of-seven series has won the series 68.2% of the time. When the home team wins the first game, they take the series 74.7% of the time, but as we’ve seen against Buffalo, there are exceptions to the rule.
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