The Montreal Canadiens kick off their Eastern Conference Final series against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday. The Habs will certainly be looking to start the series off on the right foot by giving the Hurricanes their first loss of the post-season. The Canadiens will be entering this series just three days after they knocked out the Buffalo Sabres in the second round. The Hurricanes, on the other hand, have not played since May 9 after sweeping the Philadelphia Flyers. With this, the Habs will be looking to take advantage of a Hurricanes club that could have some rust to shake off. ESPN recently made their predictions for the Eastern Conference Final and the Western Conference Final. When it came to the Eastern Conference Final, it is clear that ESPN is betting against the Canadiens big time against the Hurricanes. Only two of 23 ESPN staff members picked the Canadiens to defeat the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final in their recent Conference Final Playoff Picks column [https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/48819378/nhl-playoffs-2026-stanley-cup-bracket-picks-matchups-series]. The only two ESPN staff members who participated in the column who picked the Canadiens were Tim Kavanagh (six games) and Vince Masi (seven games). When noting that the Hurricanes finished at the top of the Eastern Conference standings this season and are undefeated in the playoffs so far, it is understandable that they being viewed as favorites right now. Yet, the Canadiens have also knocked out two very good teams in the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres this post-season. With this, they certainly have the potential to prove their doubters wrong against the Hurricanes. Let's see if they can beat the Canes from here and advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
