The Carolina Hurricanes had spent years treating the Eastern Conference Finals like a wall they could never quite climb. From 2009 through 2025, they went 1-16 in that round, taking sweeps in 2009, 2019, and 2023 before dropping a five-game series in 2025.
So when they got back there this season, the burden was obvious. This was a group carrying a lot of history into a matchup with the Montreal Canadiens.
It was also a series that came with plenty of reasons for doubt. The Hurricanes and Canadiens met in the conference finals for the first time, and for the third time since relocation.
Montreal had also owned the season series, winning all three games in regulation. Jakob Dobes had looked especially sharp in the two late-season meetings, and the Canadiens arrived with plenty of mileage after a third-place finish in the Atlantic and back-to-back seven-game series in the first two rounds.
That backdrop made Game 1 feel dangerous almost immediately. Carolina came out fast, with Seth Jarvis scoring 33 seconds in, but Cole Caufield answered 27 seconds later and Montreal never let go.
The Canadiens scored three more times in the opening period and built a 4-1 lead less than 12 minutes into the game. Eric Robinson briefly gave the Hurricanes life with a breakaway goal in the second, but Juraj Slafkovsky’s two third-period goals closed the door and handed Carolina its first loss of the playoffs.
From there, though, the series flipped. Carolina didn’t just recover; it started controlling everything.
Game 2 was the first sign. Robinson scored early again, this time redirecting a shot past Dobes’ pad, and Josh Anderson tied it midway through the period despite Montreal being badly outshot.
The Hurricanes kept pressing, and Nikolaj Ehlers delivered a slick second-period finish, dangling through traffic and slipping the puck between Dobes’ pads. Anderson responded again, sending the game to overtime, but Ehlers ended it there with the most important goal of the playoffs, tying the series at 1-1.
Game 3 followed the same script with a different cast. Shayne Gostisbehere opened the scoring, Mike Matheson answered, and Taylor Hall put Carolina back in front less than a minute later.
Lane Hutson tied it on the power play early in the second, but the Hurricanes kept hammering away at Dobes. This one also needed overtime, and again Carolina finished the job.
Andrei Svechnikov scored late in the extra period, firing through Sebastian Aho’s screen to give the Hurricanes another huge win and their second conference-finals victory in 20 years.
By Game 4, the pressure finally broke Montreal. Dobes was steady early, but Carolina got the breakthrough on the power play late in the first when Aho beat him with a one-timer from the near dot.
Jordan Staal added another goal from the top of the crease within three minutes, and Logan Stankoven cashed in on a Gostisbehere block that turned into a 2-on-1 with Jackson Blake. The Hurricanes carried a 3-0 lead out of the period and never let Montreal find anything clean after that.
Frederik Andersen stopped all 18 shots he faced for his third shutout of the postseason, and Svechnikov added an empty-net goal in a 4-0 win. Carolina was one victory from the Stanley Cup Final.
They didn’t waste the chance at home. Game 5 started with Hall scoring a goal Montreal challenged for goalie interference after Stankoven made contact with Dobes in the crease, but the challenge failed.
Stankoven scored next, Robinson added his third goal of the series on another breakaway, and the Canadiens were buried before the night really settled in. Blake later finished off a rebound from Hall, the power play joined in late in the second, and Gostisbehere scored with the kind of net-front presence that made the moment even stranger.
Caufield eventually beat Andersen on the power play, ending his shutout streak at 160:13 and stopping the longest shutout run in franchise history. Jarvis then added the final goal into the empty net in a 6-1 win.
In five games, Carolina allowed just 89 shots and nearly doubled Montreal’s total. It was the kind of series built on depth and balance: 12 players had at least three points, 16 of the 18 skaters recorded a point, and Ehlers led the way with five. The fourth line was also the Hurricanes’ best line throughout the matchup.
It may not have been the flashiest series, but for Carolina, that hardly mattered. After two decades of frustration in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Hurricanes finally got through.
In Other News...
Former Hurricanes Trade Piece Just Reopened A Familiar Debate
Scott Morrows next step came into focus with the Rangers announcing a one-year, two-way contract for the defenseman, a move that keeps his path to the NHL and AHL both open. Morrow split time this past season between New York and the Hartford Wolf Pack, and he showed the same calling card that made him interesting in the first place: a puck-moving game that can help drive play from the back end.
For Carolina, his new deal is a reminder of how the 2025 trade market can keep echoing long after the original move is made. Morrow was part of the package that went to New York in the deal that sent K'Andre Miller to the Hurricanes, and his continued development only adds another layer to the kind of conversation that follows any trade built around upside, roster fit and patience. [Read more 🡒]
Jordan Staals Future Is Becoming A Real Hurricanes Offseason Debate
Jordan Staal is heading into the final year of his contract, and the question of what comes next is shaping up to be one of the more interesting Hurricanes storylines of the offseason. The veteran forward remains an important part of Carolinas spine, and the teams general manager has already signaled that talks about his future will happen, which only adds to the significance of a decision that could affect both leadership and roster planning.
The timing matters because Carolina is not operating in a vacuum, either. Around the league, teams are making their own roster calls, from Anaheims restricted free agent Cutter Gauthier turning down a four-year, $13 million offer to Vancouver considering a reunion with defenseman Ben Hutton. For the Hurricanes, though, Staals situation stands out because it is tied directly to the identity of the team, and the offseason could reveal just how firmly the organization wants to keep that part of its core intact. [Read more 🡒]