{"id":734,"date":"2026-05-22T08:04:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T08:04:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=734"},"modified":"2026-05-22T08:04:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T08:04:33","slug":"hurricanes-fall-flat-against-canadiens-inside-the-canes-ecf-game-1-debacle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=734","title":{"rendered":"Hurricanes fall flat against Canadiens. Inside the Canes\u2019 ECF Game 1 debacle"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Carolina Hurricanes looked like a team that had been sitting around for 11 days and not playing hockey.<\/p>\n

Read more ‘Dutton Ranch’ EP Breaks Silence on Showrunner’s Firing After Cast Issues<\/a><\/p>\n

The Montreal Canadiens looked like a team coming off a Game 7 victory \u2014 sharp, confident and ready for more in the Stanley Cup playoffs.<\/p>\n

For the Canes, that was a bad combination Thursday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final. The Canadiens scored four times in the first period, got another winning effort in net from rookie goalie Jakub Dobes, and skated their way to a 6-2 victory before a stunned Lenovo Center crowd.<\/p>\n

The Canes will look to square the best-of-seven series Saturday in Game 2, aware that a much better start and more attention to detail will be needed.<\/p>\n

The Hurricanes had won eight straight games to open the Stanley Cup playoffs, one shy of the NHL record set by the 1985 Edmonton Oilers led by Wayne Gretzky. The inimitable Hall of Famer was in the house Thursday as part of TNT\u2019s telecast crew, but by the end of the first period it appeared the Oilers\u2019 record would remain safe.<\/p>\n

The Canes scored first and had the building rumbling as winger Seth Jarvis unloaded on a shot between the circles. Just 33 seconds in, it was 1-0.<\/p>\n

In another 27 seconds, it was 1-1. The Canadiens scored four unanswered goals in the first, constantly beating the Canes\u2019 attempts at forechecking pressure with good, quick puck movement, easily slipping body checks and getting in transition.<\/p>\n

And scoring, Canes goalie Frederik Andersen faced unchecked shooters because of slow reactions and defensive breakdowns by the Canes, who pride themselves on taking away time and space and allowed the Habs too much of both.<\/p>\n

The Canadiens were lethal off the rush in the first game against a team trying to find its legs after the longest layoff between playoff series since 1919.<\/p>\n

Cole Caulfield, a 51-goal scorer in the regular season, was unchecked in getting the first Montreal goal with a shot from the low slot, and Phillip Danault and Alexandre Texier followed with scores.<\/p>\n

Eight minutes into the first period, the Habs had more goals than the Canes had given up in any of the eight wins. And the Montreal onslaught wasn\u2019t over. Winger Ivan Demidov scored on a breakaway for a 4-1 lead, faking a backhander and going forehand to beat Andersen.<\/p>\n

It was the first time in franchise history the Canes had been burned for four first-period goals in a playoff game \u2014 not the kind of postseason history they wanted to set.<\/p>\n

Habs captain Nick Suzuki mentioned Wednesday that they would look to use the Canes\u2019 aggression against them, much as they did in sweeping the three-game regular-season series with Carolina. Canadiens forwards constantly looked to slip their zone if the Canes\u2019 defensemen pinched too low.<\/p>\n

The Canes, left a little dazed after the first period, were the better team in the second. Eric Robinson scored early in the period, the winger\u2019s first goal of the playoffs. The building came to life again as Carolina outshot the Habs 11-3 and applied more pressure on Dobes, whose biggest stop of the night came on a Jarvis breakaway.<\/p>\n

The Habs converted a breakaway in the third as Juraj Slafkovsky scored his fifth of the playoffs, and Slafkovsky added an empty-netter in the waning minutes for the final score.<\/p>\n

The debate persisted as the Hurricanes waited, and waited, for the Eastern Conference Final to begin: rest vs rust.<\/p>\n

Read more NC lawmakers are taking a week off. Why now, and what it means for the budget<\/a><\/p>\n

The Canes entered Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday after an 11-day break between Game 4 of the Philadelphia Flyers series on May 9 and the ECF opener.<\/p>\n

The Canes spent that time<\/a> resting and practicing, putting in extended family time, swapping new-baby stories, playing some golf, giving interviews \u2026 you name it. But has it been too much for a team that won its first eight playoff games in a pair of four-game sweeps?<\/p>\n

Canes coach Rod Brind\u2019Amour said that despite mixing in some intense practices, there was no way to fully simulate a playoff game and the pace of the game. Rest is good, he said, especially mentally. But, he said, there could be some early rust as the Canes try to get back up to speed.<\/p>\n

There was.<\/p>\n

The Canadiens, after winning a pair of seven-game series, practiced Wednesday in Montreal before the team flight but did not hold a morning skate Thursday at Lenovo Center. The Canes did go through a morning skate, with a full complement of players.<\/p>\n

Canadiens defenseman Noah Dobson has a good feel for \u201cplayoff Hurricanes hockey.\u201d He played for the New York Islanders when the Canes beat them in playoff series in the first round in 2023 and 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m familiar with how they play,\u201d Dobson said Thursday before the game. \u201cIt\u2019s high pressure. They\u2019re in your face. You\u2019ve got to be ready and expect their pressure and play through it.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir forecheck is a huge part of their game. We\u2019re going to need to be good on breakouts, support each other, use our legs and try to make plays and try to break their pressure. If we can do that we\u2019ll be playing with the puck more and play in the O-zone. Definitely a key part of the series.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dobson was traded to Montreal by the Isles after last season and signed an eight-year, $76 million extension.<\/p>\n

The Canes believe their power play has to be more productive to keep moving forward in the playoffs. Carolina has five power-play goals on 37 opportunities \u2014 13.5%.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, it\u2019s not the results we wanted,\u201d defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere said Thursday. \u201cBut we have two really good (power play) units in the sense of if one\u2019s not going, the other can get the chance and go.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Canes have scored two power-play goals in a game once in the playoff run \u2014 Game 3 against the Flyers. They were 3 for 18 in the Flyers series.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us it\u2019s about being more direct,\u201d Gostisbehere said. \u201cBeing more direct and the puck going to the net, and we had traffic there. When power plays aren\u2019t going too well \u2026 it\u2019s definitely tougher in the playoffs where you\u2019re playing the same team night in and night out. You need to simplify and go back to the well and back to the basics.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Hurricanes this season started a postgame tradition of handing off \u201cThe Rope\u201d after each win, going to the player who figured prominently in winning.<\/p>\n

Winger Jackson Blake, whose overtime goal in Game 4 ended the Flyers series, was given \u201cThe Rope\u201d by Canes captain Jordan Staal. It has hung in his locker stall at Lenovo Center since May 9.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always cool to receive it but even cooler to give it off to someone, to see the smile on their face,\u201d Blake said Thursday.<\/p>\n

Read more UNC Health sought \u2018partnership\u2019 with WakeMed after Atrium merger announced<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 3:43 PM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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