2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Eastern Conference Final
Game 1: Montreal Canadiens (A3) @ Carolina Hurricanes (M1)
Start time: **8:00 PM EDT / 5:00 PM PDT**
In Canada: CBC, Sportsnet (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the United States: TNT, truTV
Streaming: HBO Max, Sportsnet+
After an entertaining series with the Buffalo Sabres that saw a total of 50 goals scored, the Montreal Canadiens will now prepare for a best-of-seven that is slated to look more their opening-round set versus the Tampa Bay Lightning. Montreal enjoyed three games versus Buffalo scoring at least five goals; Carolina has allowed five goals total in each of the two rounds it’s played.
The Ottawa Senators only had two players score their five goals, while no member of the Philadelphia Flyers registered more than two goals during their two-round run. Montreal had five players with multiple goals during the series with the Lightning, and that number has since grown to 11. The Habs are a deep team that can get offence from any line, and that will be a new challenge for the Hurricanes.
The biggest test for Montreal will be managing to survive the Hurricanes’ offensive pressure. The Canadiens played a lot of the opening series in their own zone, even if they did a fairly strong job of protecting the slot, then had issues dealing with a more creative Sabres team when it pushed for offence. Carolina is an unrelenting forechecking team, and there will be no such thing as surviving a shift and getting a break versus a weaker group. Every five-man unit that hits the ice plays the same way, so the Canadiens will need to be assertive in putting a stop to the cycles within their own zone and make their transition plays quickly before getting swarmed.
Carolina has been thinking of nothing else but this Eastern Conference Final for the past year after claiming just one win versus the eventual Stanley Cup-winning Florida Panthers a year ago following an 8-2 run through the first two rounds to get there. With Florida no longer in their way, they will see their chance to make it further than they have been able to in the current era. Montreal needs to match that same level and start the series well to show that Carolina won’t breeze though to the final just because it’s a young team on the opposite side of the ice.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #13 Cole Caufield | #14 Nick Suzuki | #20 Juraj Slafkovský |
| #15 Alex Newhook | #71 Jake Evans | #93 Ivan Demidov |
| #76 Zachary Bolduc | #91 Oliver Kapanen | #77 Kirby Dach |
| #85 Alexandre Texier | #24 Phillip Danault | #17 Josh Anderson |
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #8 Mike Matheson | #53 Noah Dobson |
| #47 Jayden Struble | #48 Lane Hutson |
| #21 Kaiden Guhle | #45 Alexandre Carrier |
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| #75 Jakub Dobeš | #32 Jacob Fowler |
Scratched: Owen Beck, Adam Engström, Brendan Gallagher, Patrik Laine, Samuel Montembeault, David Reinbacher, Joe Veleno, Arber Xhekaj, Florian Xhekaj
Carolina Hurricanes projected lineup
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #37 Andrei Svechnikov | #20 Sebastian Aho | #24 Seth Jarvis |
| #71 Taylor Hall | #22 Logan Stankoven | #53 Jackson Blake |
| #27 Nikolaj Ehlers | #11 Jordan Staal | #48 Jordan Martinook |
| #28 William Carrier | #77 Mark Jankowski | #50 Eric Robinson |
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #74 Jaccob Slavin | #5 Jalen Chatfield |
| #19 K’Andre Miller | #26 Sean Walker |
| #4 Shayne Gostisbehere | #21 Alexander Nikishin |
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| #31 Frederik Andersen | #32 Brandon Bussi |
Scratched: Charlie Cerrato, Nicolas Deslauriers, Pyotr Kochetkov, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Charles Alexis Legault, Mikey Reilly
