2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Eastern Conference Final
Game 5: Montreal Canadiens (A3) @ Carolina Hurricanes (M1)
CAR leads 3-1
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+
The Montreal Canadiens looked frustrated with the Carolina Hurricanes’ pressure at the end of the Game 4, but the were also facing the biggest deficit they’ve had in the series so far. It’s one thing to push through and make up one goal, but the four they fell behind were too many to overcome. They have to find the balance that was lacking in Game 4 between wanting to push for their own offence early while not leaving open chances at the other end for Carolina to pounce on.
It sounds like the Canadiens will be making at least one lineup change, getting Arber Xhekaj back in. Hopefully he can use his frame to halt some of the long Carolina cycles in their tracks and help his team get the puck more easily. Those long presences have quickly drained the team’s energy in the past couple of games, so that’s the primary focus for this game so they can spend some time with the puck on their sticks.
It’s the first time in the playoffs that the Canadiens face elimination without their opponent being in the same boat, with the only other instances coming in Game 7s. They should be the most desperate of the two teams on the ice, but the Hurricanes haven’t missed a chance to eliminate an opponent yet this spring, going 2-0 in the opening rounds with that chance in front of them, ending both series in sweeps. This is the first time they’ll try to close out a series on home ice, and maybe that added pressure in front of their own fans will lead to something similar to what we saw in Game 1, a distraction to get them off the suffocating game that no team has been able to solve yet in these playoffs.
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 | #90 Joe Veleno | #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, Oliver Kapanen, Patrik Laine, Samuel Montembeault, David Reinbacher, Jayden Struble, 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
