Hurricanes vs. Canadiens Game 1: Key takeaways from Montreal's resounding win

AtlanticBruinsCanadiensLightningMaple LeafsPanthersRed WingsSabresSenatorsMetropolitanBlue JacketsCapitalsDevilsFlyersHurricanesIslandersPenguinsRangersCentralAvalancheBlackhawksBluesJetsMammothPredatorsStarsWildPacificCanucksDucksFlamesGolden KnightsKingsKrakenOilersSharksScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsFantasyNHL OddsNHL PicksLatest NHL mock draftUFA big boardPlayoff bracketRed Light NewsletterHurricanes vs. Canadiens Game 1: Key takeaways from Montreal’s resounding winMontreal Canadiens center Phillip Danault celebrates his first-period goal against the Carolina Hurricanes. James Guillory / Imagn Images Share articleRALEIGH, N.C. — For a third series in a row, the Montreal Canadiens started on the road. For a third series in a row, the Canadiens stole home-ice advantage. The overwhelming narrative of the Canadiens Eastern Conference final series against the Carolina Hurricanes was whether the near-unprecedented 12 days since the completion of their sweep against the Philadelphia Flyers would hurt the Hurricanes in Game 1. And judging by the first period, it certainly did. Though the Hurricanes jumped out to a 1-0 lead 33 seconds in on Seth Jarvis’ second goal of the playoffs, the Canadiens stormed back, excuse the pun. Cole Caufield scored 27 seconds later to tie it, Phillip Danault scored on a breakaway at 4:04, Alexandre Texier scored off a Danault feed at 8:11, and Ivan Demidov scored on yet another breakaway at 11:32. And honestly, it could have been much worse for the Hurricanes, who were sloppy with the puck and leaking chances, looking every bit like a team that had not played in close to two weeks. Just like that, the underdog Canadiens were leading 4-1, the Lenovo Center was deathly quiet, and just about everything that could have gone wrong for the Hurricanes did in an eventual 6-2 Canadiens win. The Canadiens played Game 7 of their second-round series against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday, and in that game they took a 2-0 lead and sat on it, getting dominated for much of the second period and allowing the Sabres to tie the game in the third before winning on an Alex Newhook goal in overtime. This game played out in much the same way, except the Hurricanes never got close enough to tie it and while they had a lot of possession in a second period where they outshot the Canadiens 11-3, those shots lacked the quality needed to beat Jakub Dobeš. The most encouraging development for the Canadiens was that both the Caufield goal that tied it early and a pair of Juraj Slafkovský goals that put the game out of reach in the third earned five-on-five points for all three members of their top line, which had struggled to produce at even strength through two rounds. It is only one game, and the Hurricanes are unlikely to start any other game in this series the way they started Game 1. But the Canadiens have already accomplished what they came to Raleigh to do. At the end of the first period, Carolina had posted a 14-13 edge in shots — a fact that couldn’t have been less indicative of what actually happened in those 20 minutes’ worth of play. Montreal held a 4-1 lead that felt like an instance of the Hurricanes getting off easy; Kirby Dach, Jake Evans and Juraj Slafkovský were among the Canadiens who, in one way or another, couldn’t quite cash in on golden opportunities. It was, by any measure, the worst hockey Carolina had played up to that point of the postseason. The 10 all-situation high-danger chances Montreal hung on them were the most managed in a single period by any opponent; Ottawa had eight in the first period of Game 1, which Carolina won 2-0, and the Flyers had two separate full games with fewer, including Game 4, which went to overtime. Eight of Montreal’s high-danger chances, meanwhile, came at five-on-five — more than they had in six of their 14 first- and second-round games. — Gentille The loss of Noah Dobson with an injury to his left hand in the second-to-last game of the season forced the Canadiens to adjust on the blue line. Mike Matheson had played primarily with Dobson on the Canadiens’ top pair all season, but in Dobson’s absence he inherited his partner for much of last season, Alexandre Carrier. It worked well enough in the first round against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but it was a definite downgrade. When Dobson returned in Game 7 against the Lightning and all through the second round against the Buffalo Sabres, Martin St. Louis kept Matheson with Carrier and played Dobson mainly with Lane Hutson, allowing Hutson to play on his natural left side. But St. Louis went back to what worked in the regular season for Game 1 against the Hurricanes, moving Dobson back with Matheson, inserting Jayden Struble into the lineup to play with Hutson, and moving Carrier back to the third pair with Kaiden Guhle. While this setup moved Hutson back to his weak side, it optimized the ability of the Canadiens’ defense to handle the aggressive Hurricanes forecheck, while also allowing Nick Suzuki’s top line to play in front of the Matheson-Dobson pairing as they had for much of the season. — Basu Frederik Andersen brings some reputational baggage into this series, with a personal career record of 4-10 in the conference finals prior to Thursday. While it was hard to fault the Hurricanes 36-year-old netminder for the absolute barrage he faced in the first period — including several clearcut breakaways — he also looked like yet another Carolina player affected by the long layoff, as he was out of position and deep in his crease multiple times. Starting just nine games in a month and a half will do that. Canadiens rookie Dobeš, meanwhile, was a big part of holding off the Canes shot barrage when it started to come in the second period, limiting them to just the one laser-beam goal from fourth liner Eric Robinson in the middle frame. A few chances from long range leaked through, but Dobeš was able to either battle to get a glove on them in the crease or get enough of those pucks to send them wide. Carolina generated one full expected goal of chances between Robinson’s goal and the 40-minute mark, but Dobeš kept them off the scoresheet entirely to maintain a critical two-goal lead until Slafkovský put the game out of reach in the third. — Mirtle Carolina’s smooth sailing in going 8-0 through the first two rounds came with 14 of its 24 goals (58 percent) generated by one line — the Logan Stankoven, Jackson Blake, Taylor Hall trio — so offensive diversification may increasingly become a storyline here. While Jarvis tallied just 33 seconds in to break his drought, Andrei Svechnikov remains stuck on one goal for the postseason and $8.5 million free agent addition Nikolaj Ehlers has only two (and four points) while playing on what’s effectively a checking line. Montreal also did a very nice job limiting the Stankoven unit that ran over the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers so well in sheltered minutes in Carolina’s first two series. They finished the game minus-2.  — Mirtle Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms