"Fly, and He Knows It": 2025-26 Postseason Round 3, Game 2: Carolina Hurricanes vs. Montreal Canadiens

If you've been a fan of this team long enough, you know that what happened during Game 1 has happened more lately than we'd like to remember. Then again, everyone knows that the real sign of things to come will be shown during Game 2. The Canes have never lost in the conference finals when they win the second game of the series to even it up. To do that tonight, the Canes need to remember what got them to this point. They looked lost for most of the night in the neutral zone, leading to glorious chances for the Canadiens in the offensive zone. They must be better. Otherwise, those familiar feelings will start to come to the surface.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

CAR (2:33)- Eric Robinson (2) (William Carrier (2) & Mark Jankowski (2))

MTL (11:11)- Josh Anderson (4) (Phillip Danault (7) & Kaiden Guhle (8))

2nd Period

CAR (17:03)- Nikolaj Ehlers (3) (Jaccob Slavin (2) & Jalen Chatfield (2))

3rd Period

MTL (12:51)- Josh Anderson (5) (Alexandre Carrier (6) & Phillip Danault (8))

Overtime

CAR (3:29)- Nikolaj Ehlers (4) (Mark Jankowski (3) & Jalen Chatfield (2))

My Thoughts

Now, this was the response I wanted to see from the Carolina Hurricanes. Sure, it took longer than I would've liked. I'd much rather have finished this game in regulation and left nothing to chance in overtime, but I don't care how they get it done, so long as the series reads "1-1" instead of "2-0." They more than doubled the Canadiens in shots (26-12). They had almost three times as many hits (46-16). Believe it or not, they blocked more shots, too (20-19). The only areas they didn't outperform Montreal were face-offs and power plays, though neither team scored while a man up, so that's a win for Carolina's penalty kill. They won this game, and that's all that I care about.

Both teams scored goals on their first shot. The Canes got theirs less than three minutes in on another goal from the fourth line. William Carrier didn't get much on his shot, but Eric Robinson got enough of it to tip it around Jakub Dobes' stick. It paced another very good night for Carolina's fourth line, with all combining on this goal, and Mark Jankowski added the primary assist in overtime. Montreal didn't come until over 11 minutes into the period when Taylor Hall turned the puck over, and the Canadiens made some pretty passes before Josh Andersen used Alexander Nikishin's skate to ramp it past Frederik Andersen. The Canes probably should've gotten more out of the first period, so a tie score was a bit disappointing. That was the story in the second period in Game 1, but at least they weren't in a 4-1 hole when that happened. 

I was concerned that Anderson's second goal to tie the game would be deflating and lead to something awful happening late in regulation or overtime. I'm glad to know that my worrying was for naught, all thanks to Nikolaj Ehlers. His goal in the second period was a thing of beauty, making two Canadiens miss, but nothing tonight was more important than seeing that put hit the back of the net in overtime. In one game, Ehlers doubled his goal total for the postseason, and his second tonight was about as big a goal as we've seen this postseason. I'd put that up there with Jordan Martinook's 2OT goal in Game 2 against Ottawa. The potential ripple effect that this goal could have is immense. Most importantly, it kept the Canes from falling into that dreaded 2-0 ECF hole that we've experienced the last four times. I'm sure glad he's on our team.

Tonight, all in all, was a wild game for a multitude of reasons. We had several very interesting moments, from sticks getting caught in goalies' blades to a blocked shot getting stuck inside a skate. However, there were some antics throughout the game that I wasn't a fan of. Dobes was in the middle of it for a good chunk of the night. He appeared to push the net off its pegs in the first period to interrupt an extended shift in his defensive zone without being called for a penalty. He tugged at Andrei Svechnikov's skates without being called for a penalty. Then, he was finally caught when he interfered with Jankowski. We also had some blatant missed calls. The most egregious of all was a spear to K'Andre Miller's nuts by Alexandre Texier at the end of the second period. It was as clear as could be, yet his major penalty was reduced to a minor penalty for slashing, which made absolutely no sense. Things simmered down in the third period, but it was a genuinely wild ride to the finish.

First Star of the Game: Nikolaj Ehlers

The Legend of Nikolaj Ehlers continues to grow during his first season with the Carolina Hurricanes, and tonight might've been one of the highest points. He was one of three players with multiple points tonight, scoring two of the team's three goals. It was a masterful performance on his part, and the overtime winner certainly helped matters.

Around the League

Colorado-Vegas: For most of the night, it looked like Colorado was going to even the series, but a pair of quick goals in the third period allowed the Golden Knights to stun the Avalanche, taking a 2-0 series lead with a 3-1 win. (VGK 2-0)

Next Up: The next two games will be at the Bell Centre on Monday and Wednesday nights. With the series tied at one, we already know we're getting Game 5 in Raleigh on Friday night. We'll know more about a potential sixth game once they're done in Montreal. If they split the two games, we'll go back to Montreal next weekend. If one team wins both games, next Friday night could be the end.