"Party Poopers": 2025-26 Postseason Round 3, Game 4: Carolina Hurricanes at Montreal Canadiens

Some might think that the Hurricanes are lucky to be up 2-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals. Whether it be poor officiating or other outside influences, the Canes are in a good spot, but they still have so much more to give in this series. Their defense has limited Montreal to just 25 shots combined over the last two games. However, the fact that both games have gone to overtime shows that Montreal is getting goals at the right moments to stick around while Jakub Dobes stands on his head. The Canes must find a way to pull away from Montreal in regulation, much like they did in Game 1, to hand the Canes their first loss of the postseason. Otherwise, the Canes face the prospect of returning to Raleigh in a tied series, and anything can happen in a best-of-three set.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

CAR (14:59-PP)- Sebastian Aho (4) (Nikolaj Ehlers (3) & Shayne Gostisbehere (3))

CAR (16:07)- Jordan Staal (2) (K'Andre Miller (8) & Nikolaj Ehlers (4))

CAR (17:46)- Logan Stankoven (8) (Jackson Blake (9) & Shayne Gostisbehere (4))

2nd Period

None

3rd Period

CAR (18:06-EN)- Andrei Svechnikov (3) (Jalen Chatfield (4))

My Thoughts

I'm what you might call a "chronic worrier" when it comes to just about everything. When I see the Carolina Hurricanes come out of the gates throwing everything at the net without a shred of success against Jakub Dobes, I start to get concerned. When their power play doesn't do anything, I get concerned. When they take not one but two offensive zone penalties in quick succession, I'm losing my mind. The Canes toed the line between reckless and stupid a few times in the opening 13 minutes. Fortunately, their penalty kill has been so good that Montreal couldn't derive even a shred of momentum from it. From there, the Canes settled in, and my nerves went from "near-breakdown" to "on the edge of my seat". 

I think what I really needed to see was a puck in the back of the net behind Dobes. Sebastian Aho was more than willing to ablige, blasting a one-timer past Dobes on the power play to push the Canes ahead with 5:01 left in the period. Little did we know that it was the start of an excellent final five minutes for the Hurricanes. The next one came 68 seconds later. K'Andre Miller made a very similar play, which led to Taylor Hall's goal in Game 3. He carried the puck down low, threw it on his backhand to the front of the net, and Jordan Staal was there to put it home as he won a battle with Josh Anderson. To cap the late-period trifecta, Shayne Gostisbehere put his body on the line in the defensive zone to block a shot, allowing Jackson Blake and Logan Stankoven to exit the defensive zone on a 2-on-1. Blake fed Stankoven, and the lead ballooned to 3-0 in just 2:47. It's all the Hurricanes needed. Gostisbehere had two assists, as did Nikolaj Ehlers. Andrei Svechnikov added the empty-net goal after Ehlers threw it off the post seconds before. 

Montreal posted its most shots since Game 1, throwing 18 shots at Frederik Andersen. Tonight, the Dane was perfect, stopping all 18 of them. He got to sit back and watch most of the third period from his crease, facing his first shot in the final frame with 2:53 left as the Canes outshot the Habs 19-3 in the third. He's gotten used to that during this series. Montreal didn't get a shot on net until halfway through the first period. The Canadiens' best push came during the second period. Late in the frame, Andersen robbed Josh Anderson's rebound chance at the side of the net, and he followed it up by holding one from Cole Caufield in the slot. He's the new postseason shutout king in franchise history, picking up his third this season and his fifth with the Canes. None of this happens without the defense in front of him putting everything on the line and strangling the Habs in the neutral zone for most of the night.

I'm not content with where things stand right now, and I won't be content until the fourth win is picked up in the series. There is still plenty for the Canes to improve on. The biggest is the power play, which sucked the life out of the team in the second period. That 5-on-3 was genuinely awful. They showed no urgency whatsoever, wasting almost two full minutes up two men. Maybe they were just trying to melt some clock with fear of Montreal retaliation. Still, tonight might've been their best game of the postseason at even strength. They dominated the Habs up and down the ice. As they say, the fourth win is the hardest one to get. Fortunately, they'll be at home to try and finish the job.

First Star of the Game: Shayne Gostisbehere

There is no shortage of players to consider for this, but Shayne Gostisbehere was very noticeable all night long. He hasn't had the best postseason overall, though he's picking up points in bunches now. He scored on Monday night and added two assists tonight. His big block leading to the third goal was one of the differences in the game. It was one of three blocks he had in the game.

Around the League

Colorado-Vegas: The Golden Knights shocked many in the hockey community by completing their sweep of the Avalanche in four games with a 2-1 win on Tuesday night. (VGK 4-0)

Next Up: The Canes can finish the job in Raleigh on Friday night in Game 5. If they do so, the league has announced that Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final will be on June 2 at the Lenovo Center. If Montreal can keep the series going, they'd make the trip to Montreal on Sunday for Game 6, delaying the start of the Cup Final to June 4.