{"id":1205,"date":"2026-05-23T13:34:52","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T13:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=1205"},"modified":"2026-05-23T13:34:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T13:34:52","slug":"can-the-canes-bounce-back-against-battle-tested-montreal-canadiens-in-game-2-of-eastern-conference-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=1205","title":{"rendered":"Can the Canes bounce back against \u2018battle-tested\u2019 Montreal Canadiens in Game 2 of Eastern Conference Final?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) \u2014 The Montreal Canadiens have shown neither fear nor hesitation when playing on the road in the NHL playoffs.<\/p>

Read more Man dies in Johnston County car crash along I-40, NCSHP says<\/a><\/p>\n

That approach carried a young, skilled team through a pair of Game 7 road wins to reach the Eastern Conference Final.<\/p>\n

Then it had them get the jump on a Carolina Hurricanes team coming off a long layoff after sweeping through the first two postseason rounds to open the third round.<\/p>\n

Montreal is 7-2 on the road in the postseason entering Saturday night\u2019s Game 2, defying the gravity that typically comes with playing in front of hostile crowds and facing against an opponent\u2019s preferred matchups.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, it\u2019s a good question,\u201d Canadiens forward Josh Anderson said Friday when asked to explain the team\u2019s road success. \u201cMaybe less thinking and you want to calm the storm a little bit. I think on the road our starts have been pretty good and we\u2019re well organized. We just play the right way and I think we play to our identity. \u2026 I think we always find a way to try to gain the momentum back.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Canadiens went 3-1 on the road in their series as the upstart against both Tampa Bay and Buffalo, then beat Carolina 6-2 for the Hurricanes\u2019 first postseason loss after their 8-0 start to the playoffs.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n
Carolina Hurricanes\u2019 K\u2019andre Miller (19) slides to the ice to attempt to block a pass by Montr\u00e9al Canadiens\u2019 Josh Anderson (17) during the first period in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo\/Karl DeBlaker)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Along the way, the Canadiens have scored first in five of nine road games, led at the first intermission in six, never trailed in four and led entering the third period in the past four straight.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve also proven capable of handling adversity in those tests, from surviving the Game 7 against the Lightning with only nine shots on goal to scoring four unanswered goals that turned a 3-2 deficit in Game 5 at Buffalo into a 6-3 win.<\/p>\n

Or, in Thursday\u2019s case, it was seizing it from the opening minutes against the Eastern Conference\u2019s top seed. Montreal regrouped from giving up a goal just 33 seconds into the game by scoring four times by midway through the opening period.<\/p>\n

Afterward, coach Martin St. Louis pointed to confidence coming from a regular season where the Canadiens tied for second in the league with 56 road points.<\/p>

Read more Remembering Aviyon: Day of Fun celebration honors teen drown victim in Person County<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got to trust that the guys can just, like I always say, play the game that\u2019s in front of them, understanding who\u2019s on the other side, who\u2019s on the ice while that\u2019s happening,\u201d St. Louis said Thursday night. \u201cYoung players, they love to have these offensive touches. And I think sometimes it\u2019s just not what the game\u2019s giving you right now. You\u2019ve got to defend.\u201d<\/p>\n

That approach worked perfectly Thursday. The Canadiens jumped on the Hurricanes as they emerged from the longest playoff break (11 days) in more than a century. They confidently moved the puck out of trouble against Carolina\u2019s aggressive pressure and capitalized on Hurricanes breakdowns with a quick succession of clean breakouts and breakaway chances.<\/p>\n

And that spry start came even after the Hurricanes scored just 33 seconds into the game, signaling a fast start that turned out to be merely a mirage.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne team looked like an Eastern Conference Final team,\u201d Hurricanes forward Taylor Hall said Friday, \u201cand the other didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Carolina Hurricanes\u2019 Taylor Hall (71) crashes into the boards with Montr\u00e9al Canadiens\u2019 Lane Hutson (48) nearby during the second period in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo\/Karl DeBlaker)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That left coach Rod Brind\u2019Amour saying after Thursday\u2019s game he figured the only thing the team could do was toss the result as a one-off considering how out of character the Hurricanes looked in repeatedly giving up so many high-danger chances.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously they\u2019re battle-tested right now. But we feel that a lot of that was self-inflicted,\u201d Hall said.<\/p>\n

The Hurricanes are in the postseason for the eighth straight year and this is their third trip to the Eastern Conference Final in four seasons. But they\u2019re now 1-13 in those games during this run under Brind\u2019Amour to create what has become an imposing obstacle for a team that regularly ranks among the league\u2019s best in the regular season.<\/p>\n

The Hurricanes did a much better job in the second period of getting to their game of getting the puck into the offensive zone and staying there to pressure the Canadiens, all while minimizing the number of chances going the other way. But by then they were trying to recover from a 4-1 deficit.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to play to it, we didn\u2019t play to it,\u201d Brind\u2019Amour said of the team\u2019s preferred style. \u201cI\u2019d like to see how the result is when you play your game, and that was not what we did last night.\u201d<\/p>

Read more 9-year-old boy \u2018found safe\u2019 after being reported missing overnight in Fuquay-Varina: Police<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) \u2014 The Montreal Canadiens have shown neither fear nor hesitation when playing on the road in the NHL playoffs. That approach carried a young, skilled team through a pair of Game 7 road wins to reach the Eastern Conference Final. 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