Hurricanes know who they play in NHL Eastern Conference Final after Game 7 drama
The Carolina Hurricanes, with more history in their sights, will face the Montreal Canadiens for the right to play for the 2026 Stanley Cup.
The Canadiens moved into the Eastern Conference final of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Monday with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Buffalo Sabres in Game 7.
The Canes and Canadiens will play Game 1 on Thursday at 8 p.m. at Lenovo Center as Carolina, the top seed in the Eastern Conference, hosts the first two games. Game 2 is scheduled Saturday at 7 p.m. before the series moves to Montreal’s Bell Centre for two games.
The Hurricanes became the first playoff team this year to move into hockey’s version of the final four. They did it quickly and efficiently, winning eight straight games in sweeping past the Ottawa Senators and then Philadelphia Flyers.
The Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights next advanced to set up the Western Conference final. Then, Montreal.
The Canes are one game shy of tying the NHL record for most consecutive wins to open the playoffs: 9, by the Wayne Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers in 1985. Carolina was the first NHL team to open with two four-game sweeps since the four-round, best-of-seven format was created in 1987.
The Canes have not played a game since Saturday, May 9, when Jackson Blake’s overtime goal decided Game 4 against the Flyers. There has been more than ample time to rest, recover, practice and prepare for either Montreal or Buffalo.
Montreal swept the Hurricanes in the regular-season series. The Canadiens, the youngest team in the playoffs this year, began the calendar year on Jan. 1 with a 7-5 win at Lenovo Center, earned a 5-2 win on March 24 in Montreal, and a 3-1 victory on March 29 in Raleigh.
Carolina-Montreal NHL playoff history
This series will be the first time the Hurricanes and Canadiens have met in the playoffs since the opening round in 2006. The Canes lost the first two games at home, then rallied for a Game 3 win in Montreal — Rod Brind’Amour with the tying goal in regulation, Eric Staal with the overtime goal in a 2-1 victory.
The Canes won the series in six games, springboarding their run to the Stanley Cup.
Then there was 2002, when the Canes and Habs went at it in the second round, and the “Molson Miracle” was born.
Trailing 2-1 in the series, the Canes fell behind 3-0 in the third period of Game 4 in what was then known as the Molson Center in Montreal. Carolina scored three straight goals to force overtime and then won on a goal from an unlikely source, defenseman Niclas Wallin.
The Canes finished off the series in Game 6 and beat Toronto to reach the Stanley Cup final before losing to a Detroit Red Wings team loaded with future Hall of Famers.
The Canadiens lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2021 Stanley Cup final, when Canes forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi was with the Habs. No Canadian team has won the Cup since Montreal in 1993.
2026 Hurricanes-Canadiens recap
Montreal 7, Carolina 5
Jan. 1, 2026, Lenovo Center
The Habs won at Carolina for the first time since April 2016, having gone 0-10-2. They won despite a five-point night by Canes center Sebastian Aho (2 goals, three assists) that tied his career high. The Canes had a 4-2 lead early in the second period. Said Habs coach Martin St. Louis: “They’re a team we’ve been chasing for years. I feel like we’re getting closer to these good teams.”
Montreal 5, Carolina 2
March 24, 2026, Bell Centre
Goalie Jakub Dobes had 41 saves against the Canes, who led 2-0 in the first period and had a 43-19 shot advantage in the game. Cole Caulfield scored his 44th goal of the season for the Habs and Juraj Slafkovsky and Ivan Demidov each had a goal and assist.
Said Brind’Amour: “It’s hard because for the most part we were really good tonight. You look at the score and you’re like ‘What just happened?’ but it wasn’t that kind of game.”
Montreal 3, Carolina 1
March 28, 2026, Lenovo Center
The Habs’ Nick Suzuki had a goal and two assists, Caufield scored his 46th and Dobes had 34 saves for another win over Carolina.
Said Brind’Amour: “Pretty much identical to the game up there. We played well, we definitely created enough opportunities, we just didn’t score. So, you tip your hat to that goalie. He played great again.”
This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 10:59 PM with the headline "Hurricanes know who they play in NHL Eastern Conference Final after Game 7 drama."
