Canadiens coach says ‘we’re not dead’ as Hurricanes grab momentum of Eastern final

MONTREAL — Martin St. Louis is well aware the Carolina Hurricanes have seized control of the Eastern Conference final.

After two straight suffocating losses against Carolina’s methodical, unrelenting forecheck, the Montreal Canadiens head coach also knows his group is far from finished.

“We’re behind, but we’re not dead,” St. Louis said in French on Tuesday. “We continue.”

Montreal trails in a series for just the second time this post-season heading into Game 4 on Wednesday night at the Bell Centre, where the Canadiens will try to avoid a daunting 3-1 deficit against their experienced, playoff-tested opponent.

“We have all the tools. We can play in possession, we can go forecheck,” St. Louis said. “We’ve shown great maturity throughout the season. We’re playing a very mature team. I don’t know if we can match that maturity, but I think we need to elevate ours a little bit, and I feel we have all the tools.”

One area the Canadiens must improve? Generating offence.

Rookie goalie Jakub Dobes has bailed Montreal out time and time again during an inspiring run this spring. And while clutch saves are essential to winning in the playoffs, so is producing more than a dozen shots on goal, even if the Canadiens have sometimes proven otherwise.

Montreal mustered just 12 shots in Saturday’s overtime loss in Carolina, followed by 13 over 74 minutes in another 3-2 extra-time defeat Monday night at home.

In contrast to the Hurricanes’ volume-heavy approach, the Canadiens have valued quality over quantity all season, boasting the NHL’s best shooting percentage. But even they admit something has to give.

“We have to find a way to get to the net more,” forward Joe Veleno said. “They’re a team that sometimes feels like they have six players on the ice, but we have to find a way to win more one-on-one battles and get to the net more and create chances on that.”

A big reason the Canadiens can’t generate shots is because they’re spending so much time pinned in their own zone, unable to break Carolina’s pressure.

“We’ve got to find ways to execute better and work together to get the puck out,” defenceman Alexandre Carrier said. “We’re not clean on the breakout, then we spend some time in our (defensive) zone, and then it’s like a ‘boule-de-neige’ (snowball) effect that we can’t forecheck after that.”

The Hurricanes have brought the hits, totalling 127 to Montreal’s 65 through three games, despite also appearing to dominate puck possession.

Their biggest target? Lane Hutson.

Hurricanes forward Taylor Hall caught a piece of Montreal’s “most important player” in Game 2, while Jordan Martinook and William Carrier also took runs at the talented five-foot-nine defenceman on Monday.

“It’s just a staple of our game,” said Hurricanes blueliner Shayne Gostisbehere. “Their skill guys, you want to get a piece of them any chance you get, don’t let them get up the ice. When you’re doing that all game, it gets annoying.

“You’re not going to want to get up the ice when you’re getting hit every time.”

William Carrier crushed Hutson with a high hit near the end boards late in overtime, moments before the American sophomore’s turnover led to Andrei Svechnikov’s winner. Hutson, who’d scored a dazzling power-play goal in the second period, blamed himself for the loss in harsh post-game comments, but his teammates are “not concerned at all” that he’ll respond.

“We know Lane’s a gamer. He wants to (make) a difference in the game,” Alexandre Carrier said. “It happens, you make a mistake and then (it’s in the) back of the net.

“He’s taking hits to make plays. He’s been one of our best players all series long, so I’m not worried at all for him.”

BUYING IN

The Hurricanes have reached the Eastern Conference final four times in eight seasons since Rod Brind’Amour — also the captain when Carolina won the 2006 Stanley Cup — took over as head coach.

His regimented, non-negotiable style of play is a big reason why.

“Roddy showed me that if I want to stay on the team, stay in the lineup, that I had to adapt to that way pretty quickly,” said winger Seth Jarvis, who broke into the NHL with Carolina in 2021-22. “Our whole lineup does it and it’s not just a few guys.

“That’s what makes it so easy for guys to come in and play that way.”

SOLVING DOBES

Hall scored late in the first period Monday by jamming a puck past Dobes, but gave the rookie netminder his due after peppering him with seven shots in a game Dobes nearly stole for the Canadiens.

“He’s big, he seals the whole bottom half of the net,” Hall said. “He battles for a big guy like that. He’s never too far out of his net because he’s so big.

“But we got three on him (Monday), so we’ll take that going forward.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2026.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press