Hurricanes blank Canadiens 4-0 to take 3-1 series lead in Eastern Conference final

MONTREAL — Lane Hutson delivered a blunt assessment in a locker room his team might not see again this season.

The Canadiens said all the right things heading into a crucial Game 4 matchup with the Hurricanes. They needed to play more connected, direct more shots on target, be predictable for each other.

Then the puck dropped — and Carolina again showed why it rattled off two sweeps to open the playoffs.

“It seemed like the only guy that showed up was Doby,” Hutson, Montreal’s star defenceman, said of standout goaltender Jakub Dobes. “Wasn’t good enough, didn’t answer the bell.”

It might ring just one more time in 2025-26 for this group.

Sebastian Aho sparked a three-goal surge late in the first period and Frederik Andersen made a comfortable 18 saves for his third shutout of the post-season as the Hurricanes cruised past the Canadiens 4-0 on Wednesday to grab a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference final.

“The game’s going to humble you,” Montreal head coach Martin St. Louis said. “Whenever you get humbled, you stand tall.”

Canadiens fans packed inside the Bell Centre implored their team to direct shots on target — “Shoot The Puck!” rang around the rink — in a third period where Montreal trailed 3-0 and troubled Andersen just three times in the dying minutes.

“They have their right to speak what want,” Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said. “We’d love to have more shots … in the same boat as them.”

That’s been a titanic challenge against Carolina, which also got goals from Jordan Staal, Logan Stankoven and Andrei Svechnikov, into the empty net.

Nikolaj Ehlers and Shayne Gostisbehere added two assists each for the Hurricanes, who became the seventh team in NHL history to win six or more road games to start the playoffs.

“We have better,” Stankoven said. “It’s great to come out like a team like this and perform like that, but I think at this time of the year you can’t bring your ‘B’ game. You have to bring your ‘A’ game every night.”

Dobes stopped 39 shots for Montreal, which fell to 2-6 at home in this spring’s Stanley Cup tournament.

“Maybe putting a little bit too much pressure on ourselves,” Suzuki said of that ugly mark. “Trying to make perfect plays.”

The best-of-seven series returns to the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C., for Game 5 on Friday. Game 6, if necessary, would be back at the Bell Centre on Sunday.

“Definitely excited,” Gostisbehere said of the chance to clinch their first conference final in four tries under head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “Have to take care of business.”

Carolina improved to 11-1 in the playoffs, while Andersen now owns the fifth-longest road win streak all-time to start a playoffs at 6-0.

“We’ve been underdogs the whole season,” said Dobes, who still got a huge ovation from the crowd in the final seconds despite the scoreboard. “We are super underdogs right now.”

“It’s been unbelievable,” he added of the support in Montreal. “Really grateful for what I have, and how much the fans love me and love our team. I will never take that for granted.”

The Canadiens took the series opener 6-2 on the road before Hurricanes picked up consecutive 3-2 overtime victories to grab a 2-1 lead heading into Wednesday.

This one wasn’t nearly as close.

Aho broke a 0-0 tie at 14:59 of a physical first period on a power play with a one-timer off a pass from Ehlers.

Staal made it 2-0 at 16:07 when he gained position on Josh Anderson in front of Dobes and tapped a K’Andre Miller feed through the five-hole.

Gostisbehere then blocked a Lane Hutson chance, and Carolina raced the other way on a 2-on-1 one, with Jackson Blake finding Stankoven for a third goal in 2:47.

“The game changed quickly,” Suzuki said. “We had to try to find a way.”

Dobes, who celebrated his 25th birthday, had to be sharp early on Blake breakaway and a Taylor Hall one-time effort after former Canadiens goaltender Jaroslav Halak carried the team’s ceremonial torch into the pulsating arena ahead of puck drop.

Montreal, which combined to register just 25 shots in Games 2 and 3, finally got going against grinding Carolina on a man advantage that saw Ivan Demidov get a couple of good looks before the wheels fell off with five minutes left in the period.

St. Louis put his forward lines into a blender in search of a spark to start the second with his team again failing to create much.

Cole Caufield had a chance off the rush before Svechnikov, who scored the OT winner in Game 3, rang a puck off the crossbar at the other end.

Anderson got a decent look as Montreal tried to press, but Carolina’s Andersen, who set a franchise record with his fifth playoff shutout to pass Cam Ward, had the answer.

The home crowd tried to get behind their team to start the third.

The Hurricanes, however, had other ideas with a carbon copy of their suffocating, relentless performances from Games 2 and 3 to push the Canadiens to the brink.

“Hopefully we win Game 5 and come back here,” Suzuki said. “Don’t want this ride to end.”

There was little from Wednesday to suggest that will be the case.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2026.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press