Canadiens Dominate First Period, Roll Hurricanes 6–2 in Game 1
Written By Gina Anton
RALEIGH, N.C. — The Montreal Canadiens opened the Eastern Conference Final with a decisive 6–2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center on Thursday, powered by a four-goal first period and a two-goal night from Juraj Slafkovsky.
Montreal scored four straight in the opening frame after conceding the game’s first goal just 33 seconds in, taking control of Game 1 and never relinquishing the lead.
Seth Jarvis opened the scoring for Carolina off a Sebastian Aho feed, but Cole Caufield responded 27 seconds later with a wrist shot off a Slafkovsky setup to tie it 1–1.
Phillip Danault gave Montreal the lead at 4:04 on a breakaway, Alexandre Texier extended it at 8:11, and Ivan Demidov added another at 11:32 to make it 4–1 after one period.
Eric Robinson cut it to 4–2 early in the second period, but Carolina generated limited sustained pressure afterward. Slafkovsky restored a three-goal cushion early in the third before adding an empty-net goal for the 6–2 final.
Jakub Dobes made 25 saves for Montreal. Frederik Andersen stopped 16 shots for Carolina.
Nick Suzuki added three assists, while Caufield finished with a goal and assist and Danault contributed a goal and assist.
Montreal coach Martin St. Louis credited his team’s response after a short turnaround from a seven-game series.
“Coming off a seven-game series (with a) short amount of time, I felt tonight it was important to come in waves,” St. Louis said. “I just think we were really good at being ready for the next thing. We played to our identity tonight. It was a nice balance. We let the puck do the work. We were very opportunistic on our chances, but we didn't spend too much time that we took the instinct out of our players.”
Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour pointed to execution and readiness issues in the loss.
“That was obviously not our best,” Brind’Amour said. “I didn’t think we were very sharp, to put it bluntly. Our top guys had tough nights. That’s not going to work this time of the year. I think we just toss this game, to be honest. I hate that at this time of year that’s what we’ve got to do, but there wasn’t really much to grab on to there. Clearly, we were not ready for that pace.”
Montreal’s transition game and early execution broke Carolina’s structure before it could settle. The Canadiens repeatedly turned quick exits and neutral-zone speed into odd-man rushes, forcing the Hurricanes into defensive scramble mode. Carolina’s gap control and puck support were inconsistent, leading to multiple breakaways and high-danger chances in the first period alone. While the Hurricanes have relied on a structured, low-event playoff identity all postseason, Montreal disrupted that rhythm early and never allowed Carolina to re-establish control.
Game 2 is set for Saturday night in Raleigh.
