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The Carolina Hurricanes have played the minimum amount of games to get through the first two rounds of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, while the Montreal Canadiens have played the maximum. One of those trends is about to end.

Carolina finally will return to action after an 11-day rest when it hosts Montreal on Thursday for Game 1 of the 2026 Eastern Conference Final. The Hurricanes have been idle since May 9, when they completed their second-round sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers after having done the same to the Ottawa Senators in the opening round of the postseason.

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The Canadiens took a completely different route to the conference final, as they defeated both the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres in seven games, winning each deciding contest on the road. Both were one-goal decisions, with Alex Newhook scoring the game-winners — including the one against Buffalo in overtime.

Seeded No. 1 in the East, the Hurricanes have reached the conference final for the third time in four years. They were defeated by the Florida Panthers in both of their previous two appearances, winning a total of one game.

Carolina played stellar defense in the first two rounds this postseason, allowing two goals or fewer in each of its eight contests. Veteran goaltender Frederik Andersen, who has faced more than 22 shots just three times, is the playoff leader in goals-against average (1.12), save percentage (.950) and shutouts (two).

Meanwhile, the line of Taylor Hall, Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake has paced Carolina offensively. The 2018 Hart Trophy winner, Hall tops the team with 12 points, Blake is right on his heels with 11 and Stankoven (eight points) is tied for third in the NHL with seven goals.

The Canadiens have yet to lose back-to-back games this postseason as they are 6-0 following a defeat. They also have performed well on the road, winning six of their eight contests — including two in overtime.

Defenseman Lane Hutson leads Montreal with 14 points and is second in the league with 12 assists, while Nick Suzuki has collected 13 points. Newhook, who won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022, also has a share of third place in the NHL with seven goals.

The Hurricanes and Canadiens met three times during the regular season, with Montreal winning each time. Suzuki and Cole Caufield each recorded three goals and two assists while Juraj Slafkovsky (two goals, three assists) and rookie Ivan Demidov (one, four) also collected five points for the Canadiens, who handed the Hurricanes two of their 10 home regulation losses. Sebastian Aho registered two goals and four assists, while Andrei Svechnikov (five points) and Nikolaj Ehlers (four) also scored twice for Carolina.

The franchises are meeting in the postseason for the eighth time. The Hurricanes lost the first five matchups, all of which occurred when they were the Hartford Whalers, but won both since moving to Carolina. The Canes went on to make their only two appearances in the Stanley Cup Final after defeating Montreal (2002 conference semifinals, 2006 conference quarterfinals).

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The NHL betting odds at the major sportsbooks see the Hurricanes as massive favorites in the Eastern Conference Final, with futures betting odds in the -250 to -285 range. Meanwhile, the Canadiens are priced from +200 to +230. Most of the top betting sites have Carolina winning in five games as the favored outcome, with odds from +310 to +325. Learn how to read betting odds here.

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL

TEAM

DRAFTKINGS

FANDUEL

CAESARS

BETMGM

Carolina Hurricanes

-275

-285

-270

-250

Montreal Canadiens

+225

+230

+220

+200

Pick: Hurricanes to advance

There’s no denying that the Canadiens are now the feel-good story of the postseason with the manner in which they won their first two series. And the fact they outscored the Hurricanes 15-8 while sweeping their regular-season series should count for something.

But having had to go the distance against both Tampa Bay and Buffalo, with five of the games going to overtime, likely has taken a toll on Montreal. Conversely, Carolina had six days off between its first two series and will have been idle for 11 days before Game 1 on Thursday. 

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Neither Ottawa nor Philadelphia had much success in containing Carolina’s trio of Hall, Blake and Stankoven, as all three were kept off the score sheet in just one of the team’s playoff games (Game 3 vs. the Flyers). Hall has at least one point in seven of the Hurricanes’ eight contests, while Blake and Stankoven have been held without a point only twice.

Carolina’s lengthy rest may do wonders for the likes of Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis, who have recorded just four points apiece through two playoff rounds. The 28-year-old Aho led the team with 80 points during the regular season but scored three goals against the Senators — two were empty-netters — and notched one assist versus Philadelphia.

Jarvis netted a team-high 32 goals in 2025-26 but has converted only once in the postseason. Andrei Svechnikov also has yet to get going following his career-best 70-point regular season, as he has registered only three points in the playoffs — two of which came in Game 3 against the Flyers.

Montreal has received offensive contributions from nearly everyone this postseason, with 19 of the 21 skaters that have appeared in a game recording a point. But the Canadiens will have to work extremely hard to score against Carolina’s suffocating defensive system, and I just don’t see them having much success — especially with the limited amount they likely have left in the tank after two grueling series.

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