Here at Last Word On Hockey, we will preview and review the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs in its entirety. We will provide three in-depth articles per series until one team is finally crowned the 2026 Stanley Cup Champions. In this series preview, we feature the Montreal Canadiens vs. the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes have been perfect so far, entering the Eastern Conference Final after sweeping both the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers. The Canadiens, on the other hand, went the distance in both of their matchups, eliminating the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres in Game 7.
Montreal Canadiens vs Carolina Hurricanes Eastern Conference Final Preview
Season Series
The Canadiens and Hurricanes met three times during the regular season. The Canadiens dominated the Hurricanes during the regular season, winning all three matchups and outscoring the Hurricanes 15-8 in the process. Jakub Dobes played in all three games for the Canadiens and was outstanding. He posted a 3-0 record with a goals-against average of 2.67 and a save percentage of .922.
On the other side, current starter Frederik Andersen was not so great, going 0-2 with a goals-against average of 3.72 and a save percentage of .806. Brandon Bussi appeared in the other game for the Hurricanes, allowing six goals on 22 shots.
Scoring-wise, it was the Canadiens top scorers getting the job done. Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky and Ivan Demidov all scored five points in the three games against Carolina, while Lane Hutson produced four of his own.
For Carolina, Sebastian Aho led the way with six points, followed by Andrei Svechnikov, who scored five and Nikolaj Ehlers, who produced four.
Both teams’ top players showed up during the season series, and we expect much of the same during this matchup.
Goaltending Matchup
Both goaltenders are coming into this series having lights-out playoff performances thus far. Dobes is fresh off a Game 7 victory against the Buffalo Sabres and has posted an 8-6 record with a goals-against average of 2.52 and a save percentage of .910. He’s being talked about as the Conn Smythe favourite so far during these playoffs.
However, at the other end, we have Frederik Andersen. Andersen has been perfect so far, going 8-0 with a 1.12 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage. The Hurricanes’ stingy defence can be credited for these out-of-this-world numbers, though Andersen is also proving that he is still at the top of his game. Though his level of competition wasn’t as strong as what Dobes has had to face so far during the playoffs. Andersen will certainly be faced with a tougher test in this matchup.
Canadiens Keys to Victory
For the Canadiens, they need their top players to get going. It’s been great to have their depth step up and help secure two series victories for them, but their top line needs to be better in this matchup for them to have a chance. More specifically, Caufield and Slafkovsky. Luckily for them, Caufield started to come alive halfway through the Sabres series. He had three goals and two assists in the last five games, while Slafkovsky had a goal and four assists in those five games. The goal was Slafkovsky’s first since scoring a hat-trick in Game 1 against the Lightning, so they’ll need him to start scoring to have a chance in this series.
They’ll also need Dobes to continue his high level of play in this series. The Hurricanes take a lot of shots, and the Canadiens have shown that they don’t need many to win games. However, they can’t let the game get away from them early. No matter how well the Canadiens defence plays, Carolina is going to get chances, and they’re going to get a lot of them. Dobes needs to continue his calm level of play and not get rattled. He’s been able to do this so far throughout the playoffs, so expect him to continue this same type of play against Carolina.
Hurricanes Keys to Victory
If the Hurricanes want to have any chance of beating the Canadiens, they need Andersen to continue his high level of play and not get the Andersen that showed up during the Canadiens in the regular season. As the Canadiens showed, they don’t need many opportunities to score goals. Andersen only faced a combined 36 shots in two games vs the Canadiens in the regular season, and the Habs were able to beat him seven times.
They’ll also want to stay out of the box at all costs. Though their penalty kill has been outstanding so far, killing off 95% so far, the Canadiens are a different beat than the teams they played. The Canadiens have been scoring on 25% of their chances during the playoffs, and given their high-powered offence and how often they were able to find twine against Andersen during the regular season, the Hurricanes are not going to want to give them any extra advantages in this series.
Prediction
For the Hurricanes, this is the toughest opponent they’ve had to face yet. The speed and relentlessness of the Canadiens’ forecheck will certainly cause some problems for the Hurricanes, and being off for as long as they have might play a factor early in this series.
For the Habs, it’s another day at the office. Another underdog story. They already faced the second and third seed, so now they get to face the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Slightly better team, but much of the same pressure.
The Canadiens have already hit a milestone, being the youngest team to make the Eastern Conference Final since they did it themselves back in 1993. Boy, does this team and playoff run feel much like 93. While they’re certainly in tough against these Hurricanes, we expect the Canadiens to come out on top and reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2021.
Prediction: Canadiens win series 4-2
