Carolina Hurricanes center Logan Stankoven scores a goal on Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes during the first period in Game Four.Eric Bolte/Reuters
A flurry of three first-period goals put the Montreal Canadiens in a hole they could not climb out of on Wednesday night, costing them Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final at home against the Carolina Hurricanes, and quite possibly the chance to play for the Stanley Cup. An empty-netter in the late stages made it 4-0.
The Habs now trail 3-1 in the series against the perennial contenders from Raleigh, N.C. and will have to start overcoming a daunting deficit on the road Friday, or else prolong the Canadian Cup drought dating to the last time this franchise hoisted the mug in 1993.
Montreal was outplayed all over the ice from the beginning of Game 4, looking overmatched by Carolina’s pace and physicality. Even the Hurricanes’ sticks looked heavier, winning puck battles and deflecting any number of Canadiens shots. It took a powerplay at the halfway mark of the first period for the Habs to spend any length of time in the offensive zone. Even then the Habs seemed almost allergic to shooting, as though the perfect pass was always around the corner.
When Carolina center Sebastian Aho one-timed home the game’s first goal with 5:01 left in the first, Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis called an unusually early timeout, reflecting his side’s complete disarray. It was no use: Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal scored a second just over a minute later, before Logan Stankoven made it 3-0 less than two minutes after that. The Bell Centre’s raucous crowd was all but silenced by the first intermission.
The Canadiens never really threatened after that, appearing as deflated as their fans. The Habs faithful were finally roused late in the third period to chant “Shoot the puck!” at their trigger-shy squad.
Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis watches play from behind the bench.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
Carolina has cruised through these playoffs, winning ten of eleven games entering Wednesday and only losing to Montreal after a nearly two-week layoff caused by the speed with which they dispatched Philadelphia in the second round. Their frenetic pace and sheer grit are a reflection of head coach Rod Brind’Amour’s playing style, one that helped him captain the Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup in 2006. This version of the team has looked like a finely-honed machine.
Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal (centre) celebrates his first-period goal.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
These Canadiens have come a long way from their first-round bullying by Tom Wilson and the Washington Capitals last year, when the fresh-faced Habs looked too young and small for the heavy-hitting playoffs. They have added toughness up and down the roster since, but face a familiar dynamic against a far more experienced and physical Carolina team that has outhit them roughly two-to-one in this series.
The super-talented but diminutive defenseman Lane Hutson has borne some of Carolina’s hardest checks, causing him to be careless with the puck at times, including on a turnover that led to the Hurricanes’ winning goal in Game 3.
Sloppy play in their own end plagued the Habs again; the puck sometimes looked greased up when they were trying to clear the zone. Defensive anchor Kaiden Guhle at least made Carolina pay with a couple of bone-rattling checks along the boards.
Carolina Hurricanes' Sean Walker checks Montreal Canadiens' Lane Hutson.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
Rookie goalie Jakub Dobes had to be inspired in the early going, sprawling to stop a Jackson Blake breakaway a few minutes into the first, along with a handful of other chances while his team struggled to get out of neutral.
If Montreal has been competitive in the previous two games, they can thank Dobes, after heroic performances squandered by loose defending in consecutive 3-2 overtime losses. The Czech 25-year-old has been spectacular all playoffs, turning himself into a Montreal folk hero along the way. But even Dobes briefly buckled under Carolina’s unrelenting pressure on Wednesday night.
St. Louis said after morning skate on Wednesday that he expected his team to dump and chase more in Game 4, rather than sticking with their preferred possession game. The Hurricanes pressure the puck so intensely that clinging to it can cause dangerous turnovers. In the end on Wednesday, they managed to implement neither strategy.
Montreal has faced a growing chorus of fans and pundits calling for the team to shoot the puck more, after being outshot 38-13 in Game 3 and by similarly lopsided margins throughout the playoffs. St. Louis and his players instead emphasized increasing time in the offensive zone as a goal for Game 4. On Wednesday, Montreal struggled both to get the puck on net and to hold the zone.
Brind’Amour said before Game 4 he didn’t believe in momentum, despite his team’s back-to-back overtime wins. The Canadiens will have to find the same belief. For three games running, Carolina has looked like the more organized and savvier team. Now Montreal will have to win three straight of their own.