Heading into Game One we have the battle of Rust vs Rest. Carolina is coming off a 12-day break and Montreal is coming off a high-energy 7-game battle with Buffalo. I would expect the Canes to come out a little slow and Montreal to carry the momentum of back-to-back Game 7 series.
First Period
Right away you can see a difference in Carolina versus Buffalo. They are hard on the forecheck and are playing aggressive to try and cause turnovers. 30 seconds in, Seth Jarvis beats Dobeš far side, giving Carolina the first lead of the game. Montreal has a habit of giving up a quick first goal, but they manage to bring the game back right after.
Cole Caufield scored just 30 seconds after, off a beautiful no-look feed from Slafkovský. The game is now just one minute old and it's 1-1, and the Lenovo Center is stunned. Little did Canes fans know it was about to get so much worse. Three minutes after Caufield tied the game, Carolina's aggressiveness bites them and Phillip Danault was sprung on a breakaway. Danault makes no mistake and it's now 2-1 Montreal. Four minutes after Danault scores, Alexandre Texier finds himself wide open in the slot. Slavin was playing too far off, Danault finds him, and Texier one-times it past Andersen. 3-1 Montreal, not even 10 minutes into the first period.
Carolina's fans are stunned and the rust is very noticeable on defensive positioning. 11:32 into the first, Carolina blows coverage again and it's Demidov's turn on a breakaway. Demidov undresses Andersen and the Canadiens have a commanding 4-1 lead with 8:28 left in the first period. Carolina's defense looks like they might still be on vacation and Andersen, the best goalie in the playoffs, is getting lit up like a Christmas tree.
In fairness to Andersen: two breakaways, a wide-open 50-goal scorer in the slot, and a cross-ice one-timer. The defense hung him out to dry. Carolina must clean up their defensive positioning and communicate their pinches better. The Hurricanes settle in and stop the bleeding, but going into the second period they need to find some offense.
Second Period
The game now feels a lot like Montreal-Buffalo. They get a lead and sit back hoping to close the game out when you still have 40 minutes left to play. Carolina is known as a relentless team, and rest might start to factor in as they are still being very aggressive on the forecheck.
Montreal is getting trapped in their own end and relying on Dobeš to bail them out. This can only last so long until the Canes start to impose their will. 2:46 into the second period, after a shot ringing the post from Cole Caufield, Eric Robinson springs himself on a break for Carolina. He was on a partial break and snipes shortside corner and in. The game is now 4-2 and the building is back alive.
Carolina is now taking it to Montreal, same script as what happened to Montreal against Buffalo. Montreal is hanging on but Carolina is starting to remove their rust. The rested team could take advantage here as the game goes on. The forecheck is pounding the Montreal defense and mistakes are starting to happen when wingers are trying to chip pucks out.
Montreal has done a good job keeping most of the Canes' shots to the outside and great sticks breaking up passes and shot attempts. Montreal survives the second period, but they do end up getting outshot 11-3.
Third Period
The start of the third was like the second, but Montreal has cleaned up the reaching and are starting to get tougher on their sticks. Carolina has their aggressive forecheck rolling but it seems to be a little too aggressive as Jordan Martinook takes down Kaiden Guhle, sending him to the box for tripping.
This is the first real look at the battle of a deadly powerplay against a 95% penalty kill. Carolina kills this penalty off with ease and tries to take momentum from the kill. Juraj Slafkovský has other plans. He toe drags past Svechnikov, putting him in the spin cycle. Slafkovský is all alone against Andersen, and he makes no mistake on this highlight reel goal. That would be the final nail in the coffin.
Montreal's defensive play was remarkable in the third period, limiting Carolina to just 2 shots. Dobeš handled those easily and Slafkovský buries one more into the empty net, sending all the Caniacs home early.
The takeaway
What a road performance from the Montreal Canadiens. They go into a tough building after two long, hard-fought series and take it to the "best" team in the East. They also end the 8-game winning streak for the Hurricanes and take back home ice advantage.
By the numbers
