For nearly two weeks, the Carolina Hurricanes did everything except play hockey.
After sweeping the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round, the Canes earned what every Stanley Cup contender dreams of in May: time to rest. 11 days passed between games, the longest break between games in over a century.
While the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres fought through a grueling seven-game series, Carolina watched and waited. In the 30 days it took to complete the first two rounds, the Hurricanes played just eight games, becoming the first team to sweep through the opening two rounds of the best-of-seven era.
For over a month, Carolina looked untouchable. Every challenge dispatched with ease, every opponent overwhelmed.
But on Thursday, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Montreal Canadiens delivered a harsh reminder that momentum can be just as valuable as rest, routing the Hurricanes 6-2 and giving them their first loss of the postseason.
“We clearly were not ready for that pace,” Brind’Amour said. “We weren’t ready to play hockey.”
It wasn’t always the blowout that the final box score showed. Just 33 seconds after the puck drop, Carolina center Seth Jarvis slotted one past Montreal netminder Jakub Dobeš, marking the fastest goal from the start of a semifinal game since 2018.
But the Canadiens — a team reeling off back-to-back seven-game series — came into Raleigh with a plan and stuck to it.
“I wanted rhythm, to come in waves and trust the rhythm that we can play collectively,” said Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis.
Nobody in the Lenovo Center expected the waves to turn into a tsunami.
Before the first minute was even over, Canadiens winger Cole Caufield netted the equalizer after Carolina overcommitted behind its own net, instantly silencing the crowd as they celebrated Jarvis’ goal.
Even still, optimism in the arena remained high, but was killed by Canadien center Phillip Danault just three minutes later, taking full advantage of a breakaway opportunity and finding the back of the net.
With momentum fully on its side, Montreal grew its lead with yet another goal, this time from winger Alexandre Texier, who found an opening in the midst of the Carolina defense and converted on the one-timer.
In a desperate attempt to respond, the Hurricanes again overcommitted, allowing winger Ivan Demidov to fly past the lone Canes defender and find nylon.
In its first two series, Carolina allowed a total of 10 goals, never allowing more than two in a game and securing two shutouts. It took Montreal just 10 minutes to dismantle one of the Stanley Cup frontrunners and leave them in a seemingly insurmountable, self-dug hole.
“Some of them were just blown coverages, I don’t know what we were thinking,” Brind’Amour said. “That’s a tough game because we’re out of it 10 minutes in; that’s a tough hill to climb.”
Canes winger Eric Robinson opened a window of opportunity with a goal early in the second period, but with a two-goal lead in hand, the Canadiens put all of their effort into their defense, staving off attack after attack and keeping a clean net for the rest of the game.
Whether Carolina was simply shaking off the rust or not, Caniacs have every reason to be concerned. Carolina’s killer line of right wing Jackson Blake, left wing Taylor Hall and center Logan Stankoven went pointless, unable to create any semblance of offensive momentum. The Canes’ best defender — defenseman Jaccob Slavin — ended with a +/- of -4.
“Our top guys had tough nights,” Brind’Amour said. “That’s not gonna work this time of year.”
Carolina looks to rebound in Game 2 on Saturday, May 23 back in the Lenovo Center. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
