After letting the Carolina Hurricanes escape with a pair of overtime wins, the Montreal Canadiens took home ice with the intention of tying the Eastern Conference Finals at two games apiece.
Instead, the Canes scored three first-period goals in the blink of an eye — or in just under three minutes — and all but put the game away as it just started.
Carolina has been out-hitting and outshooting Montreal all series, and it was only a matter of time before the final score reflected that. In a dominant 4-0 win, the Canes put 42 shots on Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobeš, starting with a snapper 10 seconds into the game and not letting up until the final whistle.
After Carolina’s flurry of opening goals, Montreal never found its way back into the game. The Canes swarming blue-line presence and aggressive play had the Canadiens at a loss as they struggled to establish possession and connect on passes.
Meanwhile, the Canes played fast-paced north-south hockey, flying up the ice and earning a slew of breakaway chances. Center Logan Stankoven and winger Jackson Blake connected on one of those to score Carolina’s third goal.
In a 2-on-1, Blake slid the puck past Montreal’s sole defenseman and into the waiting stick of Stankoven, who beat Dobeš with a one-timer for his eighth postseason goal this year.
Carolina’s Hall-Stankoven-Blake line — quiet for much of the series despite leading the Canes past the first two rounds — was in full force for Game 4. While the line was on the ice, Carolina had 28 even-strength shot attempts and only let Montreal take four.
It was the power-play unit that scored the opener, though. Center Sebastian Aho beat Dobeš moving left on a one-timer fed by winger Nikolaj Ehlers. And another line that took the two-goal lead when defenseman K’Andre Miller skated down the boards and found center Jordan Staal for a tap-in in front of the net.
Although he wasn’t able to keep the game close, Dobeš tallied 39 saves for Montreal, shutting down numerous breakaway chances and power-play opportunities. The Czech has faced 534 shots in the postseason, the most of any goalie.
Between Carolina’s own posts, goalie Frederik Andersen was flawless, keeping out all 18 shots he faced. After a blip in Game 1, the veteran is back on course. Andersen is allowing 1.56 goals per game on a .928 save percentage in the postseason.
Montreal pivoted its zone entry to dumping and chasing the puck, but the Canes were on top of almost everything that crossed the blue line — puck or player — and the home team made little offensive headway throughout the game. The Canadiens’ play could be described as physical in the wrong ways.
On numerous occasions, Montreal took penalties for late or unnecessary hits, culminating in a fight between Carolina’s Eric Robinson and Canadien Jayden Struble with less than 20 seconds left in the game.
Despite Montreal’s antics, the Canes only converted on one of six power plays, and struggled to put shots up in man advantage — one less-than-perfect aspect of an otherwise dominant game.
Winger Andrei Svechnikov scored on an empty net with two minutes left to put the nail in the Canadiens coffin and a bow on the Canes’ fourth Eastern Conference Finals win under coach Rod Brind’Amour.
The team is on the verge of its first finals appearance in 20 years, and will return to Raleigh for Game 5 on May 29 with a chance to close out the series. The game is set for 8 p.m. and will be streamed on TNT and HBO Max.
