Marc Dumont
The Montreal Canadiens (8-6) will face the Carolina Hurricanes (8-0) in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final on Thursday, with the puck drop scheduled for 8:00 pm ET.
This will be the fourth time these two teams have met this year, with the Canadiens taking home a victory in all three regular-season contests. The Canadiens outscored Carolina 12-3 at 5v5 in that stretch, which should give the youngest team in the NHL a certain amount of confidence.
That being said, the Hurricanes are no pushover. Their 8-0 record in the playoffs is quite representative of their ability to dominate an opponent. They easily dispatched the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers, and if the Habs aren’t up to snuff, they’ll make quick work of them as well.
In their three meetings during the season, the Hurricanes had a significant advantage in shots, scoring chances, and expected goals. Another way of putting it would be to suggest the scoreline was quite flattering towards the Canadiens.
If the Habs are to set the tone for the series, they’ll have to take advantage of the fact that the Hurricanes have not played a game since May 9. They’ll also have to focus on the physical aspect of the game, but not to the point where they stop paying attention to the most important task at hand: scoring and preventing goals.
Simply put, we’ve reached the point in the playoffs where organizations will necessitate complete team efforts to move on, and it will be very difficult to beat a talented team such as the Hurricanes without all Canadiens players rowing in the same direction.
Potential Lineup Changes
We should note that former Hab Jesperi Kotakaniemi is not expected to be in uniform for the Hurricanes. The 25-year-old is yet to feature in a playoff game since finishing the regular season with an underwhelming two goals and seven assists in 42 games.
As for the Canadiens, there’s a chance that head coach Martin St-Louis will modify his defensive pairings.
According to Felix Seguin, Arber Xhekaj took part in practice with the extra skaters, which suggests Jayden Struble may end up taking his spot on the third pairing. Xhekaj was joined by Jacob Fowler, Samuel Montembeault, Patrik Laine, Brendan Gallagher, and Joe Veleno.
Mon collègue Félix Séguin, présent au domicile des Hurricanes pendant que nous sommes à la dispo du CH à l’hôtel, rapporte que:
— Anthony Martineau (@Antho_Martineau) May 21, 2026
Xhekaj
Fowler
Montembeault
Laine
Gallagher
Veleno
Sur sur la glace ce matin.
Struble pourrait donc rentrer ce soir. @TVASports
Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup
Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Juraj Slafkovsky
Alex Newhook – Jake Evans – Ivan Demidov
Alexandre Texier – Phillip Danault – Josh Anderson
Zachary Bolduc – Oliver Kapanen – Kirby Dach
Mike Matheson – Alexandre Carrier
Lane Hutson – Noah Dobson
Jayden Struble* – Kaiden Guhle
Jakub Dobes
Jacob Fowler
Carolina Hurricanes Projected Lineup
Andrei Svechnikov – Sebastian Aho – Seth Jarvis
Taylor Hall – Logan Stankoven – Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers – Jordan Staal – Jordan Martinook
William Carrier – Mark Jankowski – Eric Robinson
Jacob Slavin – Jalen Chatfield
K’Andre Miller – Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere – Alexander Nikishin
Frederik Andersen
Brandon Bussi
How To Watch The Habs Vs. The Hurricanes Game 1 Of The Eastern Conference Final
The Montreal Canadiens versus the Carolina Hurricanes, Thursday, May 21, 2026, will be aired on CBC, Sportsnet, and TVA Sports. An instant recap complete with highlights will be available on Sportsnaut as soon as the final whistle blows.
