Marc Dumont
The Montreal Canadiens faced the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night, aiming to keep their season alive by winning Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final.
Despite the fact that the Habs were coming off three straight losses, head coach Martin St-Louis opted to keep his lineup intact, opening himself up to criticism in the process. On the flip side of the coin, if the Canadiens somehow emerged with a win, he’d be lauded as a brilliant coach.
Predictably, the Hurricanes easily dispatched the same lineup they had beaten three times in a row, emerging with a 6-1 win, and putting to an end Montreal’s incredibly encouraging playoff run.
Let’s dive into the highlights!
You’ll Never Guess Who Scored First
This will shock you, but the Carolina Hurricanes opened the scoring in a rare slow start for the Canadiens.
Okay, sarcastic comments aside, as per tradition, the Habs needed a little adversity in the mix before they decided to wake up. Some would argue that being down 3-1 in a series is ample motivation, but we’re dealing with the youngest team in the league, and they tend to march to the sound of their own drum.
Taylor Hall provided the goal, though I’d argue there was some clear-cut interference at play.
The Canadiens opted to challenge the goal, but were penalized following a review.
At this point, no one really knows what goaltender interference entails, but there was clearly contact by the Hurricanes prior to the goal.
Taylor Hall gives the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead.*
— Montreal Hockey Now (@MTLhockeynow) May 30, 2026
*The Habs are challenging it for goaltender interference. pic.twitter.com/pivAYPPhH5
Frustrating, Expected
The Hurricanes continued their dominant ways, establishing a 3-0 lead before the end of the first period.
With all due respect to Martin St-Louis, which is a lot, he will bear a lot of the criticism for the poor results in the series, as he really didn’t adapt to the situation at any time.
To be perfectly fair, the Hurricanes have a better lineup, but at the very least, the Canadiens could have attempted a lineup change to give themselves a chance.
Instead, they simply reloaded the same losing lineup, and suffered the same result.
3-0 Hurricanes. pic.twitter.com/0JStFrtaYC
— Montreal Hockey Now (@MTLhockeynow) May 30, 2026
Slow To Act
As was the case in Game 4 when the Canadiens quickly found themselves in a 3-0 deficit, St-Louis decided to change the forward lines heading into the second period.
Ivan Demidov was promoted to the first line, alongside Nick Suzuki and Alex Newhook, an interesting combination that had yet to be tested throughout the regular season or the playoffs.
It was too little, too late, but at the very least, St-Louis tried making a change in a desperate bid to avoid elimination.
With that in mind, it was apparent that the Canadiens were out of answers, not to mention out of gas. Veteran Jake Evans put a fine point on Montreal’s exhausted state midway through the second period, when he gave away the puck before going for an ill-timed line change.
The Hurricanes capitalized, making 4-0 in favour of the home team. They would go on to make it 5-0 before the end of the second period.
4-0 Hurricanes.
— Montreal Hockey Now (@MTLhockeynow) May 30, 2026
A bad line change and turnover leads to an odd-man rush. pic.twitter.com/00e1ODS80W
Good Night
At the very least, the Canadiens managed to break Carolina’s shutout bid late in the third period, when Cole Caufield scored a powerplay goal.
It was his sixth of the playoffs, and just his second at 5v5.
Cole Caufield scores his 6th of the playoffs, 5-1 Hurricanes. pic.twitter.com/GFUhGzIDVQ
— Montreal Hockey Now (@MTLhockeynow) May 30, 2026
The Montreal Canadiens have been eliminated from the NHL Playoffs, and will not participate in another hockey game until the 2026-27 preseason begins.
All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick.
