The Montreal Canadiens were under siege for most of the second game of the Eastern Conference final, but took the game to overtime before falling to the Carolina Hurricanes. With the Canadiens struggling to generate offense — just five shots on goal in the first 40 minutes of play — the burden was left to Jakub Dobes once again to keep the Habs close. Dobes made several spectacular saves, including robbing Seth Jarvis during a third-period Hurricanes power play.
The Canadiens head back to Montreal for game three on Monday, having earned a series split in Raleigh. Coach Marty St. Louis will be charged with devising a game plan to neutralize the pressure of the Hurricanes while helping to create scoring chances.
Despite Saturday’s loss, the Canadiens are fun to watch right now. It’s getting to the point where Canadiens fans are starting to ask themselves a question they maybe didn’t expect to be asking this year: Could this team actually do something special?
Montreal came through a second Game 7, then went on the road against a Carolina team that had swept both of its previous playoff series. In Game 1, they unexpectedly handed the Hurricanes a 6–2 loss.
At a certain point, it stops feeling like a fun little playoff run and starts forcing fans to seriously think about what this team might be capable of!
That said, the things we talked about last week on the podcast haven’t gone away. In fact, they probably matter even more now. Learning how to close out games, handling pressure, staying disciplined, playing with urgency from the opening faceoff, all of those things become even more important the deeper a team goes in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
This Week’s Show
On this week’s new episode of the Canadiens Connection podcast, we pose the questions: Is the Canadiens’ window to contend opening much earlier than expected and do they have a prime opportunity to deliver another stunning upset?
NEW PODCAST: Dare to Dream: Can the Montreal Canadiens Deliver an Upset? | Canadiens Connection ep 401
We also discussed these important topics on this week’s episode of the podcast:
- Two Canadiens prospects are participating in the 2026 Memorial Cup.
- A mock draft suggests Montreal could add something different to its player pool.
- Who will be the Canadiens three stars of the week?
CC Question of the Week: What’s the biggest reason to believe in this Canadiens team right now?
It is our eighth season, with a new episode of the podcast dropping every Saturday afternoon. Be sure to subscribe using your favorite podcast app! Or watch our episodes on YouTube!
Canadiens Connection Podcast: Can the Habs Deliver an Upset?
Catch up on any missed episodes here at HockeyHotStove.
