Martin St. Louis drops truth bomb on how Canadiens blitzed Hurricanes in Game 1

For the first time in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Carolina Hurricanes have lost a game, and they did so in stunning fashion at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final on Thursday evening.

Not only did the Canadiens beat the Hurricanes, but they scored four goals in the first period en route to a 6-2 victory at Lenovo Center, taking a 1-0 lead in the series.

Montreal’s six goals on the night were one more than the combined total of goals in each respective series that the Hurricanes surrendered to the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers.

After the blowout win, Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis, who has coached the club to consecutive road Game 7 victories, said that it was important for Montreal to attack Carolina in waves, which they did successfully.

“Coming off a seven-game series (with a) short amount of time, I felt tonight it was important to come in waves,” St. Louis told reporters, per NHL.com. “I just think we were really good at being ready for the next thing.”

St. Louis also said that he believes the Canadiens played to their core identity, which has gotten them this far.

“We played to our identity tonight,” he continued. “It was a nice balance. We let the puck do the work. We were very opportunistic on our chances, but we didn’t spend too much time that we took the instinct out of our players.”

The Canadiens will have a chance to take a two-game stranglehold on the Hurricanes when the series resumes for Game 2 on Saturday evening at Lenovo Center. The matchup shifts to Montreal for Games 3 and 4 next week.

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