RALEIGH, N.C. - The National Hockey League today confirmed the Carolina Hurricanes’ schedule for the 2026 Eastern Conference Final. The Hurricanes will face either the Montreal Canadiens or the Buffalo Sabres in the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the series opens Thursday with Game 1 at Lenovo Center.
The series would mark the third meeting between the Canadiens and Hurricanes in the postseason since the team arrived in North Carolina in 1997, or the second-ever postseason matchup with the Sabres. Carolina defeated Montreal in six games in the 2002 Eastern Conference Semifinal and went on to capture the Eastern Conference championship before falling to Detroit in the Stanley Cup Final. In 2006, the Hurricanes knocked off the Canadiens in six games in the first round, and then defeated the Sabres in the Eastern Conference Final prior to going on to win their first Stanley Cup Championship.
The Hurricanes earned the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 53-22-7 (113 points). The Sabres earned the second seed in the East, capturing the Atlantic Division title with a record of 50-23-9 (109 points). The Canadiens qualified for the postseason as the third-place team in the Atlantic Division, with a record of 48-24-10 (106 points). Carolina won all eight of its games against the Ottawa Senators in the first round and the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round, becoming the first team in NHL history to sweep each of their first two best-of-seven series en route to a Conference Final.
The 2026 Eastern Conference Final schedule is below:
