Here are three things to watch in Game 4:
1. Ring My Bell
The atmosphere at the Canadiens arena has been electric during the postseason. On Monday, the decibel level hit 114 during one point in the game. But that hasn't translated to wins for the Canadiens, who are 2-5 at home in the postseason, including losing the last three -- Games 4 and 6 to the Buffalo Sabres in the second round and Game 3 to the Hurricanes.
"I can't really explain it," St. Louis said. "We're playing some good teams, some teams that are good on the road, too."
That's the perfect way to describe the Hurricanes, who are 5-0 on the road in the postseason. With the Game 3 win in Montreal on Monday, they became the first team to win each of its first five or more road games in a postseason since the Colorado Avalanche won their first seven road games in 2022.
"I think sometimes it's a little bit easier to play on the road," Hurricanes forward Taylor Hall said. "There's not the distractions that there could be at home and if you have a power play at home and you don't get anything out it, there's a just a little anxiety in the building and you're only human and you're going to feel that, but when you're the road team you just keep humming, and you keep going and the simple plays seems like the best one."
2. Hutson shiver
Lane Hutson took the blame for the Game 3 loss, saying his defensive zone turnover in overtime led to Andrei Svechnikov's winner. Now, all eyes will be on the Canadiens defenseman to see how he responds.
Hutson is second for Montreal in the playoffs with 15 points (three goals, 12 assists), one behind captain Nick Suzuki, and leads all Canadiens' skaters with an average of 25:55 time on ice per game.
"I think everyone knows here he's a superstar defenseman," teammate Joe Veleno said. "It's going to happen, mistakes are going to happen. He's a kid that's obviously really hard on himself and is ultra-competitive.
"We move past it and he learns from it. He's an X-factor. He's elite at defending and his offensive abilities are second to none. "
Expect the Hurricanes to hit Hutson, and every member of the Canadiens for that matter, every time they have the chance to do so.
"I think it makes it a lot easier in your shifts if you can eliminate, especially their defensemen, from getting up the ice," Hall said. "It saves you a lot of stress and a lot of skating if you can get above their guys, and whether you finish them or not, getting above their players and being in between them and our net is really a staple of our game."
3. Get outta here
In order for the Canadiens to generate more shots on goal, they need to be able to get out of their own zone first. In Game 2, they spent 50.11 percent of the time in their defensive zone and in Game 3, made a slight improvement to 47.2.
On the flip side, they have spent just 33 percent of the time in their offensive zone in the past two games.
A good part of that issue is Montreal's inability to carry the puck into the Carolina zone. Expect to see more chip-and-chase in Game 4.
"We can manage the puck better, and (be) willing to give it up and get it back," St. Louis said. "It would be nice to possess it all over the ice, sometimes you have to get rid of it to get it back."
