Here are 3 things to watch in Game 3:
1. Matching Montreal's top line
Carolina couldn't be matchup-focused in Game 1 because it was down 4-1 after the first period. But the Hurricanes basically locked Jordan Staal's line with Jordan Martinook and Nikolaj Ehlers, and their top shutdown defense pair of Jaccob Slavin and Jalen Chatfield, onto the Canadiens' top line of Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky and Cole Caufield in Game 2.
The matchup worked. Suzuki, Slafkovsky and Caufield were shut out and limited to four shots on goal after accounting for three goals and five assists in Game 1. On a whole, Montreal finished with 12 shots on goal.
The matchup might not be available to the Hurricanes in Game 3 because the Canadiens have more control with the last-change advantage.
Montreal won't run away from the matchup entirely because its style is more to roll lines, but certainly expect the Canadiens to get Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovsky away from Staal, Martinook, Ehlers, Slavin and Chatfield after stoppages as much as possible.
If that opens time and space for Montreal's top line, it could be another big night for Suzuki, Slafkovsky and Caufield.
"It's popular now that we don't tell you guys (the media) what we have to change," Slafkovsky said, "so I'm not going to tell you, but I think we have the recipe for that.
"I think with the amount of the skill that this team has, it should be an easy fix for us."
2. Power up
Neither power play has been a factor in the series so far.
The Canadiens are 0-for-4 with one shot on goal in 6:07 with the man-advantage. They're getting stopped on their entries and constantly having to go back to retrieve pucks.
"Our penalty kill does such a good job of pressuring and just limiting time and space for the opponent," Hurricanes defenseman K'Andre Miller said.
The Hurricanes are 0-for-5 with four shots on goal in 8:07 on the power play. They're not getting traffic with the Canadiens keeping them on the perimeter.
With the expectation that Game 3 will be as tight as Game 2, one of the two power plays figuring it out and capitalizing could -- and likely will -- make the difference in who takes a 2-1 lead in the series.
"I think there are little things we can be better at that give us a chance to bury them," Staal said. "I think our power play could have buried (Game 2) if we had it clicking (but) we haven't had it clicking yet. I think there's an opportunity."
3. Weather the pressure
Let's assume Carolina is going to aggressively forecheck and have the puck more in the offensive zone. That's at least what Montreal has to be ready for, because that's Hurricanes hockey and they do it to everybody.
The Canadiens handled the forecheck and pressure in Game 2 by limiting Carolina's ability to get to the front of the net. They gave up possession but managed to avoid allowing one Grade-A chance after another.
However, they were unable to consistently counter against the pressure when they did get the puck. Doing that in Game 3 will make a big difference, because while it won't stop the Hurricanes from attacking up the ice, it could open opportunities for 2-on-1s against the pressure like they got in Game 1.
"It's hard to play a perfect game, especially against Carolina, but it's stacking these pockets, because we've had great pockets against them," Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. "If we can stack these pockets of good hockey and regain the momentum or score, that's what you need to do against Carolina. When you lose these pockets, try to minimize the length of time when you lose them and try to not get too hurt.
"I feel like that's been pretty much a big reason why we've been able to have success these playoffs, a big reason why (Saturday) we were still in this game because we weren't playing poorly. When you play poorly, you don't have enough pockets and you don't stay in the game. It would have been nice to have a little more of these pockets and when we did get these pockets if we could have finished a little more."
