Canadiens lose East Final, home struggles, power play among factors

The Montreal Canadiens were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 6-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final at Lenovo Center in Raleigh on Friday.

The Canadiens won Game 1 but lost the next four games as their offense struggled to get on track against the suffocating Hurricanes.

Montreal was effective early, winning 6-2 against a Carolina team that was rusty after sitting for 11 days after a second-round sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers. The Canadiens lost each of the next two games in overtime and were shut out in Game 4, managing three shots in the third period.

Montreal advanced to the conference final with seven-game upsets in each of the first two rounds. The Canadiens defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round and won in overtime against the Buffalo Sabres on a goal by Alex Newhook, in the second round. 

The Canadiens (48-24-10) finished third in the Atlantic Division in the regular season.

The skinny

Potential unrestricted free agents: Patrik Laine, F

Potential restricted free agents: Zachary Bolduc, F; Kirby Dach, F; Joe Veleno, F

Potential 2026 Draft picks: 8

Here are five reasons why the Canadiens were eliminated:

1. Home-ice disadvantage

The Bell Centre is one of the greatest atmospheres in a playoff landscape full of intimidating buildings. But that wasn't the case for the Canadiens this postseason. They lost their final four home games and six of eight during this playoff run. Their final win on home ice was Game 3 against the Sabres in the second round. 

In the four-game losing streak at home to close out the postseason, they were outscored 18-7. They were shut out two times this postseason; each happened on home ice.   

2. Power outage

In the final five games against the Sabres in the second round, the Canadiens had seven power-play goals and scored at least one in each game. In the first four games against the Hurricanes, the power play accounted for one goal, in part because Montreal could not draw penalties like it had earlier in the playoffs when its speed through the neutral zone caused issues for the Lightning and Sabres. 

The Canadiens had two power-play goals in the five games against the Hurricanes, the second coming after falling behind 5-0 in Game 5. They entered the conference final with a 25 percent success rate on the power play (13-for-52) and then went cold (2-of-13, 15.3 percent) against a team that doesn't allow many even-strength goals.

3. Too much hockey

The Canadiens played 19 postseason games before being eliminated, seven of which went to overtime. The Hurricanes played 13 to get to the Stanley Cup Final, their only loss in Game 1 of the conference final. The long layoff hurt Carolina in that game but helped as the series advanced.

Carolina's top players were fresh and Montreal's big guns were starting to wear down after playing 19 games in 41 days and never having more than two days off. There are six Canadiens players among the top eight in total time on ice leaders for the postseason, topped by defenseman Lane Hutson, who played 483:36.

Plus, goalie Jakub Dobes played each of those 19 games, a workload the rookie goalie had never experienced.  

4. Space at a premium

The Hurricanes took time and space away from the Canadiens all over the ice, but it was most telling when Montreal was on the attack.

In the 6-2 win in Game 1, the Canadiens scored four times in the first and had nine shots for the rest of the game as the Hurricanes started to find their footing. In Game 2, Montreal had 12 shots on goal. The next game, they had 13 shots; five in the first 40 minutes, and one each in the third period and in overtime. In Game 4, they had 18 shots, and just five in the first period. In the clinching game, Montreal had four shots in the first period; Carolina had three goals.

For the series, Montreal was outshot 167-89. After averaging 25.1 shots per game for its first 14 playoff games, the Canadiens managed 17.8 against the Hurricanes. That's a recipe for failure. 

5. Chasing games

The Canadiens led for the final 55:56 of Game 1, but they never led again in the series. 

While some of the series was played evenly as evidence by overtime being needed in Games 2 and 3, Montreal was chasing the game for long stretches as well. 

Carolina scored first in each of the five games, putting the Canadiens on the back foot and forcing them to change their game plan to get back into the game. Montreal trailed for 95 minutes and 35 seconds from Carolina's first goal in Game 2 until the final whistle in Game 5. 

That is an exhausting way to play hockey, especially against the top seed from the East.