The Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes have taken radically different journeys to get to the Eastern Conference final, which begins tonight with Game 1 at Lenovo Center.

Note the slightly later puck drop at 8 p.m. (CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports, TSN Radio 690, 98.5 FM).

Here are the keys to tonight’s game:

The Habs just got through two seven-game series to reach the Eastern Conference finals. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes swept both their opponents and haven’t played in 12 days.

Carolina led the Eastern Conference in points during the regular season with 113. The Habs were seven points behind, but swept the regular season series 3-0.

While the Hurricanes may be the heavy favourite, the Canadiens’ can’t be counted out because of the play of netminder Jakub Dobes. Can he be the X factor once again?

The only lineup change is on defence, where Jayden Struble will swap in for Arber Xhekaj.

A lesson to be learned by Montreal from Alex Newhook‘s Game 7 winners against Tampa Bay and Buffalo? The Habs need to shoot more.

Stay tuned to this page for updates and game highlights throughout the evening. You can also keep the conversation going over on our livestream on the Hockey Inside Out YouTube channel.

First Period: Offensive explosion

After scoring three goals in 7:11, the Habs had more offence in the first. Ivan Demidov scored on a breakaway for the three-goal advantage. 4-1 Canadiens

Habs continued to press. Alexandre Texier scored Montreal’s third goal in 10 shots on Frederik Andersen. 3-1 Canadiens

Montreal gained the lead at 4-on-4. Phillip Danault on a breakaway beat Frederik Andersen. 2-1 Canadiens

The lead was short-lived. Cole Caufield scored his first even-strength goal of the playoffs off a slick pass from Juraj Slafkovsky. Tied 1-1

Carolina opened scoring 33 seconds in thanks to Seth Jarvis after the Montreal icing. Hurricanes lead 1-0

On the broadcast, former Hab Jake Allen complimented captain Nick Suzuki.

“He has the perfect mindset and the perfect persona to be the captain of the Montreal Canadiens.”

Jake Allen speaks about his former teammate Nick Suzuki pic.twitter.com/ze28Uj13MC

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 21, 2026