So it\u2019s not a surprise St. Louis had a positive attitude after the Canadiens\u2019 season came to an end Friday night with a 6-1 loss to the Hurricanes in Carolina in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final.<\/p>\n
The Hurricanes will now meet the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup final with Game 1 slated for Tuesday in Carolina (8 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports).<\/p>\n
![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/gettyimages-2278854910_303428697.jpg\")
Canadiens\u2019 Nick Suzuki and Taylor Hall of the Carolina Hurricanes shake hands following a 6-1 Hurricanes victory in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final. Bruce Bennett \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
St. Louis told reporters in Carolina after Friday night\u2019s game the Canadiens made a lot of progress this season \u2014 which they certainly did \u2014 and learned a lot as the youngest team to make the playoffs for the second straight season. The coach said he also learned a lot in the playoffs and that he was proud of his group.<\/p>\n
\u201cApart from the result, there\u2019s not a lot of negatives,\u201d St. Louis said. \u201cI feel like it\u2019s something we\u2019ve built and we keep growing and we\u2019re going to learn a lot through this process in failing and advancing \u2014 but you learn way more through the failures. This year, I know we\u2019re not moving on, we\u2019re not going to win the championship, but there\u2019s a lot of wins in what we did this year. I think it\u2019s going to help us to keep progressing.\u201d<\/p>\n
While St. Louis was looking at the positive side of things, there\u2019s no doubt Hughes is looking at the negatives and already thinking about what needs to be done this summer to make the Canadiens better next season in Year 5 of their rebuilding process.<\/p>\n
The Hurricanes are in the playoffs for the eighth straight year and had lost in the Eastern Conference final in two of the last three years. The Hurricanes have played 102 playoff games over the last eight seasons and are now in the Stanley Cup final for the first time since winning the championship in 2006. <\/p>\n
The road to a Stanley Cup championship isn\u2019t a short or easy one \u2014 especially for a rebuilding team like the Canadiens. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think the one thing with Carolina, I feel like they really play to their identity and they got a lot of details inside that,\u201d St. Louis told reporters in Carolina. \u201cI think for us we\u2019re going to keep trying to play to our identity, but elevate the details a little bit and I think the details just come with maturity and experience. It\u2019s a really good team (the Hurricanes). A lot of experience. You got to give credit to how well they played. They made it really hard on us and we\u2019re going to learn from a lot of that stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
Merci \u00e0 tous nos partisans! Vous \u00eates les meilleurs! <\/p>\n
Thank you to the best hockey fans in the world!<\/p>\n
GHG!!!<\/p>\n
\u2014 Geoff Molson (@GMolsonCHC) May 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki also kept a positive attitude despite losing to the Hurricanes after beating the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Buffalo Sabres in the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Canadiens finished sixth overall in the NHL standings during the regular season with a 48-24-10 record. <\/p>\n \u201cJust a lot of fun,\u201d Suzuki told reporters in Carolina about the season as a whole. \u201cAn amazing group of guys that just love being around each other. Every single guy just wants to come out there and do their best for the team. There were a lot of highs this year and a lot of big moments. \u2026 I will remember this team very fondly, for sure.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re a really good team,\u201d Suzuki added about the Hurricanes. \u201cThey\u2019ve been in that system for a long time. They know exactly what\u2019s going on for them and they defended really hard and limited a lot of our offence. It\u2019s something that we got to look back on in the summer and see what we can do better because I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll see these guys a bunch down the few next years.\u201d<\/p>\n With the Habs’ do or die game tonight against the Hurricanes, it was hard to know what to draw for Saturday’s #MontrealGazette<\/a>. So, I came up with this, congratulating the team for an excellent, entertaining season, no matter what happens this evening. Please share! Terry Mosher pic.twitter.com\/gJcvNgLXow<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Terry Mosher (@TerryMosher1) May 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The Hurricanes had an 11-day break before the Eastern Conference final after sweeping the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers in the first two rounds, while the Canadiens played seven games against both the Lightning and Sabres.<\/p>\n \t\tEditor\u2019s Picks\t<\/p>\n \u201cThey play a fast, high-paced game,\u201d Suzuki said about the Hurricanes. \u201cI don\u2019t know if the games caught up to us. I don\u2019t want to use any excuses, but they really brought it. Obviously, there\u2019s things that we can do better and learn from and when we\u2019re in this situation again I think we can do a better job.\u201d<\/p>\n Now it\u2019s up to Hughes to put in the work this summer making changes to put the Canadiens in a better situation next season. The Hurricanes showed there\u2019s still a lot of work to be done.<\/p>\n \u201cYou never know how many chances you\u2019re going to get to a few games away from the Stanley Cup final,\u201d Suzuki said. \u201cObviously, the future is bright with a lot of young players and a core that can hopefully stay together for a long time and do a lot more winning.\u201d<\/p>\n