After a long and arduous wait, the Carolina Hurricanes took to the ice for the first time in 12 days, continuing their pursuit of the Stanley Cup in the Eastern Conference Finals. After emerging from the Metropolitan Division as the regular season and postseason champions, the Canes welcomed the Montreal Canadiens to town to begin another best-of-seven clash.
The Hurricanes kept their lineup the same from Game 4 in Philadelphia. This meant that Frederik Andersen was in the net for the ninth straight game, trying to improve on his perfect start. The only change to Montreal's lineup came on defense. Jayden Struble drew in for Arber Xhekaj, who was sparingly used in Game 7. Jakub Dobes was between the pipes.
The arena was jumping early after Seth Jarvis scored the opening goal of the contest 33 seconds in. It was a bit of a broken play along the boards, and all three forwards on the top line touched the puck before Jarvis snapped it past Dobes from just inside the far dot. For a moment, it felt like this year might be a little different.
That pure adulation lasted all of 27 seconds. A defensive breakdown from the Canes' top line left Cole Caufield alone in front of the net, and that's not a good idea. He buried it to give both teams a goal in the opening minute. Breakdowns were the name of the game for the Canes in the first period. Phillip Danault, Alexandre Texier, and Ivan Demidov added goals, putting Montreal up 4-1 after 20 minutes.
The Canes dominated the second period. After getting a bounce on one end of the ice when a Montreal shot hit the post, the fourth line finally earned its first goal of the postseason. William Carrier sprung Eric Robinson for a breakaway to cut the deficit in half. The Canes outshot the Habs 11-3 during the middle frame, but the Montreal lead remained two goals after two periods.
Offense was nowhere to be found in the third period for Carolina, with their awful start proving too much to overcome. They managed just two shots in the third period, while the Montreal lead grew. Juraj Slafkovsky toe-dragged around Andrei Svechnikov and made it 5-2. Slafkovsky added another into the empty net, finishing off a 6-2 win for the Canadiens in Game 1.
That was the first period of a team that hasn't played in a while
There is nothing more devastating than having a good start ruined in an instant. The Canes' first two shifts of the night were incredible. The Stankoven line started it with a few good chances before the Aho line scored the opening goal. However, once Montreal's top line responded and tied it, the Canes' night went into a tailspin, and their poor defensive effort was the story of the game.
Andrei Svechnikov got focused on the puck, leaving Caufield open on the first goal. Jarvis left his man, and Gostisbehere lost a race up the ice on Danault's goal. Jaccob Slavin lost track of Texier before he scored from between the dots. K'Andre Miller went for the puck, and Sean Walker didn't switch before Demidov scored on a breakaway. It was not a Hurricanes-like night on the back end.
From top to bottom, almost everyone had a bad night
Pick almost any player on the Hurricanes, and I could tell you why they didn't have a great night. Slavin and Chatfield are at the top of that list. As two of the team's defensive stalwarts, they did not look good at all. The Stankoven line had a rough defensive game, too. Frederik Andersen can't shoulder all of the blame for each goal, but a stop or two would've been helpful.
The biggest exception was the Canes' fourth line. I thought they were noticeable just about every time they were on the ice. They didn't shoot the puck much, with each forward recording just one shot, but they made their chances count. Eric Robinson was due for a goal, and Mark Jankowski isn't far behind. I thought the Staal line showed a few flashes as well.
Additional Thoughts
As we search for more positives from an otherwise brutal game, the Canes' penalty kill didn't allow Montreal's power play many chances to work. Each team earned two power plays in the game: one abbreviated and one full-length. Neither team scored, nor did they look particularly good. If the Canes can finish even or slightly better in that area in this series, they should be fine.
When it's all said and done, the Hurricanes are in the same spot they've been in during their last six trips to the conference finals. They've never won Game 1 in the third round. Therefore, I'm not reading too much into this loss. The real litmus test comes in Game 2. The Canes are 2-0 in conference finals when they win the second game. Otherwise, they're 0-4. Saturday just got a little more important.
Next Up: The Hurricanes and the Canadiens will play every other day until a winner is decided. This means that Game 2 will be at the Lenovo Center on Saturday night. The series shifts to Montreal for the next two games, playing at Centre Bell on Monday and Wednesday. If the series needs a fifth game, it'll be in Raleigh next Friday night.
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