Hurricanes roll past Canadiens 6-1
in Eastern Conference Final, earn trip to Stanley Cup Final
[May 30, 2026]
By AARON BEARD
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Rod Brind'Amour wore a big smile as he walked
on the ice to join his Carolina Hurricanes for a photo behind the
Prince of Wales Trophy.
It took eight years, but the Hurricanes have finally broken through
their Eastern Conference Final roadblock. Now comes the chance to
play for the Stanley Cup for the first time in two decades.
Taylor Hall, Logan Stankoven and Eric Robinson scored in a
dominating first period that helped push the Hurricanes past the
Montreal Canadiens 6-1 on Friday night, closing a five-game series
that sent the East's top seed on to face Vegas for the Cup.
Three times before under Brind'Amour, the Hurricanes had reached
this round, only to win just a single game.
This time, they shook off an ugly series-opening loss that harkened
back to those past struggles by winning four straight, steadily
asserting control of the series and dominating the last two games to
earn that on-ice celebration in front of a rowdy home crowd.
“I wasn't prepared for media (interviews) and I'm probably going to
start crying,” veteran forward Jordan Martinook said in the locker
room. "A lot of years with a lot of pain. ... It's been a crazy
journey in my time here, but this team, it's been really special.”
Jackson Blake and Shayne Gostisbehere added second-period goals that
pushed the Hurricanes to a 5-0 lead entering the final period, while
Seth Jarvis scoring into an empty net with 3:41 left. Frederik
Andersen carried a shutout until midway through the third in net, an
emotional performance coming a day after his agent and former NHL
player Claude Lemieux died after taking his own life.
Carolina swept through the first two rounds of the playoffs, then
regrouped from a 6-2 loss in Game 1 after an extended between-rounds
break to win four straight. That included a run of 10 straight goals
going back to Andrei Svechnikov’s overtime goal in Game 3 before
Montreal finally got on the board with Cole Caufield’s power-play
score midway through the third.
That made the Hurricanes the first team to reach the Stanley Cup
Final with only one loss since 1983, according to SportRadar, and
the only team to do so since the league went to best-of-seven series
in all four postseason rounds in 1987.
It was a long-awaited moment for the franchise, even for the new
arrivals. That included defenseman K'Andre Miller — a summer trade
addition as a missing piece — sitting near the ice afterward,
holding his newborn son and shaking his head in an emotional moment
of taking it all in.
“It's kind of hard to unpack right now,” Brind'Amour said. “It's a
weird feeling because it's kind of where we all thought we should
be.”
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The Carolina Hurricanes accept the Prince of Wales Trophy following
Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup
playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens in Raleigh, N.C.,
Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
The Hurricanes have been a perennial contender in
the East, yet they entered this series having gone 1-12 in the
Eastern Conference Final under Brind’Amour — falling in sweeps to
Boston in 2019 and Florida in 2023 before losing in five games to
the Panthers in last year’s rematch.
But they were tested, and wounded, from those past
postseason failures. Throw in their depth and talent, and the
Hurricanes were finally ready to punch through for their third shot
at the Cup since the former Hartford Whalers relocated to North
Carolina before the 1997-98 season.
The last time the Hurricanes reached this point? Brind’Amour was the
captain on a team that hoisted the Cup in a seven-game series
against Edmonton in 2006.
After regrouping from a 6-2 loss in Game 1, the Hurricanes took
control of the series from the young and skilled Canadiens — who had
arrived at this round ahead of schedule after Game 7 road wins
against Tampa Bay and Buffalo through the first two rounds.
“As close as it feels, we’re so far away still,” Montreal defenseman
Lane Hutson said. "So much more to do to battle to get the ultimate
goal. Even when you win two rounds, you still got to find another
level for the next round.”
Carolina won consecutive 3-2 overtime games, then took Game 4 in a
4-0 road romp Wednesday.
Beyond the score, Carolina was getting to its smothering game in
pressuring the Canadiens in their own end or shutting off most
high-danger chances they could muster going the other way.
By midway through the second period, the festive and rowdy crowd was
offering “Olé! Olé! Olé! Olé!” chants in a mocking nod to Canadiens
fans with Carolina up 4-0. By the final two minutes, they were
chanting “We want the Cup! We want the Cup!” as the Hurricanes
closed this one out.
“They’re a good team, a lot experience," Canadiens coach Martin St.
Louis said. "You’ve got to give credit to how well they’ve played.
They made it really hard on us.”
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