Game 3 Preview: Carolina Hurricanes and Montréal Canadiens All Tied At 1 In Tight Battle
In the Eastern Conference final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Montréal Canadiens are tied at 1 going into Game 3 following a thrilling overtime win for the Hurricanes in Game 2.
The winner of this series will face either the Las Vegas Golden Knights or the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final in June. That series has the Golden Knights up 3-0 going into Game 4.
Carolina Wins Game 2 In Overtime
The Canadiens put up a good fight two days after beating Carolina 6-2, but couldn’t hold on in overtime. In regular time, Josh Anderson scored both of Montréal’s goals, and Eric Robinson and Nikolaj Ehlers scored for Carolina. The Canadiens only recorded 12 shots on goal through the game, but that’s an off statistic, because the game was in reality much closer than that. The Hurricanes recorded 26 shots on goal.
Frederik Anderson of the Hurricanes made 10 saves, and the Canadiens’ Jakob Dobes made 23 saves.
In overtime, after Anderson tied the game in the third period, it was Ehlers who scored the game-winner at 3:29 into overtime, and Carolina was able to even out the series by going on the road for two games.
Post-Game 2 Reactions
The Canadiens weren’t too upset with the loss, all things considered. “I thought our execution was not as good, but it wasn’t terrible,” Head Coach Martin St. Louis said. “Overall, I thought it was a battle out there. I thought we competed. It’s a close game. It’s a fine line between winning and losing.”
“We know what (Carolina) is all about,” Anderson said. “They really push the pace. They defend really hard. Obviously, they had an off night the other night, and we expected them to bring their best. It’s going to be a good series. It’s going to be a long one.”
Carolina was happier with how they performed in Game 2 as opposed to Game 1. “There was a lot to be better at. We were better obviously,” Head Coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “For the most part of the game, I thought we were pretty in sync with what we needed to do, and it showed. We’ve got to find a way to keep doing it.”
Updated Player Rankings
With just four teams left in the playoffs, player rankings are changing quite a bit. The Canadiens’ Nick Suzuki ranks 3rd in points (16) and is tied for 3rd in assists (12). Teammate Lane Hutson is ranked in a tie for 8th with 14 points, and is tied with Suzuki in assists for 3rd. Montréal’s Alex Newhook and Carolina’s Logan Stankoven are tied for 3rd in goals with 7 apiece, and Juraj Slavkovsky from the Canadiens is tied for 8th with 6 goals. The Hurricanes’ Taylor Hall sits 10th in assists with 9.
Among goalies, Anderson’s GAA is 2nd (1.55), his SV% is 0.927, and he’s tied for 1st with 2 shutouts. Dobes’ GAA of 2.51 has him 9th, and his SV% of 0.909 puts him 6th.
Hutson’s 14 points have him in a tie for 2nd among defensemen; his 2 goals put him in a tie for 8th; and he leads the NHL with 12 assists. Teammate Kaiden Guhle sits in 8th with 8 points, and his 8 assists have him in 6th place. Fellow Canadien Alexandre Carrier has 6 assists to tie for 7th.
Ivan Demidov has been a star for the Canadiens, and he leads all NHL rookies with 8 points and 5 goals. His 3 goals put him 2nd among rookies as well. Carolina is a high-scoring team despite not having as many ranked players as Montréal, and has a balanced roster of high-level players.
Game 3 Preview
Each team will do what they need to to focus in and make any necessary adjustments. The Hurricanes haven’t been able to control play quite as much as they did in the last two rounds, and still appear to be shaking off the rust from 11 days off.
Despite playing for 16 games, the Canadiens have been sharp and competitive this series. One issue is that Dobes has now gotten two penalties as a particularly aggressive goalie, giving Carolina key chances to score on an advantage. Any opportunity to score for the Hurricanes should be taken very seriously.
Just looking at statistics, the Canadiens have been more effective in terms of scoring. In Game 2, they scored 2 goals on 12 recorded shots while their opponents got 3 goals on 26 shots.
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