The Montreal Canadiens ended the Carolina Hurricanes' perfect postseason run with a decisive 6-2 win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final on Thursday.
Cole Caufield and Seth Jarvis exchanged goals within the opening minute before Montreal scored three more times in the first period to take a 1-0 series lead.
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The loss snapped Carolina's eight-game winning streak to start the playoffs, leaving them one win short of the NHL record set by the 1985 Edmonton Oilers.
Record-Setting Performances
Nick Suzuki recorded three assists, including a helper on Caufield's goal, extending his postseason road point streak to a franchise-record nine games.
Suzuki now has 14 points on the road in the 2026 playoffs, a new club record for a single postseason, tying Mitch Marner for the league lead.
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Phillip Danault, Alexandre Texier, and Ivan Demidov also scored in the first period, marking the first time Montreal netted four goals in an opening playoff frame since 1991.
Goaltender Jakub Dobes stopped 25 shots, remaining undefeated against Carolina this season and improving his playoff record to 9-6.
Dobes joined Patrick Roy, Ken Dryden, and Steve Penney as the only rookie goalies in Canadiens history with nine or more wins in a single postseason.
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Juraj Slafkovsky added three points in the final period, assisted by Caufield, who recorded his 40th tying or go-ahead goal combined between the regular season and playoffs.
