05/29/26 08:54:00
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05/29 20:22 CDT Hurricanes aim to break through Eastern Conference Final in
Game 5 against Canadiens
Hurricanes aim to break through Eastern Conference Final in Game 5 against
Canadiens
By AARON BEARD
AP Sports Writer
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) --- The Carolina Hurricanes have put themselves in position
to bury the storyline about hitting that same ol' Eastern Conference Final
roadblock.
Taylor Hall, Logan Stankoven and Eric Robinson scored in a dominating first
period that pushed the Hurricanes to a 3-0 lead over the Montreal Canadiens on
Friday night in Game 5, with a win set to push the Eastern Conference's top
seed to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in two decades.
The Hurricanes had won the last three games in the series, the last being
Wednesday's 4-0 road win that had them in complete control and staying on a
smothering game. And Game 5 picked right up where that left off, with the
Hurricanes taking a 15-4 edge in shots on goal while steadily pinning the
Canadiens in their own end and attacking Jakub Dobes in net.
Hall struck first by finishing a feed from Logan Stankoven, who had crashed
into Dobes on the left side. The Canadiens challenged the call for goaltender
interference, but officials determined after a replay review that it should
stand.
Hall returned the favor by feeding Stankoven from behind the net for a score on
the right side. And late in the period, William Carrier sent a high-flip from
deep in his own end to feed Robinson, who charged across the blue line to beat
Mike Matheson to the puck and slip it underneath Dobes for the 3-0 lead that
sent a buzzing home crowd into yet another roar.
The Hurricanes entered this series having gone 1-12 in the Eastern Conference
Final in their eight-year postseason run under coach Rod 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 after regrouping from the Game 1 debacle when they lost for the only time
in three series this year, the Hurricanes had taken control of the series from
the young and skilled Canadiens --- who had arrived at this round ahead of
schedcule --- to put themselves on the brink of earning a date with the Vegas
Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final.
The last time the Hurricanes were in that round? Brind'Amour was the captain on
a team that hoisted the Cup in a seven-game series against Edmonton in 2006.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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