Hurricanes-Canadiens Game 3 takeaways, grades, early look at Game 4

The Carolina Hurricanes took a 2-1 series lead in the Eastern Conference finals over the Montreal Canadiens with a 3-2 overtime win Monday night in Montreal. It marked the first time that the Hurricanes have led a conference finals series in coach Rod Brind’amour’s four trips to the NHL’s penultimate round.

What happened to the Canadiens in their emotional return to Bell Centre? How have the Hurricanes taken over the series? Who are the players to watch in the next game, and what are the big questions facing the Hurricanes and Canadiens ahead of Game 4 on Wednesday?

Five overtime games in the playoffs and five overtime victories, including back-to-back wins against the Canadiens. When the Hurricanes said it was going to be different in Brind’amour’s fourth trip to the conference final, this is what they were talking about.

Think back to the 2023 conference finals when Carolina lost the first two games on its series against the Florida Panthers in overtime — the first one going four extra sessions. They Hurricanes couldn’t find a hero in those games. But in Game 2, Nikolaj Ehlers took the role. In Game 3, it was the Sebastian Aho line, with Andrei Svechnikov — one of those players who struggled to score in the clutch in previous runs — netting the winner on a perfect screen from Aho.

Big picture, the Hurricanes are really starting to see the benefit of their 11-day playoff layoff between the second round and the conference finals. They’ve had a 123-87 shot attempt advantage and 55-33 in scoring chances at 5-on-5 in the past two games. The Canadiens, who played seven games in their two previous series, lacked jump as the overtime progressed.

It was a huge win for the Hurricanes if past history is any indication. Teams with a 2-1 lead in a best-of-seven playoff round have gone on to win the series 69% of the time, and that jumps to 77% in the conference finals or semifinals.

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Taylor Hall quickly restores the Hurricanes’ lead

Taylor Hall quickly restores the Hurricanes’ lead

First off, give credit where it’s due to the Canadiens for getting this game to overtime, where one bounce could have flipped the narrative of this series. But they didn’t get that bounce for a second straight game, and as a result the series is trending away from them.

Carolina is controlling play at 5-on-5, as Montreal could muster only 13 shots on goal in a game that went to 14:06 of overtime. For the second straight game, the Hurricanes limited the number of stretch passes the Canadiens could complete to power their offense, and Montreal couldn’t find another way to generate more than one 5-on-5 goal.

The Habs’ execution was off, from Cole Caufield being offside to nullify Noah Dobson‘s goal in the third period to the blatant penalty for too many men on the ice that Montreal was extremely fortunate wasn’t called.

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Montreal’s go-ahead goal gets overturned 

Montreal’s go-ahead goal gets overturned 

The Canadiens have find a way to generate more chances. One shot in the third period and one shot in overtime simply can’t happen in a game of this magnitude. And when they do get their chances, the Canadiens’ top scorers have to start finishing them with more efficiency or their run could end in Raleigh.

Players to watch in Game 3

The line of Stankoven, Jackson Blake and Taylor Hall finally broke through against Montreal in Game 3 on Hall’s first-period goal. That’s great news for the Hurricanes, who rolled to eight straight wins to start the playoffs thanks in part to that potent trio. But though Hall hit the board, Stankoven has only one goal and no assists in his past six games — and that was after scoring six goals in his first five playoff games. The Hurricanes need to get this line rolling offensively again to win this series and match up against either of the depth-blessed titans of the West.

The good news: They were impactful in Game 3 with 65.7% of the shot attempts and a plus-9 in scoring chances. It’s only a matter of time for Stankoven.

Once more, with feeling: As Suzuki goes, so go the Canadiens. In their nine playoff wins, he has 13 points. With zero points and a minus-1 in Game 3, Suzuki has only one goal and two assists in their eight playoff losses. He made some specious decisions in the Game 3 loss, such as when he chose to whip a low probability pass to Caufield instead of shooting the puck. Suzuki also had the game on his stick during an overtime breakaway and missed the net.

They really, really need him to be better.

Big questions for Game 4

Is Aho finally cooking?

Aho has been one of the Hurricanes’ most consistent playoff performers. Since 2019, he has been at 0.79 points per game or better every postseason — including three runs in which he was a point-per-game performer. But he entered Game 3 with only three goals and five assists in 10 games, easily the lowest offensive output of his playoff career. Whether it’s Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis not converting Aho setups or Aho not converting the chances they’re creating, something’s not working with the top line.

More concerning, Aho has only one power-play point in the postseason, an assist in Game 3 against the Flyers, despite averaging the most power-play time (4:27) of his playoff career. The Hurricanes’ futility on the power play (0-for-8 vs. Montreal) has been one of their most glaring deficiencies in this series.

All that established: Aho was all over the ice in Game 3, just missing on a couple of high-danger chances and nearly setting up several goals himself. In overtime, Svechnikov’s shot found the net with Aho setting a perfect screen in front of Montreal goalie Jakub Dobes.

Is this the kind of game to launch Aho and his linemates?

Can Dobes be the series savior?

Game 3 marked the first time in the Stanley Cup playoffs that the Canadiens have lost back-to-back games, which means it’s the first time Dobes has lost back-to-back games in the playoffs. In fact, it’s only the second time he has lost back-to-back games in this calendar year.

It wasn’t for a lack of trying: Dobes made 35 saves in Game 3 and was absolutely brilliant in a game that saw Carolina have a 15-4 advantage in high-danger shot attempts. Dobes had 2.66 goals saved above expected against Carolina. The Canadiens have relied on Dobes as their backbone this postseason and he has answered the call every time. It’s hard to imagine him giving more than he already has to Montreal, but given Carolina’s momentum, its overwhelming offensive pressure and the moment facing his team, he might need to find yet another level.