Mandatory Image Credit: Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images

The Eastern Conference Final is a showdown between a team who has played the least amount of possible games to get to this point, and a team who has played the most amount of possible games to get to this point. Will the Montreal Canadiens run out of gas? Will the Carolina Hurricanes show signs of rust after a long break between games?

Carolina is on a warpath. They are the first team to successfully sweep through the first two rounds of best of seven hockey to reach the third round. Granted, they have faced two of the weaker opponents in the field. But it still does not minimize what they have accomplished. 

With all that said, now the real work begins, as the Hurricanes are no stranger to the Conference Finals, with three appearances since 2019. But in those three series, they have only one single win, and as a franchise they are 1-16 in their last four conference finals games. The whole season has been building towards this, no excuses, get it done.

The challenger comes from Canada, the young, fearless Canadiens. The Atlantic Division was a tight and competitive division the entire regular season, and the playoffs were no different. It took Montreal seven games in both the first and second round to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres respectively. The youngest team in the playoffs has surely gained a lot of experience in the last month.

Some games it looks like they are poised to run the league for the next decade, others, they fall flat. They will need to bring their A Game every night against a contender like Carolina.

The disadvantage to sweeping the first two rounds is no players on Carolina have put up insane totals, that is, except for their second line. Taylor Hall, Jackson Blake, and Logan Stankoven are all at least a point per game in the series, and they have accounted for five of their eight game winning goals as a team. Sometimes a sign of a future Cup winner is when they have a depth line producing like a first.

As for the first line, they would like to see a little more production out of it. I mean, they have not lost a game, but still it has somehow been disappointing. As for scoring between Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis and Andrei Svechnikov, they have only five goals, and all three players have four or fewer points. Canes fans can look at their production with a glass half full mentality, and that once they get going, it will be almost impossible to beat them. But that production has to show up eventually, and quick.

Similarly, Montreal’s top line has been one of their least productive, however they still have managed to put their fingerprints on crucial wins along the way. Mainly on the powerplay, as four members of their top unit have eight or more points on the man advantage. Carolina has been excellent on the penalty kill, operating at a 95% success rate, so it looks like the Canadiens will need to find more goals at even strength.

They have been getting goals up and down the lineup, as 16 different skaters have found the back of the net. A surprise atop the list, Alex Newhook leads the team with seven goals, including both game winning goals in both their Game 7s.

Lane Hutson has been showing why he is one of the most dangerous defencemen in the NHL, with two goals and 12 assists for point per game production through the first two rounds. He is the type of player you cannot stop, just hope to slow down.

Hurricanes offseason acquisition K’Andre Miller has also been great from the point, with six assists in eight games. The blueline is definitely an advantage for Carolina, look for Jaccob Slavin to get heavy minutes especially against the Canadiens top line.

The net battle should be a storyline too, as Jakub Dobes has emerged as a legit number one goalie these playoffs, and Frederik Andersen has been historically dominant. Again, smaller sample size, but through two rounds, Freddy holds a .950 SV% and a 1.12 GAA, absolutely nuts. He had a game where he let in one goal in the second round and his numbers went down. Dobes can go head to head, but he will have to keep his cool, playing very emotional at times, diminishing his excellent play with some embarrassing acts.

I doubt Carolina’s dominance will continue into this round, and I expect Montreal to have an advantage early in the series with all the important games they have played. I would not be shocked if the Habs take Game 1, or flat out wins the series. But it is now or never for the Canes, and I think they finally break through and make it back to their first Stanley Cup Final since 2006.

Prediction: Hurricanes in 7