The Carolina Hurricanes are in the Eastern Conference Final for the second straight season and the fourth of Rod Brind’Amour’s tenure behind the bench, and they’ve got the chance to close things out in Game 5 against the Montreal Canadiens.
Of course, teams coming into Game 5 with a 3-1 lead are historically almost guaranteed to move on to the Stanley Cup Final; the Canes are not going to get ahead of their skis.
Hurricanes forward Jackson Blake, who scored the OT-winner to sweep the Philadelphia Flyers and send Carolina to the conference final, talked about the need to focus on the game tonight and not start thinking ahead to the Western Conference Champion Vegas Golden Knights.
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“It’s exciting for sure,” Blake said. “Last year (against the Florida Panthers) we were on the other side of it, and it’s not as fun… obviously, we’ve still got a job to do tonight. You can’t really look too far ahead. You’ve got to focus on tonight and know what we did the last three games to be successful in those.
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“Super-stoked for tonight, and I’m pretty sure everyone in the locker room is pretty excited to go.”
Carolina Hurricanes forward Jackson Blake (53) jaws with Montreal Canadiens winger Ivan Demidov during Game 3 of the 2026 Eastern Conference Final. (Eric Bolte-Imagn Images)
While the Hurricanes dropped Game 1 — something that could potentially be chalked up to a lengthy layoff after dispatching the Flyers — the Hurricanes have surged back and absolutely dominated Game 4, winning 4-0 and holding the Habs to 18 shots.
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The Vegas Golden Knights are sitting and waiting after pulling off a shocking sweep of the President’s Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche, and you’ve got to think they’re preparing to take on the Canes.
The Carolina Hurricanes are one win away from their first Stanley Cup final appearance since 2006. (David Kirouac-Imagn Images)
Normally, I wouldn’t think such a long layoff is helpful, but it might give Vegas bench boss John Tortorella some time to watch as much tape as possible and pick apart the Hurricanes’ incredibly tight, organized style of play.
