The Eastern Conference finals matchup in the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs is finally set: The Carolina Hurricanes (who last played May 9) will square off against the Montreal Canadiens, who won 3-2 in overtime over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday.
The Canadiens have an NHL-record 24 Stanley Cup championships, with the most recent coming in 1993; in fact, they are the most recent Canadian franchise to have won.
The Hurricanes have just one Stanley Cup title, but it was much more recent, in 2006. Current Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour was the captain of that team.
To help get you up to speed before Game 1 on Thursday, we’re here with key intel from ESPN Research, wagering info and more.
Path to the ECF:
Hurricanes: Defeated Senators in four games, Flyers in four games
Canadiens: Defeated Lightning in seven games, Sabres in seven games
Schedule:
Game 1: Canadiens at Hurricanes | May 21, 8 p.m. ET (TNT)
Game 2: Canadiens at Hurricanes | May 23, 7 p.m. ET (TNT)
Game 3: Hurricanes at Canadiens | May 25, 8 p.m. ET (TNT)
Game 4: Hurricanes at Canadiens | May 27, 8 p.m. ET (TNT)
Game 5*: Canadiens at Hurricanes | May 29, 8 p.m. ET (TNT)
Game 6*: Hurricanes at Canadiens | May 31, TBD (TNT)
Game 7*: Canadiens at Hurricanes | June 2, 8 p.m. ET (TNT)
*If necessary
Series odds:
Hurricanes -275
Canadiens +225
Stanley Cup odds:
Hurricanes +170
Canadiens +700
Leading playoff scorers:
Hurricanes: Taylor Hall (3 G, 9 A, 12 P)
Canadiens: Lane Hutson (2 G, 11 A, 13 P)
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Montreal Canadiens vs. Buffalo Sabres: Game Highlights
Montreal Canadiens vs. Buffalo Sabres: Game Highlights
Matchup notes from ESPN Research
Hurricanes
The Canes are the first team with a four-game sweep in the first two rounds of a single Stanley Cup playoffs run (the NHL went to four rounds of best-of-seven in 1987).
Carolina’s 8-0 streak is the longest in franchise history, and the Canes are the fifth team in Stanley Cup playoff history to start 8-0 or better; they are the first since the 1985 Edmonton Oilers, who started 9-0.
The Canes have outscored opponents 24-10 this postseason and are the fourth team in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1968) to allow 10 goals or fewer through eight games; the 2004 Tampa Bay Lightning, 2002 Ottawa Senators and 1969 St. Louis Blues are the others.
Carolina has won 21 playoff series since the franchise relocated from Hartford in 1997-98. That is the sixth most among all teams over that span, behind the Lightning (25), Pittsburgh Penguins (24), Dallas Stars (24), Detroit Red Wings (24) and Colorado Avalanche (22).
Frederik Andersen has allowed two or fewer goals in eight straight games and is the fifth goaltender in the past 20 years to backstop eight consecutive victories. The others are Chris Osgood (2008), Dwayne Roloson (2011), Jonathan Quick (2012) and Tuukka Rask (2019).
With a series-clinching goal in Game 4 against the Flyers, Jackson Blake became the second-youngest player (22 years, 279 days) to achieve that feat in franchise history; only Ulf Samuelsson (22 years, 17 days in Game 3 of the 1986 division semifinal) was younger.
Logan Stankoven scored seven goals thus far, which is the most through the first eight games of a single postseason in franchise history.
Captain Jordan Staal is the oldest player on the Hurricanes’ roster. Blake and Stankoven were born in 2003; that ensuing season, Staal had 92 points in 49 games for the Thunder Bay Kings U16 team before joining the Peterborough Petes in the OHL for 2004-05.
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Carolina Hurricanes vs. Philadelphia Flyers: Game Highlights
Carolina Hurricanes vs. Philadelphia Flyers: Game Highlights
Canadiens
The Canadiens went 3-0-0 against the Hurricanes this regular season, with an aggregate score of 15-8.
This is the second time that the Habs have played the Hurricanes in a playoff series since the franchise moved to Carolina; Montreal played five series against the Hartford Whalers prior to the move. The Canadiens had a 5-0 series record against Hartford but are 0-2 versus Carolina.
The Canadiens are the youngest team (25.8 average age) to advance to the conference finals/Stanley Cup semifinals in 33 years. This ties the average of the other team atop the leaderboard… the Canadiens in 1993 (a team that won the Cup).
This is the fourth conference finals/Cup semifinals appearance for Montreal since 2010, which is the third most in that span, behind only the Lightning (seven) and New York Rangers (five).
Will rest be a factor? Since April 26, the Canadiens have played 11 games, which is the most among the NHL’s final four: the Golden Knights have played nine games in that span, the Avalanche six and the Canes four.
Alex Newhook scored the series-winning goal in Game 7 in both Round 1 and Round 2. He is the second player in NHL history with multiple Game 7-winning goals in a single postseason; Nathan Horton (2011, with the Bruins) is the other.
Jakub Dobes is the third Canadiens rookie goalie to win a Game 7 in overtime, joining Steve Penney in the 1985 division finals vs. the Nordiques and Patrick Roy in the 1986 division finals vs. the Whalers.
Lane Hutson and Cole Caufield were considered “snubs” from the gold medal-winning Team USA roster for the 2026 Olympics. In Rounds 1 and 2, they have played a role in eliminating “double champ” candidates Jake Guentzel and Tage Thompson. Is Jaccob Slavin next?
