Hurricanes push Canadiens to the brink with shutout win in Game 4

Chip Alexander, The News & Observer on May 27, 2026

Published in Hockey

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MONTREAL — The Carolina Hurricanes are one win away from playing for the Stanley Cup.

The Canes reeled off three rapid-fire goals in the opening period and kept the Montreal Canadiens mostly flustered and frustrated Wednesday in a 4-0 victory in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference final at Bell Centre.

The Canes, with goalie Frederik Andersen getting the shutout, took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series and will look to close it out in Game 5 on Friday at Lenovo Center. Carolina will be after its third Eastern Conference title, reaching the Cup Final in 2002 and 2006, claiming the Cup in 2006.

After sweeping the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers in the first two rounds, the Canes came off a long layoff and dropped a 6-2 decision to the Canadiens in Game 1 in Raleigh, N.C. But overtime wins the next two games gave them the series lead, and they controlled Game 4 in running their playoff road record to 6-0.

Sebastian Aho, Jordan Staal and Logan Stankoven scored in a span of 2:47 in the first period in what proved to be a lethal burst of offense. Andrei Svechnikov had a late empty-netter.

The three-goal surge was the second-fastest in Hurricanes playoff history and quieted the Bell Centre crowd.

The Canes maintained the 3-0 lead after two periods as they looked to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, with Game 5 set for Friday at Lenovo Center.

Hurricanes take early lead

Aho scored at 14:59 of the first period on a power-play blast off a Nikolaj Ehlers pass after the Canes’ first power play of the game was punchless. It was Aho’s fourth goal of the playoffs and his 11th career power-play score, making him the team’s career leader, passing Eric Staal (10).

It also Canes’ first power-play score in the series after going 0-8 in the first three games.

Staal’s second goal of the playoffs came 68 seconds later when he went to front of the net and jammed the puck past goalie Jakub Dobes. Staal took a quick feed from K’Andre Miller, who backhanded a pass to the Canes captain on the move as he skated past the cage.

Just 1:39 later it was 3-0, Canes. The Stankoven line connected as Jackson Blake’s pass set the center up with a shot off the rush at an open net and his eighth of the playoffs. It was Stankoven’s first point of the series.

The Canes had a 13-5 shot advantage in the opening period as the Habs continued to struggle putting shots on goal. They had one in the opening 10 minutes of Game 4 after the Game 3 loss that had Montreal credited with one shot in the third period and one in 14:06 of the overtime.

It’s the 25th birthday for Dobes, whose rookie season has been exceptional, but the Canes were the only ones celebrating in the first period. Dobes made high-quality stops and had the fans chanting his name.

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