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Mom, it's oooover!
After Game #2 (26-12 in shots on goal), we all figured the Canadiens had hit rock bottom and would bounce back in Montreal: after all, it couldn't get any worse, right?
Except that was underestimating the Canadiens, unfortunately…
In Game #3—the first at the Bell Centre—the Canadiens were outshot 39-13.
You know the drill: we all collectively figured the Habs couldn't possibly do any worse and would therefore bounce back on Wednesday night.
Nope! The Canadiens played their worst game in perhaps over a year, getting outshot 34-18. The final score was 4-0, and the expected goals were 6.41 to 1.28. The Canadiens were never in the game and got absolutely crushed. The 8-3 loss to the Sabres was nothing compared to this!
How can you manage only three shots in the third period, while allowing 19 to the opponent, when you're trailing by three goals? The fans chanting “shoot the puck” were right.
We've just witnessed three straight losses in which the moments of joy were very brief. I don't remember ever seeing one team dominate another team of the same caliber for such a long stretch.
If I were losing like this on PlayStation
, I think I'd throw my controller, turn off my console, and give up on my best-of-seven
series… but the NHL isn't a video game: the guys will fly to Raleigh later today and face elimination tomorrow at the Lenovo Center. I have a feeling there'll be fewer Habs fans in the stands, though…
What do I take away from yesterday's game… and from the series so far?
1. The Canadiens have won only two of the eight games they've played at the Bell Centre in the playoffs. Geoff Molson made a HUGE amount of money off those eight games, but you can't say the fans who paid top dollar for a seat at the Bell Centre got their money's worth.
2. The Habs simply aren't good enough to compete with the Hurricanes. Especially with the fatigue accumulated over the first two rounds and the fully rested Canes on the other side.
The Hurricanes have a 11-1 record since the start of the playoffs, while the Habs are 9-9.
In the end, the Senators (Travis Green) and the Flyers (Rick Tocchet) may not have been as bad as some people thought!
Let's give credit to the Hurricanes' players and coach. The Stanley Cup Final is going to be a tough one.
3. Martin St-Louis claimed after the game that he had made the necessary adjustments, but that his players lacked execution.
The team didn't practice after Games #2 and #3… and I didn't see anything on the ice that suggested the guys were trying to execute a better strategy in Game #4.
The system is the same, too many guys are refusing to take hits, there's still too much passing around, the players aren't shooting, they're holding onto the puck too long…
Martin St-Louis is an excellent motivational coach, but is he capable of adjusting his system when the opponent has studied it inside and out and made adjustments to counter it?
Yesterday, the Canadiens looked like a team with no answers. And so did their coach, when he was caught on camera on the bench…
St-Louis looks overwhelmed, while Rod Brind'Amour is in complete control. That's to be expected, you might say…
4. I have a lot of respect for Jakub Dobes and Lane Hutson, who once again took the blame after the game in front of the media
. However, Jakub Dobes is one of the few who has nothing to blame himself for right now. Without him, it would have ended 9-0 last night…
NHL Game Score Impact Card for the Montreal Canadiens on 2026-05-27: pic.twitter.com/8ZMF4btNK5
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) May 28, 2026
As for Hutson, the Hurricanes are applying so much pressure—while shutting down play in the neutral zone—that he can't find any solutions. Except he's taking the blame and the heat!
On the other hand, I hate hearing Nick Suzuki say that the team had a good start to the game, but that the Hurricanes' three unanswered goals made things difficult. Nick, it's because of your poor start to the game that the Canes were able to score three goals so quickly.
The captain also pointed to the offside that could have been called on one of the Hurricanes' goals. Again, offside or not, it wouldn't have changed the final result!
Cole Caufield blamed bad rebounds after Game 3. How can I put this, Cole? This series isn't about bad rebounds!
5. This series against the Hurricanes clearly exposes the team's weaknesses. Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes need to add some grit to their lineup, they need to find a #2 center who isn't named Jake Evans, and they need to pair Lane Hutson with someone other than Jayden Struble. Ivan Demidov shouldn't be playing with a guy like Evans, and Lane Hutson is way too strong to have Struble on his defensive pairing.
Will Jeff Gorton agree to do what he didn't do in New York (and what he didn't do after the first round against the Capitals last year): add some toughness to his talented group?
6. The guys are running on fumes. They've got no gas left in the tank. Their grueling May schedule is catching up with them. No need for advanced stats: you can see it with the naked eye.
Ivan Demidov and Alex Newhook didn't even make a real backcheck on any of the Hurricanes' three first-period goals.
Lane Hutson is racking up careless mistakes.
Josh Anderson, Alexandre Texier, Mike Matheson, Phillip Danault, Nick Suzuki… the guys are frustrated and undisciplined.
No one—other than Jakub Dobes—is playing playoff hockey right now. It looks like they're in training camp.
Is man-to-man
defense too demanding for the pace of the games at this stage of the year?
7. Martin St-Louis didn't change his lineup after Games #2 and #3; will he be tempted to do so after Game #4? If he does nothing, he'll look like a stubborn man who keeps repeating the same behaviors while hoping for a different result
.
That's Albert Einstein's definition of insanity…
His guys are running on empty; how can he decide not to call on other, well-rested players?
That said, even if Arber Xhekaj comes in to replace Jayden Struble and Patrik Laine or Brendan Gallagher takes Joe Veleno's spot, it probably won't change a thing. It's been a done deal for quite some time now.
8. Cole Caufield in the regular season: 51 goals and +29 in 81 games.
Cole Caufield in the playoffs: 5 goals and -8 in 18 games.
Here's a simple question: can we realistically expect Cole Caufield to be as successful in the playoffs as he is in the regular season going forward, given that the style of play is really not the same once the regular season is over?
9. We're just talking here, but man, the guys must not be looking forward to flying to Raleigh. Deep down, they know they won't win three straight games against the Hurricanes.
A lot of the players have young kids or babies.
You know, when you're traveling against your will…
