The teams took different paths to get to the Eastern Conference Finals of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, but the series between the Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes will get underway with Game 1 on Thursday, May 21.
For the second straight series the Habs needed to win Game 7 on the road, getting an OT winner from Alex Newhook on Monday to beat Buffalo. It’s been more than a week since the Canes posted their second sweep beating Philadelphia in OT on May 9.
When Are the NHL Eastern Conference Finals 2026?
With Montreal needing seven games to win each of the first two rounds, the start of the NHL Eastern Conference Finals was stretched out. Game 1 takes place in Raleigh, NC on Thursday, May 21 with the Hurricanes favored in Stanley Cup Playoff odds.
The teams will play every other day until the series winner has been determined. If needed a decisive Game 7 will take place in Raleigh on Tuesday, June 2.
Every round of the NHL playoffs requires a team to win four games to advance. The team with more points accumulated during the regular season has home ice advantage. Using a 2-2-1-1-1 games format the Hurricanes will play Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 on their home ice.
Teams in the NHL Eastern Conference Finals 2026
The Canes recorded an Eastern Conference best 113 points during the regular season securing home ice throughout the conference playoffs. And they opened the postseason in dominant style with sweeps of Ottawa and Philadelphia in the first two rounds. Carolina outscored their opponents 24-10 allowing two goals or less in all eight contests with a pair of shutouts.
Having home ice is a plus for Carolina after finishing the regular season with the best home record in the NHL at 29-10-2. The Canes had an 11-4 goals advantage at home in the first two rounds. In a historical perspective Carolina is the fifth team in Stanley Cup playoff history to start 8-0 or better and the first since 1985.
Montreal finished third in the Atlantic Division posting its most wins (48) and points (106) in 11 seasons. The Habs ousted Tampa Bay and Buffalo, the teams that finished above them in the division standings, each in seven games. And the team has a new hero in Alex Newhook, who scored the series-winning goal in Game 7 in the first two rounds.
A large part of Montreal’s success this season was based on their play in road games. The Habs had the best road record among Eastern Conference teams and the second-best record in the entire NHL. The Canadiens won twice on the road in sweeping the 3-game season series outscoring Carolina 15-8.
NHL Eastern Conference Finals 2026 Preview
Carolina Hurricanes
The undefeated start to the postseason could actually work against the Hurricanes. The 11 days of rest between games allows the Canes to heal from a long season, but the inactivity can also create a level of rust for a high-impact series against a motivated opponent.
Carolina has turned up the defensive intensity in the playoffs backstopped by Frederik Andersen. The club was fifth during the regular season allowing 2.88 goals per game and they sliced that number down to 1.25 in the postseason. Andersen is the playoff leader in GAA (1.12) and SV% (.950).
- The Canes have struggled on the power play in the postseason with a success rate of just 13.5 percent.
- Seth Jarvis has scored just once in the playoffs after leading the team with 32 during the regular season.
- Former NHL MVP Taylor Hall leads the Canes in scoring with 12 points (3G, 9A) in eight playoff games.
Montreal Canadiens
Being the youngest team in more than 30 years to advance this far in the playoffs is a blessing for the Canadiens. They will need that youth to recover from 14 pressure-packed playoff games in the first two rounds. The group has been tested and passed, winning Game 7 on the road in their first two series.
Montreal’s youth and speed gave Carolina problems during the season series. The Habs scored 15 times in those games with their big guns Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky and Ivan Demidov all contributing five points in those games. Overall the Habs have won four straight and five of the last six against Carolina.
- Jakub Dobes has faced the most shots of any goalie this postseason with a .910 SV% and 2.52 GAA.
- The Canadiens have scored the most power play goals (14) this postseason with Juraj Slafkovsky leading the NHL with four extra man tallies.
- The PK could be an issue for Montreal after allowing at least one PPG in eight of their 14 playoff games. They have killed just 74.1 percent of opponent power plays this postseason.
NHL Eastern Conference Finals 2026 Predictions and Expectations
No team has ever gone through a lengthy playoff run undefeated so you can expect Carolina to lose at some point in Stanley Cup Playoff odds. Experiencing a long stretch of inactivity sets the Canes up to be rusty out of the gate so keeping the young Habs on their heels is important.
The Canes were methodical in the first two rounds getting stellar goaltending from Frederik Andersen and clutch goal scoring. While the power play has lagged the Canes have made up for it by allowing just two power play goals in 40 chances.
Despite losing all three regular season meetings the Canes shone on special teams. They were 4 of 8 on the power play and killed 7 of 8 shorthanded situations. Carolina has to be better in 5v5 situations against the highly-skilled Canadiens attack.
Montreal is oozing confidence entering this series not allowing fatigue to take over yet. They rebounded from a demoralizing 8-3 loss to Buffalo in Game 6 of that series to upset the Sabres in Game 7 on the road. And they were the only Eastern Conference team to not surrender a point to Carolina during the season winning all three contests in regulation.
A power play unit led by Juraj Slafkovsky and Cole Caufield will test Carolina’s strong penalty kill. The Habs have clicked at 25 percent with the man-advantage with Slafkovsky and Caufield combining for seven PPGs.
Though his numbers don’t compare to those of Andersen, Dobes has bailed his team out on countless occasions. The young goalie stopped 28 of 29 shots in the Game 7 win at Tampa Bay in the first round and had 37 saves to beat Buffalo in the deciding game.
NHL Eastern Conference Finals Schedule
- Game 1: at Carolina, Thursday, May 21, 8 p.m. ET
- Game 2: at Carolina, Saturday, May 23, 7 p.m. ET
- Game 3: at Montreal, Monday, May 25, 8 p.m. ET
- Game 4: at Montreal, Wednesday, May 27, 8 p.m. ET
- *Game 5: at Carolina, Friday, May 29, 8 p.m. ET
- *Game 6: at Montreal, Sunday, May 31, 8 p.m. ET
- *Game 7: at Carolina, Tuesday, June 2, 8 p.m. ET
- *- If Needed
Where to Watch the NHL Eastern Conference Finals 2026
The Eastern Conference Finals of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs will be broadcast in the U.S. on TNT and truTV. The series can also be streamed live on HBO Max. TNT/truTV streams can be accessed on Sling TV, YouTube TV and Hulu+ Live TV.
Canadian viewers can watch an English broadcast on Sportsnet and CBC with a French airing on TVA Sports.
