Hurricanes to play Golden Knights in Stanley Cup Final after eliminating Canadiens

After a 6-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final, the Carolina Hurricanes are going to the Stanley Cup Final for the third time in franchise history and the first since 2006.

The Hurricanes dropped Game 1 of the series after an 11-day layoff and did not lose again, running their record to 12-1 on their playoff run that also featured sweeps over the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers, becoming the first team in NHL history to achieve that feat through the first three rounds.

Just as they did in Game 4 in Montreal, Carolina jumped all over the Habs early on. Taylor Hall opened the scoring with a rebound finish that withstood a challenge by Martin St. Louis for goaltender interference for Logan Stankoven’s contact with Jakub Dobes.

Stankoven made it 2-0 with his ninth of the postseason with a wrist shot that found its way over Dobes’ left shoulder, and just under two minutes later, Eric Robinson put up his third of the series on a breakaway with a shot that trickled through and past Dobes to make it 3-0 after the first period.

With the game largely in hand, the Canes kept pouring it on. Jackson Blake made it 4-0 with his fifth of the postseason, and Shayne Gostisbehere added a fifth with a power play goal.

The Habs were able to avoid a second consecutive shutout when Cole Caufield tallied a power play marker in the third period, and Seth Jarvis finished off the scoring with an empty-net goal.

After the game, Carolina was presented with the Prince of Wales Trophy for the third time in team history, with the first coming in 2002.

The Stanley Cup Final between Carolina and Vegas will get started next Tuesday night with Game 1 in Raleigh. Both organizations will be looking for their second Cup wins, as the Hurricanes earned their first in 2006 while the Golden Knights are going for their second in four years after winning it all in 2023.