Twenty years is a long time to wait for a hockey hangover, and Raleigh chose Friday night to break the streak. Carolina ran Montreal off the ice 6–1 at Lenovo Center, closed out the Eastern Conference Final 4–1, and earned the franchise its first Stanley Cup Final berth since the 2006 championship run. They get Vegas next. The conference carrousel is over; the last two teams standing are set.
How Carolina put it away inside twenty minutes
The first period of a clinching home game is supposed to be the most nervous. Carolina played it the other way. Logan Stankoven opened the scoring on a transition feed from Taylor Hall and Alexander Nikishin inside the first six minutes, and from there the Hurricanes refused to let the puck back out of the offensive zone. Eric Robinson made it 2–0 before the midway mark with a William Carrier assist, and the shot clock said the rest: Carolina outshot Montreal 15–4 in the period. By first intermission the building had stopped sounding like it was watching a hockey game and started sounding like it was watching a celebration.
The Canadiens have been a team that survives on the counter all spring. Take away their transition and they have to grind in the neutral zone against Carolina's forecheck, which is one of the worst jobs in hockey. Game 5 was that scenario for sixty minutes.
The Stankoven–Hall axis was the series
Hall added the third Carolina goal with assists from Stankoven and Jackson Blake, and the two finished the night with a goal and two assists apiece. They were the throughline of the entire round: a younger gear-shifter in Stankoven feeding off the veteran puck-protection of Hall, with Blake and Sebastian Aho rotating through to keep three lines dangerous. Montreal could not match the depth. Cole Caufield hit a third-period power play to spoil the shutout, and that was the only puck the Habs got past Frederik Andersen all night.
What Andersen, Jackson Blake and Shayne Gostisbehere added
The second period stretched the lead to four. Blake scored on the rush; Gostisbehere followed with a point shot that found a screen and stayed low. Seth Jarvis added a third-period insurance marker with Aho and Andrei Svechnikov getting the helpers. By the time the horn went, six different Hurricanes had scored, three more had multi-point nights, and Andersen had stopped 21 of 22 shots. That is a depth chart that looks unfair on paper and has played that way for a month.
Twenty years between Finals, in context
Carolina last played in a Cup Final in 2006, beating Edmonton in seven. The roster has been overhauled three times since then. Eric Staal lifted the trophy that year; Jordan Staal is still on this team, captaining a group that includes none of his 2006 teammates. The Hurricanes have been a perennial conference contender throughout the late 2010s and 2020s — three previous trips to the Eastern Final under Rod Brind'Amour and Doug Wilson — and each one ended in a series defeat to a New York or Boston opponent. This is the first time the wall came down.
The Final: what Vegas brings to the dance
The Golden Knights have already finished their Western half and are waiting. They have the 2023 banner, an experienced top-six that has been to a Final and won it, and the kind of size on the blue line that punishes teams that try to cycle on the boards. Carolina cycles on the boards. The series will hinge on whether Brind'Amour's group can dictate the pace they used to dismantle Montreal — relentless forecheck, four lines deep, goalie playing the puck — against a Vegas team that historically chokes the neutral zone better than anyone in the West.
Special teams will be a sub-story too. Carolina ran a top-five power play through the East bracket and Vegas is a top-three penalty kill. The first three games will tell us which discipline holds.
Where the series goes next
Carolina earned home-ice advantage on points and gets Games 1 and 2 at Lenovo Center, then a travel day, then Games 3 and 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Dates and broadcast information will be confirmed by the NHL in the next twenty-four hours; the opener typically lands within a week of the conference final clincher. For live brackets and live scoring from puck drop, check today's hockey scores on Scorelisto.
FAQ
When was Carolina's last Stanley Cup Final appearance? The 2006 Final, when the Hurricanes beat the Edmonton Oilers in seven games for the franchise's first championship.
Who scored for Carolina in Game 5? Logan Stankoven, Eric Robinson, Taylor Hall, Jackson Blake, Shayne Gostisbehere and Seth Jarvis. Cole Caufield had Montreal's only goal on a third-period power play.
How did the series end up? Carolina took it 4–1. Montreal stole Game 1 in Raleigh 6–2, then Carolina won four straight including two overtime games in the middle of the series.
Who do the Hurricanes face in the Final? The Vegas Golden Knights, the 2023 Stanley Cup winners and Western Conference champions this spring.
Where do I follow live scores from the Final? See the Scorelisto blog index for previews and recaps, with live in-game scores on the hockey scoreboard once the series gets underway.