Cole Caufield answered 27 seconds after Seth Jarvis opened the scoring, and the Montreal Canadiens erupted for four goals in the first 11 minutes, 32 seconds to seize a 4-1 lead in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final on Thursday night at Lenovo Center in Raleigh.
Seth Jarvis struck 33 seconds into the game, but Caufield’s quick reply erased the early scare. Phillip Danault pushed Montreal ahead on a breakaway with 15:56 remaining in the first period, Alexandre Texier extended the lead when he scored with 11:49 left, and Ivan Demidov finished the flurry after taking a pass just inside the blue line and going one-on-one with Frederik Andersen. The sequence left the Canadiens up 4-1 before the period had ticked past a quarter of the opening frame.
The start was notable against a Carolina club that had not played in 12 days and arrived in the series 8-0 in the playoffs. Those numbers carried weight: Carolina entered the matchup unbeaten and rested. At the same time, the Hurricanes carried a long, cold history in this round — they were 1-16 across four Eastern Conference Final appearances since 2009 and had lost all six previous Game 1s in franchise history before Thursday.
Montreal reached this point the hard way. The Canadiens advanced after two road Game 7 wins in the postseason, including a 3-2 overtime victory in Buffalo three nights before Game 1. That road life followed a May 6 Game 1 loss to the Sabres by a 4-2 score; Montreal has been 6-0 in games following a loss during this playoff run. Last year, the Canadiens were knocked out in the first round by Washington in five games, and only six players from Montreal’s 2020 playoff team remain on the roster today.
The contrast between Carolina’s rest and recent perfection and Montreal’s momentum and resilience created immediate friction. The Hurricanes’ layoff and spotless record suggested a club ready to pounce; their history in this round suggested vulnerability. For the montreal canadiens, the opening 11:32 became the kind of blunt reply coaches and players say matters most in a series’ first night.
Caufield’s rapid equalizer, followed by the Danault, Texier and Demidov goals, handed Montreal a cushion it has earned in this postseason — a run defined by late road wins and recovery after setbacks. If the Canadiens can summon a repeat of that early burst in the games ahead, their recent pattern of bouncing back from losses and winning critical road tests suggests they will not squander the advantage they won in Raleigh on Thursday night.
