Carolina Hurricanes’ overtime magic continues in clutch Game 3 win over Canadiens
Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal said he expected a tight game between two good teams Monday in the Eastern Conference Final.
How about another overtime game? How tight is that? Staal was right.
The Hurricanes evened the series Saturday on an overtime goal by Nikolaj Ehlers at Lenovo Center. The move to the Bell Centre produced another Monday, when Andrei Svechnikov’s shot with 5:54 left in the extra period snuck past Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes, giving Carolina another 3-2 win.
Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki had an open shot from the slot in the opening minute of the overtime but missed the net. Defenseman Mike Matheson, who scored Montreal’s first goal of the game, then found the crossbar with a shot.
Dobes denied defenseman Jalen Chatfield on an open shot with 10:32 left in OT.
So ended a game in which the two teams battled on even terms. The Canes outshot and outchanced the Canadiens, who had one shot in the third period, and one more in OT.
But the Habs got another sparkling game in net from the rookie Dobes, and helped him by blocking shots and getting sticks on pucks. Canes goalie Frederik Andersen didn’t get as much work, but made some timely saves.
Dobes allowed goals to Shayne Gostisbehere and Taylor Hall, but that was it in regulation., adding another page to the story that the big rookie from Czechia continues to write this season and in the playoffs.
Game 4 will be played Wednesday at the Bell Centre, and it could again be a tight-checking, hard-working game as the Canes look to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The Habs believed they had taken a 3-2 lead with 12 minutes left in regulation when defenseman Noah Dobson had a shot glance off the stick of Ehlers, who tried to make a sliding stop only to have the puck skid past Andersen.
The huge cheers at the Bell Centre quickly died when the goal was challenged and reviewed: The ruling: Cole Caufield was offside entering the zone. No goal.
Dobes made a tough stop on Aho with 5:47 left in regulation after Aho found some open ice. In the second period, he denied Andrei Svechnikov’s hard wrister and a rush chance by Gostisbehere.
Hurricanes were ready for ‘electric’ atmosphere
Carolina Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho constantly used the word “electric” Monday during interviews at the Bell Centre
In looking to Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Montreal Canadiens, Aho said he expected an electric building, with an electric atmosphere. With the series tied 1-1, he also realizes it could make for an electric game.
“You’ve got to embrace it, you’ve got to enjoy it,” Aho said after the Canes’ morning skate, “It’s going to be an electric crowd, and it’s always fun to play in this building.
“I love it. It’s a cool building with a lot of history. It can bring emotion for both teams and I love it. I think both teams are going to go at it hard.”
The Canes have gone 4-0 in road games in the Stanley Cup playoffs, notching a pair of wins in sweeping the Ottawa Senators, then the Philadelphia Flyers.
Poise is always a key on the road, whether in the regular season or the playoffs. There will be pressure points in every game, times when the other team is pushing and their crowd is loud and everything seems intensified.
What’s needed in those moments?
“A little bit of everything,” Aho said. “Obviously, there’s a time for poise, a time to be disciplined. You want to bring the emotion, want to bring the hard battle and the hard work, as well.”
The Habs went into Monday’s game with a 2-4 record at home in the playoffs, but Canes captain Jordan Staal said, “That can flip in a moment” during any playoff round.
“It should be a tight game against a good team,” Staal said of Game 3.
Habs’ Lane Hutson was ready to go
Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson said Monday morning he was good to go in Game 3.
Hutson took a hard hit from Canes forward Taylor Hall along the boards during the overtime in Game 2, was shaken up and left the game in discomfort. It also left him irked.
“Hockey happens, that’s all, I guess,” Hutson said Monday morning. “Definitely doesn’t feel great, but it is what it is.”
Those on the Montreal side believed it was the kind of knee-to-knee hit that could have more seriously injured the dynamic 22-year-old D-man, who has two goals and 12 assists in the playoffs.
“I felt like he could have done a little more in leading more with his shoulder, but whatever,” Hutson said. “The game happens so fast. To say he intended to do anything crazy or anything … I put myself in a bad spot, and he took advantage.”
Hall has delivered some huge hits for the Canes in the playoffs. He knocked Ottawa defenseman Jake Sanderson out in the first-round series with a concussion, then collided with Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim, who was flattened and later called it a “pretty dirty play.”
Lineup change for Canadiens
The Canadiens made a lineup change for Game 3, inserting center Joe Veleno for Oliver Kapanen. Veleno last played in Game 6 of the second-round series against the Buffalo Sabres.
“We feel like Carolina brings a lot of heaviness and speed and I feel like Joey can give us that,” Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said.
Canes surprise Brind’Amour
Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour was asked Monday if anything about his team had surprised him this season, taking a few seconds to mull it over before answering.
“Not really, now that I’ve known this group for so long,” he said of a team that won the Metro Division and was the top playoff seed in the Eastern Conference. ”But what did surprise me was the other night.”
The Canes were sloppy and made a host of mistakes in the 6-2 loss to the Canadiens in Game 1 of the ECF in Raleigh.
“That was a strange kind of game for me. I don’t have many of those to fall back onto,” Brind’Amour said.
“There’s nothing that surprises me about this group. We know what we’re going to get, and that’s what you want when you’re coaching., knowing what you’re going to get.”
This story was originally published May 25, 2026 at 4:12 PM with the headline "Carolina Hurricanes’ overtime magic continues in clutch Game 3 win over Canadiens."
