Hurricanes-Canadiens Game 5 updates: Emotions high in big game for both teams
Carolina Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen was in the starter’s crease at Friday’s morning skate and will be playing his 13th straight game in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Montreal Canadiens.
Andersen’s agent, Claude Lemieux, died Thursday. The news broke just a few days after Lemieux, a former Canadiens star who won four Stanley Cups in his career, carried the torch before Game 3 at the Bell Centre in an emotional scene.
Andersen often is made available to the media after morning skates, but did not take questions Friday. He has not commented on Lemieux’s death.
Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour played against Lemieux and later coached his son, Brendan, with the Canes. He said he had a chance to visit with Claude Lemieux a few times when he would come to Raleigh to see his son play.
“It’s tragic,” Brind’Amour said Friday. “It’s a tough day for the hockey world, for sure.”
Canadiens can reflect on another comeback
Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki, a member of the 2021 team that reached the Stanley Cup Final, had a story to tell his younger teammates this week.
In the opening round, the Canadiens trailed the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 in the series after a 4-0 loss in Game 4 in Montreal. The Canadiens won Game 5 in overtime — Suzuki with the winner — then the next two games to take the series and move on.
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“You get a big OT winner and your confidence, your belief that things are turning around, are way higher,” Suzuki said Friday. “That puts a little doubt in the other team. That’s our only focus since we lost Game 4. All we have to do is go into Carolina and win one game. Focus on that part.
“It’s nice to have that experience. A lot of us that were on that team have relayed that message to the group.”
Hurricanes focus on Game 5, no more
The Hurricanes are back on home ice and a win away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final, but say their focus is solely on Game 5 and the business at hand.
“We’re not going to look too far ahead,” defenseman Jalen Chatfield said. “We know tonight is the game that matters. We have to stay in the moment, stay present, and bring our best.”
The Canes were at their best for most of Game 4 – a 4-0 win at the Bell Centre that gave Carolina the 3-1 series lead.
“We played a full 60 minutes that game,” Chatfield said. “Everybody contributed. Blocked shots, made some hits, we got pucks deep and made smart plays. It was the perfect game for us and we’d like to build off that.
“When we’re relentless the way we are, forechecking and backchecking and putting pressure on teams, it’s hard to play against. That’s all I hear around the league when people talk about us, that ‘When we play the Carolina Hurricanes we know what kind of game it’s going to be.’ We have to keep building off that.”
Brind’Amour plans out pregame talk
Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour was asked Friday about how much goes into his pregame spiel to the team.
The team uses social media to send out clips of Brind’Amour’s postgame talks in the locker room after wins the coach staying on the move as he speaks. But what about before a game?
“I have to prepare. I don’t like winging it,” he said. “I think everyone has their own different approach to it. Sometimes, you have the best one and they don’t play that great.
“My job is to get them ready and lay out the plan. Then, the job’s over and we make adjustments during the game. But you’ve got to turn it over to the guys and go play.”
This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 2:41 PM with the headline "Hurricanes-Canadiens Game 5 updates: Emotions high in big game for both teams."
