Cole Caufield and the Canadiens came out flying despite allowing a goal in the opening 33 seconds as Montreal snapped Carolina’s eight-game postseason-opening winning streak and took a 1-0 lead in its Eastern Conference Final series.
* Thursday marked the third contest in Stanley Cup Playoffs history where both teams had opening-minute goals following Game 6 of the 2023 Second Round between the Golden Knights and Oilers as well as Game 2 of the 1993 Division Finals between the Canucks and Kings.
* Gabriel Landeskog and the Avalanche aim to even their Western Conference Final series against Jack Eichel and the Golden Knights tonight. Eichel is one of three players in the series who can capture a Stanley Cup after winning a gold medal with Team USA at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 (also Noah Hanifin & Brock Nelson).
CANADIENS COME OUT FLYING FOLLOWING GAME 7 WIN, HAND HURRICANES FIRST LOSS
Cole Caufield (1:00) and Seth Jarvis (0:33) exchanged opening-minute goals before the Canadiens added three more during the first period en route to taking a 1-0 lead in their Eastern Conference Final series and halting the Hurricanes’ eight-game postseason-opening winning streak, which was one shy of tying the NHL record set by the 1985 Oilers (9-0).
* Nick Suzuki (0-3—3) assisted on Caufield’s goal and extended his postseason-opening road point streak to a franchise-record nine games while becoming the fifth player in NHL history with a run of that length after Mark Messier (10 GP in 1994 & 9 GP in 1990), Joe Sakic (10 GP in 1996), Leon Draisaitl (9 GP in 2025) and Peter Forsberg (9 GP in 1999). Suzuki reached 14 road points in the 2026 playoffs to set a single-postseason club record and tie Mitch Marner for the League lead.
* Caufield collected his fifth career goal during a final-four round after having four as a 20-year-old rookie in the 2021 Stanley Cup Semifinals and assisted on a highlight-reel tally by Juraj Slafkovský (2-1—3) during the final frame. Caufield became the eighth player in NHL history with 40 tying or go-ahead goals in a campaign (regular season & playoffs).
* Jakub Dobes (25 saves) remained perfect against Carolina this season and improved to 9-6 in 15 appearances during the 2026 playoffs with a 2.48 goals-against average and .911 save percentage. Dobes became the fourth rookie goaltender in franchise history with nine or more wins during a postseason after Patrick Roy (15-5 in 1986), Ken Dryden (12-8 in 1971) and Steve Penney (9-6 in 1984).
* Phillip Danault (1-1—2), Alexandre Texier and Ivan Demidov accounted for the other first-period goals by Montreal, which scored four in the opening frame of a playoff contest for the first time since Game 1 of the 1991 Division Semifinals. The Canadiens achieved the feat during a final-four round for the first time in more than 67 years and fourth time in franchise history (also Game 5 of 1959 SF, Game 1 of 1958 SF & Game 5 of 1954 SF).
LOOKING AHEAD TO THE DRAFT: SAN JOSE HOLDS ANOTHER HIGH PICK
The Sharks won the second drawing of the NHL Draft Lottery, moving up from ninth position to the second overall pick – their third consecutive draft with a top two selection after Macklin Celebrini (No. 1 in 2024) and Michael Misa (No. 2 in 2025). San Jose could become the fifth franchise in NHL history to make a top two overall selection in three straight years following the Penguins (4 from 2003 to 2006), Thrashers (4 from 1999 to 2002), Oilers (3 from 2010 to 2012) and Nordiques (3 from 1989 to 1991).
* The 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft will take place at KeyBank Center in Buffalo from Friday, June 26 (Round 1: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS) to Saturday, June 27 (Rounds 2-7: 11 a.m. ET on NHLN, ESPN+, SN).
* CLICK HERE for #NHLStats Pack: Looking Ahead to the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft
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Landeskog, Avalanche aim to even series against Eichel, Golden Knights
Gabriel Landeskog and the Avalanche aim to even their Western Conference Final series against Jack Eichel and the Golden Knights before it shifts to T-Mobile Arena for Game 3 on Sunday. Landeskog logged a goal in the series opener before Eichel assisted on an empty-netter to quell Colorado’s comeback attempt.
* Landeskog underwent multiple knee surgeries after captaining the 2022 Avalanche to the Stanley Cup and made his triumphant return to Colorado’s lineup for the first time in more than 1,000 days during Game 3 of the 2025 First Round. Landeskog was a regular for the Avalanche during their Presidents’ Trophy-winning season and can become the NHL’s second European to captain multiple Cup-winning teams, following Aleksander Barkov (2025 & 2024 FLA).
* Eichel, Noah Hanifin, Brock Nelson and Jaccob Slavin are the four players still competing in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs that won a gold medal with Team USA at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. The only American to win the Stanley Cup and Olympic gold in the same season is Ken Morrow, who completed the feat with the 1980 Islanders after playing for the “Miracle on Ice” team alongside Nelson’s uncle, Dave Christian.
