Canadiens Second Consecutive OT Loss in Eastern Conference Final: What's Gone Wrong?

After an emphatic 6-2 win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes, Montreal Canadiens fans were very confident about their chances in this series and while a pushback was expected in the games to follow, no one could've expected the 180 that the team has made between last Thursday and Monday's Game 3.

The Hurricanes responded in Game 2 as everyone would've expected and defeated the Canadiens in overtime by a score of 3-2. While the loss was understandably disappointing for fans, what was more frustrating to see was that they only threw 12 shots the way of Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen in Game 2. Surely the Canadiens would need to change their approach and push for more offense & sustained pressure in Game 3, right?

Plenty of questions need answering after Canadiens' Game 3 overtime loss to Hurricanes

For those fans who were hoping for a better outcome as the series shifted to the Bell Centre in Montreal on Monday, they weren't so lucky.

The Carolina Hurricanes got the scoring started in the first period as Shayne Gostisbehere took advantage of a defensive miscue by the Canadiens, jumped on the rebound and put home his first of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, making it 1-0. A bit later on in the period, the Canadiens would equalize courtesy of Mike Matheson, who blasted a shot under the bar to tie the game up at 1-1.

Game 3 wouldn't remain tied for too long as less than a minute later, Taylor Hall sucked all the energy out of the building, restoring Carolina's lead after jamming the loose puck past Jakub Dobeš. After 20 minutes, not only did the Carolina Hurricanes have a 2-1 lead, but they outshot the Canadiens by a wide margin - 16 to 5.

While on the power play early on in the second period, the Canadiens tied the game once again. A beautiful back-and-forth between Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson was finished by the latter a little less than five minutes into the middle frame, tying this one up at two goals a piece. The Canadiens thought they had taken the lead in the third period after Noah Dobson banked the puck off a Hurricanes player and into the back of the net, but Carolina head coach Rod Brind'Amour challenged the play for offside. 

Upon review, it was determined that Cole Caufield zone entry was offside, therefore the goal was overturned and the game remained knotted up at 2-2 through 60 minutes. Heading into overtime, the Canadiens were being outshot 33 to 12, the same tally they finished Game 2 with on Saturday night, which resulted in a loss.

With six minutes left in the extra frame, Lane Hutson attempted to make a pass to Juraj Slafkovsky as they exited the Canadiens zone, but ended up turning it over. The Hurricanes worked the puck around before Andrei Svechnikov fired one through a screen, beating Dobeš and giving Carolina their second consecutive overtime victory to take a 2-1 series lead.

The Canadiens finished Game 3 with 13 shots on goal and a combined 25 shots in their last two contests, which isn't nearly good enough. Sure, they defeated Tampa Bay in Game 7 with only nine shots, but that's anomaly, that's not going to happen every day. In fact, according to Sportsnet Stats, the Canadiens had more icings (15) than shots (13) in Game 3. Montreal is now tied with the 1978 Chicago Black Hawks for the least amount of shots on goal in a Stanley Cup Playoff game that required overtime in NHL history. 

After the game, Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis met with reporters wasn't too happy with his team's effort in Game 3, saying that at times on Monday night, they were playing "too slow" and when they were playing with speed, they were unable to find the back of the net.

"I feel like at times we're playing too slow and sometimes we play at the right pace but we don't execute." St. Louis said postgame.

With 25 combined shots in Games 2 & 3 and back-to-back overtime losses, what needs to change for the Canadiens? For starters, shuffling the lines, including the top-six, needs to be on the table. The Canadiens are two losses away from their season coming to an end and with the way they've played in Games 2 and 3, if they stay with the status quo, elimination could be possible on Friday night.

Looking at the top-six, it might be time to break up the Caufield-Suzuki-Slafkovsky line, at least to start Game 4 and see how it works. St. Louis could drop Slafkovsky to the Evans & Newhook line while moving Ivan Demidov up to play with a bit more of a creative centerman in Nick Suzuki and gives him an offensive weapon in Cole Caufield to feed the puck to.

Depth wise, it seems unlikely that we'll see Oliver Kapanen in this series again following his mistake in overtime in Game 2. Joe Veleno came in for Kapanen in Game 3 and while he wasn't particularly noticeable, finishing the game with 1 block and 1 hit, he wasn't terrible either and will probably feature in Game 4. But what about someone like Brendan Gallagher? Gallagher's foot speed is likely playing a big role in keeping him in the press box, but this Canadiens group is in need of guidance and no one has more Stanley Cup Playoff experience than the 34-year-old, who has suited up in 79 career postseason games. His presence alone could help the Canadiens, but it is worth taking someone out and putting in a slower player like Gallagher? That's something St. Louis and his staff will need to think about.

On the blue line, the only potential change we could see is Arber Xhekaj drawing back in for Jayden Struble, who was the only Canadiens defenseman to finish last night's game with less than 20 minutes of ice time. The issue with only using five of your six defensemen is that you end up putting out pairings that don't work well together, Matheson & Carrier, for example.

The Canadiens have opted not to practice today, same with the Hurricanes. Martin St. Louis' group will look to reset ahead of their most important game of the season tomorrow night at the Bell Centre. Montreal needs to shoot and not back down. Pepper Frederik Andersen with shots early on and get pressure deep in Carolina's zone. They need to get back to the way they played in Game 1 and despite back-to-back deflating losses, the Canadiens' confidence in themselves and their teammates hasn't waivered. The Hurricanes will need to be prepared to a motivated and desperate Canadiens team.

Puck drop for Game 4 on Wednesday night is set for 8 pm ET on CBC & Sportsnet in Canada, along with TNT in the United States.