{"id":584872,"date":"2026-05-27T14:03:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T14:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/584872\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T14:03:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T14:03:18","slug":"montreal-needs-a-big-win-against-carolina-tonight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/584872\/","title":{"rendered":"Montreal needs a big win against Carolina tonight"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"NHL<\/a>NHL Montreal Canadiens’ Jake Evans (71) celebrates with teammates Kirby Dach (77) and Patrik Laine (92) after scoring against the Tampa Bay Lightning during third period NHL hockey action in Montreal, Tuesday, January 21, 2025. (Graham Hughes\/The Canadian Press via AP)<\/p>\n

Montreal Searching for Urgency After Consecutive OT Losses<\/p>\n

The Canadiens <\/a>return to the Bell Centre tonight needing a response after dropping Games 2 and 3 in overtime. Montreal has been outshot 92\u201147 through the first three games, including only two shots over the final 34 minutes of Game 3. Players and coaches acknowledged that execution, pace, and puck decisions must improve immediately if they want to avoid heading back to Raleigh down 3\u20111.<\/p>\n

Head coach Martin St. Louis said he expects his team \u201cto show up\u201d in a game that could define the series. Montreal has not lost three straight since November, but the Hurricanes\u2019 maturity and structure have tilted the momentum.<\/p>\n

Hurricanes Controlling Pace With Speed and Pressure<\/p>\n

Carolina has found its rhythm after a sluggish Game 1.<\/a> The Hurricanes have matched Montreal\u2019s skating, won most of the physical battles, and controlled long stretches of possession. Their ability to move the puck quickly and generate pressure has forced the Canadiens into reactive hockey.<\/p>\n

Frederik Andersen has been inconsistent, but Montreal has not produced enough shots to test him. Fans at the Bell Centre voiced their frustration in overtime of Game 3, urging the Canadiens to shoot more often.<\/p>\n

Canadiens Aim to Play Faster With the Puck<\/p>\n

Montreal\u2019s focus entering Game 4 is simple: play faster, make quicker decisions, and attack with more purpose. NHL.com reported that the Canadiens want to move the puck with more pace and avoid getting trapped in Carolina\u2019s defensive layers. The team believes that faster puck movement will create more entries, more possession, and more chances to expose Andersen.<\/p>\n

Players emphasized that desperation must match execution. Montreal has been strong on the road this postseason, but home\u2011ice struggles have become a storyline at 2\u20115 in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Stakes Could Not Be Higher Tonight<\/p>\n

A loss would send the Canadiens back to Raleigh facing a 3\u20111 deficit against one of the league\u2019s most disciplined teams. A win resets the series and restores the momentum they built early.<\/p>\n

Montreal has shown resilience all season, but tonight demands their sharpest effort. Game 4 at the Bell Centre carries the weight of the series, and both teams know it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NHL Montreal Canadiens’ Jake Evans (71) celebrates with teammates Kirby Dach (77) and Patrik Laine (92) after scoring…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":577699,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5107],"tags":[2003,265,194,29,5176,4220,1239,1122,5,195,412,21,4,60,1174],"class_list":["post-584872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-carolina-hurricanes","tag-bell-centre","tag-canadiens","tag-carolina","tag-carolina-hurricanes","tag-carolinahurricanes","tag-eastern-conference-final","tag-frederik-andersen","tag-game-4","tag-hockey","tag-hurricanes","tag-martin-st-louis","tag-montreal-canadiens","tag-nhl","tag-nhl-playoffs","tag-sebastian-aho"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116646917178436456","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/584872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=584872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/584872\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/577699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=584872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=584872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=584872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}