The Montreal Canadiens have twice already in these playoffs drummed up a victory in an elimination game.
The Canadiens must find that magic again to keep their playoff hopes alive when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals in Raleigh, N.C.
Carolina holds a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, and has won the last three clashes, the latest a 4-0 victory on Wednesday.
“They’re making it hard on us for sure, but we’ve got to find more answers,” forward Alex Newhook said. “We’ve got to find more answers as individuals as well, hold ourselves to higher standards that we can be better than what we’ve been.”
The series winner will face the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final. Vegas swept the Colorado Avalanche in Western Conference finals.
Only once in 73 instances in NHL history has a team trailing 3-1 in a best-of-seven conference finals or NHL semifinals rebounded to win the series: the 2000 New Jersey Devils against the Philadelphia Flyers.
A comeback would be a tall order at any time, but the Canadiens must find a way to generate offense to even have a hope. Montreal has been held to 18 shots or fewer in each of the last three games, two of which reached overtime. Even their fans were chanting in frustration for the Canadiens to shoot the puck.
Turning the tide will require plenty of changes.
“You’ve got to believe that you can actually do it,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “To me, I don’t doubt that I believe we can do it. … We’ll put our best foot forward for Game 5.”
Montreal defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Buffalo Sabres in a pair of Game 7s in the first two rounds, both on the road.
The Hurricanes are looking to advance to the finals for the time since winning the Stanley Cup in 2006, when current head coach Rod Brind’Amour was a player.
To say Carolina has been firing on all cylinders would be an understatement. After sweeping their opponents in each of the first two rounds, the Eastern Conference’s top club during the regular season dropped the series opener to Montreal, 6-2, but has followed with textbook performances.
The Hurricanes’ victory on Wednesday was as complete of a performance as could be hoped for at this juncture of the playoff chase.
“It was an exceptional game, but, man, the fourth one is always the hardest one to win,” captain Jordan Staal said on Thursday. “It’s going to be a brand-new challenge, brand-new game and a whole new set of scenarios. We’re going to have to bottle that up and try to do that again and get ready for their best.”
The Hurricanes have shown the right killer instinct this season when they had a chance to close out a series.
Adding to the excitement in this round is the fact they have can claim the Prince of Wales Trophy on home ice before their frenzied faithful.
“It’s huge,” defenseman Jaccob Slavin said of the opportunity before his squad. “We’ve got a great community. The fans are passionate about Carolina hockey. It’s an exciting opportunity, but at the end of the day, home or away, you have a job to do, you want to finish it and you want to do it well.”
