Canadiens Jump On Sleepy Hurricanes In Game 1

Carolina came out of a long playoff layoff looking a step slow, and Montreal made sure the gap showed up on the score sheet. The Canadiens pressured the Hurricanes into breakdowns and miscues early, the kind of postseason tax that usually gets collected by a more experienced team. For Carolina, the issue is not just rust, but whether the break has knocked its timing out of sync at exactly the wrong time.