Twenty-four hours after Alex Newhook’s overtime winner in Buffalo sent the Montreal Canadiens to the Eastern Conference Final, the hockey world was still catching up to what the Habs have become.
The celebrations in Montreal were so loud and sustained that they registered as microearthquakes, per seismic monitoring data referenced by CityNews.
Carolina, fresh off an 8-0 sweep through the first two rounds and sitting idle since May 9, now waits at Lenovo Center for a Montreal team that has played seven more games, survived two Game 7s, and lost none of its momentum in the process.
Jack Hughes, the New Jersey Devils star and US Olympic gold medalist, was asked about the matchup on The Pat McAfee Show. He did not pretend it was a foregone conclusion.
Jack Hughes Warns Canadiens Are ‘Exciting Young Team’ With Bell Centre Atmosphere to Match Carolina
Hughes, the 24-year-old who scored the golden goal for Team USA against Canada at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics and has been a fixture on major media platforms ever since, was measured in how he framed the Eastern Conference Finals when put on the spot by McAfee.
“Montreal, you gotta know, every road team that goes into Montreal is so juiced up because Bell Centre is an unbelievable atmosphere,” Hughes said. “Montreal is a good, exciting young team, and obviously, their arena rocks pretty good. So that’ll be a fun series.”
“Carolina is probably the hardest rink to play in because of their fans and the way that they play”@jhugh86 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/bcVoCAXaJP
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 19, 2026
Coming from a player who has played in some of the loudest buildings in the NHL, including his home ice at Prudential Center, that is a genuine compliment. Bell Centre has a documented history of shaking opposing teams before pucks drop.
Martin St. Louis’ young Canadiens have weaponized it throughout this postseason, and the microearthquake readings from Monday night’s Game 7 celebration confirmed what anyone watching already knew.
Hughes was equally candid about what Montreal is walking into, and he did not dress it up.
“Carolina’s probably the hardest rink to play in just with the fans and the way they play,” he said. “The Caniacs are going to be so pumped. I really do hate to give them that, but it is a rocking spot and they get after it in that building.”
That framing cuts to the heart of the series. Carolina has gone 8-0 in these playoffs, allowing just 10 goals in all, and Frederik Andersen has been the best goaltender in the postseason with a 1.12 GAA and .950 save percentage.
The Hurricanes’ 12-day break between games is the longest in NHL playoff history since Montreal waited 12 days in 1919, and they will be well rested, healthy, and playing in front of a Caniac crowd that has been waiting since May 9 to exhale.
Montreal, by contrast, has played 14 games, navigated two Game 7s, relied on Jakub Dobes going 8-6 with a 2.52 GAA, and leaned heavily on Newhook at clutch moments. Lane Hutson leads the Habs with 14 postseason points, Nick Suzuki has 13, and Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky each have nine.
Newhook himself leads all Montreal skaters with seven goals, two of which came in overtime in Game 7 situations. This is a team that thrives in adversity rather than wilting under it.
As Hughes noted, there is a different energy when visiting teams arrive at Bell Centre, and Montreal will have that home crowd firing on all cylinders for Games 3 and 4 on May 25 and May 27.
Game 1 tips off Thursday, May 21, at 8 PM ET at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh on TNT.
Carolina is the favorite. But nobody should walk into Bell Centre assuming Montreal’s electric young core won’t put up a fight.
