The frustration and controversy surrounding the officiating in Game 3 quickly faded in Game 4 as the Carolina Hurricanes reminded everyone why they’ve been one of the NHL’s most dominant playoff teams.
Carolina stormed into Bell Centre on Wednesday night and delivered a convincing 4-0 shutout win over the Montreal Canadiens, taking a commanding 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Final and pushing Montreal to the brink of elimination.
Amid the difficult loss, Wayne Gretzky shared a calm and supportive perspective on Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki.
Wayne Gretzky Gives Nick Suzuki The Benefit of the Doubt
While Game 3 came down to controversial moments and missed opportunities, Game 4 was simply a showcase of Carolina’s structure, pressure, and playoff experience.
The opening period was physical and tightly contested for nearly 14 minutes, with Montreal showing some early energy, especially on the power play. But things unraveled quickly late in the first period when the Hurricanes exploded for three goals in just 2 minutes and 47 seconds. Carolina later added an empty-net goal in the third to seal the win.
Montreal struggled offensively all night, managing just 18 shots while facing a relentless 43-shot attack from Carolina.
Still, one of the biggest lingering moments from the series remains Nick Suzuki’s missed breakaway opportunity in overtime of Game 3, a play that even caught Wayne Gretzky’s attention.
Speaking before Game 4, Gretzky praised Lane Hutson’s setup while sympathizing with the pressure Suzuki faced in that moment. “What a pass by Hutson,” Gretzky said. “It was like Joe Namath throwing a perfect pass. It was right on his stick, over top of two, landed flat on his stick, right? And you’re the captain of the Montreal Canadiens, and you realize, okay, I got a chance for us to go up two games to one in this series.”
Gretzky noted Suzuki had a large opening between the goalie’s pad and the post but narrowly missed the opportunity. But instead of heavily criticizing Suzuki, Gretzky focused on the emotional ups and downs that come with playoff hockey.
“It’s depressing, and it’s disappointing,” Gretzky admitted. “But listen, the great thing about the playoffs, there’s so many peaks and valleys. And when you get in that valley, you can’t get too low, you can’t be too down. And then when you win those big games, you can’t get too high.”
Suzuki still has an impressive 16 points in 18 playoff games this postseason, but Carolina’s relentless defensive pressure has held him off the scoresheet in each of the last three games.
Per Opta numbers, the Canadiens have taken 43 shots on goal in 197:35 of game time over the last three games, averaging 13.1 shots per 60 minutes. That tally is the lowest per 60 minutes by any NHL team over any three-game span (regular or playoffs) since shots were first tracked in 1955-56.
For Montreal’s young core, the series has been a harsh lesson in playoff hockey against a veteran Carolina team. Now down 3-1, the Canadiens head to Raleigh facing elimination in Game 5.
