RALEIGH — Game 1 of the NHL’s Eastern Conference Final began with a flourish and, perhaps, some rust from the Carolina Hurricanes, who are playing for the first time in 12 days.
The Montreal Canadiens scored four goals in the first 11 minutes, 32 seconds of the first period Thursday night at Lenovo Center in Raleigh to take a 4-1 lead over the Hurricanes.
Carolina got on the board first on a Seth Jarvis goal just 33 seconds into the game, electrifying the crowd.
But Montreal didn’t wait long to answer back, scoring 27 seconds later on a Cole Caufield goal from in front of the net off a terrific pass from Juraj Slafkovsky.
The Canadiens made it 2-1 on a breakaway goal by Phillip Danault, who beat Frederik Andersen with 15:56 remaining in the first period. Then Alexandre Texier added a third goal with 11:49 left in the period and Ivan Demidov tacked on another when he took a pass just inside the blue line and was one-on-one with Andersen.
Unlike in previous series, where Carolina’s defense suffocated opponents, the Canadiens found plenty of open ice to skate in the first period.
Carolina is 8-0 in the playoffs, but the Eastern Conference Final has been a problem for the franchise. The Hurricanes are 1-16 in four ECF appearances since 2009. Carolina has lost all six Eastern Conference Final Game 1s in the franchise’s history, including in 2002 and 2006 when it eventually won the series and advanced to the Stanley Cup Final.
