Early-goal blitz gives Canes 4-0 win, commanding 3-1 series lead on Canadiens
MONTREAL (WTVD) -- The Carolina Hurricanes stunned Montreal with three goals in less than a three-minute span late in the first period and never looked back Wednesday night in a 4-0 victory that gave the Hurricanes a commanding 3-1 Eastern Conference Final lead heading back to Raleigh.
After Sebastian Aho opened the scoring on a snap shot, Jordan Staal doubled the lead on a tip-in, and soon after, Logan Stankoven fired in a third to silence the crowd inside Montreal's Bell Centre.
The Hurricanes are 11-1 in the first three rounds. They put it away early in Game 4 after winning the previous two games in overtime.
The Hurricanes scored first for the fourth straight game when Aho beat Jakub Dobes with a one-timer from the right circle on a power play with 5:02 left in the first. Staal followed with 3:53 to go, tipping in K'Andre Miller's centering pass. Stankoven then finished off a two-on-one with Jason Blake with 2:14 remaining in the period.
Andrei Svechnikov added an empty-netter with under two minutes left to cap off the scoring.
Nikolaj Ehlers and Shayne Gostisbehere each had two assists for the Hurricanes. They are the seventh NHL team to win six or more road games to start a postseason.
Carolina had a 19-3 shots-on-goal advantage in the third period for a 43-18 overall edge.
The Hurricanes can close out the series and advance to the Stanley Cup Final on Friday night in Raleigh. Puck drop is scheduled for 8 p.m. at the Lenovo Center.
Frederik Andersen made 18 saves for his third shutout in 12 postseason games this year
The Vegas Golden Knights await the winner of this series.
- The Associated Press contributed.
