Canadiens dealt a dose of déjà vu in home-opener loss to Hurricanes

The Montreal Canadiens and their fans got a painful reminder of last spring’s playoff exit on Tuesday night.

In a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference final, the Carolina Hurricanes returned to Montreal and handed the Canadiens another frustrating and familiar loss.

Taylor Hall scored twice as the defending Stanley Cup champions smothered the Canadiens in a 6-4 victory, spoiling Montreal’s home opener of the 2026-27 campaign.

“We know what kind of game they want to play,” Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said, “and I think we played into their hands.”

The Canadiens committed 19 giveaways against the relentless forecheck that carried Carolina (2-1-1) to the title, and many proved costly.

Top winger Juraj Slafkovsky turned the puck over to Jackson Blake while trying to make a play in front of his own net. That led directly to Hall’s opening goal 2:25 into the game, quieting a Bell Centre crowd that was ready to pop after an energizing pre-game ceremony.

The Canadiens built a first-period lead despite the blunder, with Zachary Bolduc scoring twice past Carolina goalie Brandon Bussi to give Montreal a 3-2 edge after 20 minutes.

But things began to unravel from there. Sebastian Aho cut through the defence and slid a shot through netminder Jakub Dobes’ pads on the power play 3:56 into the second period. Mark Jankowski then capitalized on Noah Dobson’s giveaway under pressure as Carolina took a second-period lead it wouldn’t surrender.

“Their bread and butter is the forecheck, and they’re the best in the league at it,” Dobson said. “Felt like at times we spread out or weren’t connected, and that just feeds into what they want to do. They get their forecheck going and create chaos.”

Montreal’s puck management, coach Martin St. Louis said, just wasn’t good enough.

“You can’t turn pucks over against that team,” St. Louis said. “You got to keep the puck on the move, go get it … it’s a well-oiled machine and it’s too many turnovers, for sure.”

Carolina eliminated Montreal in five games before going on to win the Stanley Cup over the Vegas Golden Knights last season. In those five contests, the Hurricanes averaged 33.4 shots while holding the Canadiens to 17.8.

The shot count looked similar Tuesday. Carolina registered 34 shots, while Montreal totalled 20 — including just 10 through the first 40 minutes.

“They kind of drain you mentally with the way they play,” said Suzuki, who had a goal and an assist. “If you get stuck out there in a long shift, your brain’s losing oxygen and you got to find a way to make a play under a lot of pressure — and they just keep coming.

“We should be learning from all the times we’ve played against them, and sometimes we do a good job and other times, the puck’s in the back of our net.”

The Canadiens also wasted opportunities, coming away empty-handed on a pair of 5-on-3 power plays.

So what would Suzuki change if he could replay the game?

“Power play’s got to be better. Penalty kill has got to be better. Five-on-five, we got to do better,” he said. “I think we’d probably change a lot.”

BOLDY’S BREAKOUT

Bolduc has tallied three goals in three games for the second consecutive season after his two-goal night. The 23-year-old from Trois-Rivières, Que., who signed a four-year, US$16.8 million contract before training camp, will hope to eclipse his 12-goal output from last season.

Montreal Canadiens' Zachary Bolduc (76) scores on Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Brandon Bussi (32) as Hurricanes' Mark Jankowski (77) defends in front of the net during first period NHL action in Montreal on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

ON THE SHELF

Skilled winger Ivan Demidov will be sidelined two to four weeks with a lower-body injury, the team announced Tuesday morning. The 20-year-old Russian has a goal and an assist in two games after leading all rookies with 62 points last season.

Kirby Dach took Demidov’s place on the second line alongside Alex Newhook and Slafkovsky, while Florian Xhekaj entered the lineup.

BASH BROTHERS

The six-foot-four Florian Xhekaj, the brother of bruising defenceman Arber Xhekaj, made his presence felt on his first shift when he crunched Nikolaj Ehlers along the boards. Both brothers finished with three hits in under 10 minutes of ice time, though Arber was minus-2 on the night while Florian was minus-3.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2026.

By Daniel Rainbird | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.