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The Montreal Canadiens (9-8) will host the Carolina Hurricanes (10-1) in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final on Wednesday, with the puck drop scheduled for 8:00 pm ET.
Seeing as the series is currently 2-1 in favour of the Hurricanes, this will not be the last game the Canadiens will play, but if they don’t get their ducks in a row, it may end up being the last game played at the Bell Centre in the playoffs.
It’s not that the Hurricanes have outscored the Habs by a wide margin. In fact, Montreal has scored 10 goals, while Carolina has eight (all situations), but the underlying numbers tell the tale of a team that is dominating from a shot-clock standpoint.
Through three games, the Hurricanes have a 242-129 advantage in shot attempts (all situations), giving them a 65% edge in shots. The Canadiens tend to focus on quality, which means they usually score more goals with fewer shots, but the chasmic gap between both teams is difficult to ignore.
It’s also very difficult to overcome for the Canadiens, even if they tend to have a higher shooting efficiency. Once the final whistle was blown in Game 3, the Hurricanes had an 18-7 advantage in high-quality scoring chances.
Simply put, the Canadiens need a lot more shots, a situation that calls for a potential change in the lineup heading into Game 4.
Potential Changes
Given the shot situation, head coach Martin St-Louis should be interested in reinserting either Brendan Gallagher or Arber Xhekaj into the lineup, as they both have excellent underlying numbers, and they’re quite adept at the physical element of the game.
However, it appears that St-Louis is not going to change his lineup from Game 3, which resulted in a one-sided loss, with a scoreline that was much too flattering towards the Habs (3-2).
Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup
Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Juraj Slafkovsky
Alex Newhook – Jake Evans – Ivan Demidov
Alexandre Texier – Phillip Danault – Josh Anderson
Zachary Bolduc – Joe Veleno – Kirby Dach
Mike Matheson – Noah Dobson
Jayden Struble – Lane Hutson
Kaiden Guhle – Alexandre Carrier
Jakub Dobes
Jacob Fowler
Carolina Hurricanes Projected Lineup
Andrei Svechnikov – Sebastian Aho – Seth Jarvis
Taylor Hall – Logan Stankoven – Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers – Jordan Staal – Jordan Martinook
William Carrier – Mark Jankowski – Eric Robinson
Jacob Slavin – Jalen Chatfield
K’Andre Miller – Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere – Alexander Nikishin
Frederik Andersen
Brandon Bussi
How To Watch The Habs Vs. The Hurricanes, Game 4 Of The Eastern Conference Final
The Montreal Canadiens versus the Carolina Hurricanes, Wednesday, May 27, 2026, will be aired on CBC, Sportsnet, and TVA Sports. An instant recap complete with highlights will be available on Sportsnaut as soon as the final whistle blows.
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