The Hurricanes did not ease into this one. They jumped on Montreal early, buried them in shots, and turned the building into a target range while the Habs watched pucks fly past them. By the time the OLE chants started raining down, this thing was already cooked.
Carolina up 3-0 in the 1st with a 14-4 shot edge, and the series lead already 3-1.
There was one moment of genuine controversy along the way — a Canes goal that had Montreal screaming for goalie interference after a Carolina forward crashed the crease. The replay was ugly for the Habs, but the call stood, and if you're already down a touchdown in your own barn, you're not winning that argument.
The crease collision that had Habs fans hunting for a wave-off.
By the 2nd period it was 4-0 and the Canes faithful had moved on from hockey to mockery. The OLE chant — Montreal's own playoff anthem from happier eras — got hijacked and aimed straight back at the visitors. Cold-blooded. PMT summed up the vibe with a Sopranos clip of Christopher pulling on Tony in the woods, which is roughly the energy of a young upstart franchise sending an Original Six dynasty home.
The Christopher-on-Tony metaphor for what Carolina just did to Montreal.
And now the headline number that is going to drive Canadian hockey fans insane: 33 straight years without a Stanley Cup north of the border. Montreal was the country's last best hope this spring, and they got run out of the rink in an elimination game. Vegas is waiting on the other side, and Portnoy is already calling it Hollywood-script material — best on best, Carolina vs. the Golden Knights, no Canadian team in sight.
The drought ticks to 33 and Stoolies are not letting it slide.
The best image of the night, though, had nothing to do with chants or controversy. K'Andre Miller's son is 27 days old. He's already been to a Conference Final clincher, and now he's getting a Stanley Cup Final on the schedule before he can roll over. Miller cradling the baby rinkside in a Champions hat is the kind of moment you frame forever — and the kind of reminder that for all the trolling, there's still a Cup to win.
Miller holding his newborn rinkside after the ECF clincher.
Carolina-Vegas. Two markets that didn't exist on the NHL map a generation ago, playing for the oldest trophy in sports. Canada gets another summer of pain. Nate's already side-eyeing whether Kabhrel is angling the time bank to mess with the Canes' rhythm in the Final. The puck hasn't even dropped and the conspiracies are flying. Good.