The Hurricanes are 5-0 in overtime this postseason — joining some pretty rare company in NHL history — and they've used that bulletproof OT record to flip a series that opened with a 6-2 beatdown in Game 1. Two straight 3-2 OT wins later, Carolina is up 2-1 and one win away from sending the Habs home to think about their summer.
Game 3 was the Andrei Svechnikov show in sudden death. He took a Seth Jarvis feed above the right circle and ripped one through a Sebastian Aho screen at 14:06 of OT. Jakub Dobes was excellent again with 35 saves in defeat — Montreal's problem isn't goaltending, it's that the Canes keep finding another gear when it matters most.
Montreal's blue line has actually shown up offensively in this series — Mike Matheson and Lane Hutson both scored in Game 3 — but the Habs are still searching for consistent 5-on-5 production from their top guys, and they're doing it without Patrik Laine, who remains on IR with the abdomen issue. Laine practiced in a non-contact jersey back in January per TVA Sports, but he's not walking through that door tonight.
- Injured ReservePatrik Laine RW — Laine (abdomen) is practicing Saturday in a non-contact jersey, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports.
The market has Carolina as a clear favorite and the total parked at 5.5, which feels exactly right given the last two games went the distance with three goals on the board apiece. The Canes are -1.5 on the puck line at a fat number, which is the read on a team that simply doesn't lose tight games in this run.
The Bell Centre will be loud and miserable for the visitors, which is what Montreal needs. If the Habs can't steal one tonight, they're going back to Raleigh down 3-1 against a team that has not blinked in a one-goal game in months. This is a season-defining 60 minutes for Martin St. Louis's group.