One can safely presume in the history of the NHL that a team with a save percentage of .804 for a series has never beaten a team with a .914 save percentage. Those were the shocking numbers in net after three games. Yet, somehow, with some of the worst goaltending this century, the Carolina Hurricanes still took two of three against the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference final.
Frederik Andersen has looked paralyzed, so the Canadiens must stop thinking they have to create chances like the Central Red Army when all they have to do is hit the net more to see if the Carolina goalie can handle the heat.
The Canadiens didn’t need to create a Picasso. They needed to throw paint at the wall.
In Game 4 Wednesday, they ran out of paint. With 18 games in 38 nights, they are spent. The Hurricanes were a force from start to finish, and this series is all but finished. It was a 4-0 win for Carolina.
Wilde Horses
It’s difficult to find positives on a night when the Canadiens were handled so easily, but one player stands out as having benefited most from this experience of hockey at a faster level with a higher level of intensity. Ivan Demidov figured out in these last 18 games how to play at another level.
Demidov’s weakness during the regular season has been solved. He couldn’t win puck battles this season very well. He would go into the corner and simply not retrieve it successfully most of the time.
This month and a half has taught him how to angle his body as he retrieves the puck. It has taught him how to rotate out of his check with the puck. He even has his play picked out while he wins that battle.
When he has the puck in open ice, he is creating so much time for himself. He has a terrific shot. He’s strong on his skates. He wins offensive zone time. He isn’t afraid of anyone, or any moment. He is slowing the game down.
Demidov has arrived as a better player. Expect a breakout next season, not a sophomore jinx.
Jakub Dobes had another stellar contest. His goals saved above expected moved to 14.7 in the playoffs. He has been far and away the best goalie in the post-season. He leads the next best by a full five goals. He competes. He isn’t intimidated by any shooter, or any moment. The Canadiens found a goalie in the last 40 days who can handle anything. It’s a thrilling revelation for the organization.
One aspect of the narrative getting some attention is that the head coach can’t adjust. Imagine how the fan bases of the other 29 franchises feel right now. Martin St. Louis beat Jon Cooper and he beat Lindy Ruff. They are two experienced coaches. Cooper was the choice for Team Canada at the Olympics.
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St. Louis has done all he can with this group. They have overachieved well beyond anyone’s expectations. That a target could be on his chest is preposterous. This team wasn’t supposed to be in the final four.
Oddsmakers had predicted 75 points for the Canadiens last season. They finished with 91. This year, Vegas set the line for Montreal at 91 points; they finished with 106. Tampa was predicted to win the opening round. They didn’t. Buffalo was predicted to win the second round. They didn’t.
The first two series were absolute wars on ice. The physicality was enormous, and it all took its toll. The tank is empty. They have given it all they have for their head coach. The Canadiens beat two of the top four teams by record in 2026.
The way the Florida Panthers destroyed the Hurricanes last season in the playoffs was with physicality. They hit the Hurricanes into oblivion. The Canadiens didn’t have the energy left to follow that script.
Anyone pinning the loss here on adjustments not made needs to give their head a shake.
Wilde Goats
After the third game, St. Louis said his club wasn’t fast enough, and when they were fast enough, they weren’t executing. This is hockey-speak for “the Canadiens can’t process at the same speed as the Hurricanes.”
Whether this was from one team rested, playing the minimum 12 games, and the other team, in the same number of nights, exhausted and going the maximum of 18 games is open for debate. What is not debatable is that the Hurricanes were everywhere and the Canadiens were getting a lesson in swarming forechecking that they can use as a model to learn how to counter it in the future.
Montreal had the will, but didn’t have the organization. It was only a matter of time before the floodgates opened against Dobes. Unfortunate timing that it was his 25th birthday to have a difficult game, but he wasn’t at fault at all.
In fact, with a breakaway save on Jackson Blake and Nikolaj Ehlers early, Dobes was setting the table for another night of heroics. But the Hurricanes just kept on coming. They scored three times in the opening frame.
The Canadiens were so desperate to create offence that they gave up five odd-man rushes in the opening 20 minutes alone. The loser of almost every NHL game is the team that gives up odd-man rushes.
The details of the events aren’t going to interest anyone in a blow-by-blow rehash. Each blow is registered in the memory banks, though, as a learning experience for Montreal’s young group.
At the end of the first deep playoff run for this team, learning is important. They seem done for now, but they’ll be back smarter and more ready, and with more talent. This rebuild is just getting started.
Wilde Cards
In the 42 trades of general manager Kent Hughes, there have been some master strokes. There is likely nothing more clever than the symphony that he orchestrated with centre Sean Monahan.
Early in the rebuild, the Calgary Flames had a salary cap problem. The Flames were trying to build a champion and they thought they were close, so they kept acquiring assets toward that goal. The only problem was they ran out of cap space.
Enter Hughes.
He solved the Flames’ problem for them by taking Monahan off their hands, and all they had to give the Canadiens was their first-round draft pick. Eventually, that pick, with some more draft capital, turned into Noah Dobson. The Canadiens then signed the steady right-side defender to an eight-year deal.
Monahan played so well for Montreal that his stock kept going up. That’s when the Winnipeg Jets thought they were also heading to the Stanley Cup. They acquired Monahan from the Canadiens, who were happy to take a first-round draft pick from Winnipeg.
That’s two first-round picks for Hughes: one to acquire the player and one to get rid of the player.
This time, using other draft capital to move up a couple of places, the Canadiens acquired budding star Michael Hage. His time in Montreal hasn’t even started yet, while Monahan is long gone from Winnipeg.
One of the fastest rebuilds in league history is built with moves like these. The Canadiens have a defender in the prime of his career and an expected star to come. They got all of this for a placeholder in a long rebuild.
Well, it was supposed to be long.
Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.
Brian Wilde. U said above demidov isn’t afraid of anyone . Lol. He.vsnt fight hit it take a hit. U sldo claim that St. Louis is better than Lindy ruff n John Cooper. Ok. Brian Wilde who ne we says a bad word about the one line no depth Habs. Team Brian lives in the 60s. The Habs are a fluky. No dobish Habs don’t beat Tampa Bay. Please stop lying every time u write your predictions are usually wrong. We all read them .Habs su CK