Habs enter Game 5 of Eastern Conference final down 3-1 to dominant Hurricanes

The Montreal Canadiens are fighting for their playoff lives Friday night as they take on the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5 of the NHL’s Eastern Conference final.

The Canadiens enter the game in Raleigh down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series after the Hurricanes skated to a dominant 4-0 win at the Bell Centre in Game 4 on Wednesday.

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It’s the first time in these playoffs that Montreal has faced a two-game series deficit.

The two teams took very different paths to the conference final, with the Habs slogging through a pair of seven-game series and the Hurricanes cruising to back-to-back sweeps.

It appeared the rust had set in for Carolina after Montreal took the opener 6-2. But the Hurricanes responded with a pair of 3-2 overtime wins before Wednesday’s shutout victory. Montreal has been outshot 109-43 over those three losses.

If Montreal loses, it would ensure a 32nd straight season that an American team has won the Stanley Cup. The 1992-93 Canadiens are the last Canadian team to win the trophy.