Carolina Hurricanes vs Montreal Canadiens

The game could not have started better for the Hurricanes. Seth Jarvis buried a backhand pass from Sebastian Aho just 33 seconds in, giving Carolina a 1-0 lead and electrifying the home crowd. But the response from Montreal was immediate — and devastating.

Cole Caufield tied it 1-1 just 27 seconds later, snapping a wrist shot from the right hash marks off a feed from Slafkovsky. The sequence sparked a relentless first-period onslaught that would define the night.

"It's a lot of pressure and stuff (from Carolina), but I think we executed pretty well and used that to our advantage tonight," Caufield said. "I don't think we were surprised by it. I think we were prepared."

Phillip Danault put the Canadiens ahead for good at 4:04, converting on a short breakaway after picking off an indirect pass from Alexandre Carrier. Alexandre Texier made it 3-1 at 8:11, one-timing a Danault feed past Frederik Andersen's glove. Ivan Demidov capped the period with a breakaway goal at 11:32, tucking the puck inside the left post to make it 4-1.

The four-goal period stunned the Hurricanes, who had swept through the first two rounds without a single loss.

"That was obviously not our best," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "I didn't think we were very sharp, to put it bluntly. Our top guys had tough nights. That's not going to work this time of the year."

Carolina showed signs of life early in the second period. Eric Robinson scored his first goal of the playoffs at 2:46, taking a stretch pass from William Carrier and beating Jakub Dobes over the blocker with a snap shot to cut the deficit to 4-2.

But that was as close as the Hurricanes would get. Andersen made 16 saves on the night but had little chance on most of Montreal's offerings, with Carolina giving up multiple high-danger chances.

"Any time you give up five breakaways in the game there's something going on," Jarvis said. "You can't give a team with that much offensive skill that many chances and expect not to be burned."

Slafkovsky delivered the dagger at 7:05 of the third period. The Slovak winger drove the slot, stick-handled around Andrei Svechnikov in front, and went backhand to forehand past Andersen's blocker to restore the three-goal lead.

"It was a well-executed plan. We knew they were going to push back in the second and third, obviously," Slafkovsky said. "We just had to stay ready and calm."

He added his second of the night into an empty net at 17:32 for the 6-2 final, with Nick Suzuki picking up his third assist of the game.

Slafkovsky finished with two goals and an assist, leading all skaters with three points. Suzuki set a Canadiens record for the most road points in a single postseason with 14 (four goals, 10 assists). Phillip Danault and Cole Caufield each contributed a goal and an assist.

Jakub Dobes was solid in net for Montreal with 25 saves, keeping the Hurricanes at bay during their push in the second period.

For Carolina, Jordan Staal won 10 of 15 faceoffs and delivered a game-high eight hits, but the top line struggled to generate consistent pressure. Jaccob Slavin finished a minus-4.

"Personally, I think I handed them the game, so I've got to be better," Slavin said.

The loss was Carolina's first of the postseason after sweeping the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference First and Second Rounds, respectively. An 11-day layoff between series may have contributed to the rust.

Brind'Amour was unwilling to use that as an excuse: "I'm not going to give the (11-day) layoff as an excuse, but we weren't ready to play playoff hockey."

The Hurricanes are now 1-17 in their past 18 games in the Eastern Conference Final.

Montreal advanced to this stage by defeating the Buffalo Sabres in a thrilling Game 7 overtime victory in the second round. The No. 3 seed from the Atlantic Division has now stolen home-ice advantage from the Metropolitan Division champions.

"Coming off a seven-game series (with a) short amount of time, I felt tonight it was important to come in waves," Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. "We played to our identity tonight. It was a nice balance."

Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday night at Lenovo Center in Raleigh (7 p.m. ET).