Frederik Andersen earned his league-leading third shutout of the postseason, leading the Hurricanes to a 4-0 victory in Game 4.
After ending regulation in Game 3 by going 24 minutes without a shot, Montreal started the game by being outshot 7-0. The volume just hasn’t been there for the Canadiens, as Carolina has put on a defensive clinic after a sloppy Game 1.
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Montreal’s power play looked better than in the first three games, but their unwillingness to shoot made it much less dangerous than it could be.
Sebastian Aho started the scoring on the power play after a failed clear by Mike Matheson, his first goal in seven games. Aho has only recorded six points through the postseason after an 80-point regular season.
His tally opened the floodgates for the Hurricanes, who went on to score two more goals in under three minutes.
Jordan Staal added to the lead with a deflection out front, squeaking the puck right under Jakub Dobeš’ pad. The play was initiated by a perfect activation from the point by K’Andre Miller.
Logan Stankoven capped off the run with his two-on-one cross-crease goal to make it 3-0 for the Hurricanes. On the other end, Lane Hutson turned it over before the goal in an effort to get the offense going.
Carolina shut the neutral zone down, with this being their first multi-goal lead of the series. Rookie defenseman Alexander Nikishin had a particularly strong first half to the game, being on the ice for 1.69 expected goals for and zero against.
His pairing with Shayne Gostisbehere has been a thorn in the side of the Canadiens throughout the series, as their combination of size and skating ability presents a unique challenge for Montreal’s forwards.
Canadiens’ head coach Martin St. Louis jumbled the lines heading into the third, putting Alex Newhook with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki in place of Juraj Slafkovský. The changes couldn’t spark the stagnant Montreal offense, which failed to register a shot until 17 minutes into the third period.
Andrei Svechnikov put the game away with an empty-net goal, his second in as many games.
The series heads to Carolina for Game 5 on Friday, where the Canadiens will look to stave off elimination.
