Game 1: Montreal 6 @ Carolina 1

When I made my series preview for this Stanley Cup playoffs quarterfinal between the Montreal Canadiens and the Carolina Hurricanes, I said the Hurricanes would have trouble if they ran into a sharp Cristobal Huet, a hot Alex Kovalev, and a potent Montreal power play.

Tonight, the Canadiens went 3-for-3. After a shaky opening minute in which he allowed his first NHL playoff goal on his second playoff shot, Huet was impeccable in nets for the Canadiens in making 42 consecutive saves. Alex Kovalev had two goals and an assist, and Montreal scored twice in three power play opportunities.

I also speculated that the Hurricanes would allow a high number of goals against as they had done all season, and, sure enough, the Canadiens put 6 markers past Swiss goalie Martin Gerber. The 'Canes defense was mistake-prone all night, a huge reason why the Canadiens were able to score that many goals on a mere 21 shots.

The shot total is one area that the Canadiens will have to improve on for Monday night's dance at the RBC Center, especially considering how the Habs blocked 22 other shots and the Hurricanes missed another 11 of their own. Andrei Markov and Alexander Perezhogin each made a mistake which led to a dangerous scoring chance for the Hurricanes, and, though Huet was there to stop them both, the Canadiens will have to be more careful with the puck and try to take less penalties than the 6 they took tonight.

Unless Gerber dwells on this game and is completely unable to regain his confidence, this series is far from over. The Hurricanes will come to the rink extremely hungry on Monday night, and Montreal better be ready to weather a pretty devastating storm (no pun intended). But, if the Canadiens are able to take Game 2 in Raleigh, it will be very tough for the Hurricanes to overcome their series deficit in front of 21,273 of the most passionate, noisy fans in the game in Games 3 and 4 at the Bell Centre.