The Conference Finals are set. After the Montreal Canadiens beat the Buffalo Sabres in a thrilling Game 7 on Monday night, just four contenders remain for the Stanley Cup.
The group notably includes the consensus favorites from each conference when the tournament started: the favored Carolina Hurricanes in the East, and the Presidents' Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche in the West.
Eastern Conference Final: Montreal Canadiens vs Carolina Hurricanes
What to Know: Rest vs Rust
This may be the ultimate rest-versus-rust series in NHL history. The Carolina Hurricanes completed a double sweep of the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers. Their close-out game against Philadelphia was on May 9, meaning they'll have a 12-day layoff before the Conference Final begins.
Coupled with how short the series was against Ottawa, Carolina's rest might be unprecedented—the team will have played just five games over a 26-day stretch!
The Montreal Advantage
You won't find a team with better regular-season results against the Hurricanes than the Canadiens. All three games came after the turn of the calendar year, and Montreal won all three in regulation.
The Canadiens outscored Carolina 15-8 (+7) in those games. The combination of Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Nick Suzuki had eight goals in these three contests.
There's credible evidence Montreal can skate with Carolina—something few teams in the league can claim.
The Carolina Advantage
Don't discount just how lethal this Hurricanes team is defensively. The Rod Brind'Amour era has been defined by an unrelenting forecheck and a pace of play that stifles opponents.
In the last five seasons, they rank second in goals conceded (all situations) and first in expected goals conceded. Goaltender Frederik Andersen has been on a heater this postseason with a 95.0 percent save rate and +15 goals saved versus expected.
Couple great goaltending with Carolina's ability to protect the most dangerous areas of the defensive zone, and you have a team that's very difficult to score on.
Player to Watch: Logan Stankoven
Lost in Carolina's double sweep was that much of the damage wasn't done by their top line of Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho, and Seth Jarvis.
It's been Stankoven playing with Taylor Hall and Jackson Blake who's been doing nearly all the damage. Stankoven has seven goals in eight games, and against Ottawa and Philadelphia, this trio won the goal differential battle 11-1 (+10).
Stankoven was part of the colossal Mikko Rantanen trade between Dallas and Carolina last year, and he has fit in seamlessly with this Hurricanes group.