Canadiens top Hurricanes to clinch berth in playoffs, will face Capitals in 1st round

MONTREAL -- Kaiden Guhle scored twice, and the Montreal Canadiens clinched their first berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2021 with a 4-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at Bell Centre on Wednesday.

Nick Suzuki had a goal and an assist, and Sam Montembeault made 27 saves for Montreal (40-31-11), which held on to eliminate the Columbus Blue Jackets and secure the second wild card from the Eastern Conference.

The Canadiens, who went 10-0-2 in their final 12 home games, had lost in three straight opportunities to clinch (0-1-2) before claiming the last playoff spot available in their final regular-season game.

“I’m just proud because it wasn’t one year, it wasn’t one team, this goes back three, four years of really grinding together,” Montreal forward Brendan Gallagher said. “I’m very happy for these guys that they’re going to experience this city come playoff time.”

The Canadiens will face the Washington Capitals, the No. 1 seed in the Metropolitan Division and the conference, in the first round of the playoffs, which begin Saturday.

“We believe in each other, that we’re not just going to roll over against the first seed, so I’m excited for the opportunity,” said Suzuki, the Montreal captain.

The Canadiens finished eighth in the Atlantic Division each of the previous three seasons while rebuilding and have never missed the playoffs more than three consecutive seasons.

Taylor Hall and Tyson Jost scored, and Pyotr Kochetkov made 17 saves for Carolina (47-29-5), which rested seven regulars and concludes its regular season at the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.

Forwards Jordan Staal, Seth Jarvis, Sebastian Aho, Jordan Martinook and Jackson Blake, and defensemen Jaccob Slavin and Jalen Chatfield did not dress for the Hurricanes, who are the No. 2 seed in the Metropolitan and will face the New Jersey Devils, the No. 3 seed, in the first round.

“We were short-handed for sure but I think just the compete level was pretty high,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “And that’s what allowed us to at least hang in there and make it an even game. It could have gone either way but their skill got us at the end of the day.”

Guhle put the Canadiens up 1-0 at 3:50 of the first period. He took Juraj Slafkovsky’s backhand pass from the left point and scored on a wrist shot past Kochetkov’s blocker from the top of the right face-off circle to finish off a rush he began behind the Montreal net.

“I love these important games and I enjoy playing them, and it just was a natural play,” Slafkovsky said. “I pulled up, I drove across [the] ice and then ‘Guhls’ just snaps one into the top. I enjoyed every second of tonight.”

Hall tied it 1-1 at 9:56. He retrieved a rebound, turned and scored with a wrist shot from low in the right face-off circle that deflected in off Guhle.

Suzuki gave the Canadiens a 2-1 lead at 16:22 of the second period. He settled Alexandre Carrier’s pass from the right point to set himself up for a wrist shot over Kochetkov’s right pad from the left face-off circle, giving him his second straight 30-goal season.

Guhle made it 3-1 with his second of the game at 18:48. He scored with a wrist shot from the top of the slot after moving up to take Cole Caufield’s pass back to the point.

“A couple of little breakdowns,” Brind’Amour said. “They took advantage of it but overall I thought we did pretty well considering what we were walking into and the guys we were missing, obviously.”

Lane Hutson got the secondary assist. With his 60th assist, he tied Larry Murphy’s single-season record for a rookie defenseman, set with the Los Angeles Kings in 1980-81.

“It’s cool,” Hutson said. “I really enjoy playing and the guys made it really easy on me, so it’s just been a great season.”

Jost cut it to 3-2 at 14:10 of the third period when he put away a loose puck sitting behind Montembeault in the crease.

Jake Evans then made it a 4-2 final with 1:55 remaining. He won a defensive zone face-off and quickly shot the puck from the circle into an empty net.

The crowd rose to its feet after Evans’ goal and kept up the standing ovation before erupting with a massive cheer at the end of the game.

“They’re obviously just as excited as us and it’s great to feel that love from the fans,” Suzuki said. “I can’t wait to get in this place with our first playoff game at home.”

Forward Skyler Brind'Amour, the 25-year-old son of the Carolina coach, and defenseman Domenick Fensore each made his NHL debut for the Hurricanes. Brind’Amour was minus-2 and finished 8-for-10 on face-offs in 15:28 of ice time, and Fensore had five shots on goal in 17:13.

“I was happy for him because he earned it,” Rod Brind’Amour said of his son. “He’s played solid. He’s not going to score three, four goals a night but I think he was good on the face-offs, I haven’t looked at it. It’s kind of the little things that he does like kill penalties, that kind of role. I think he did a good job.”

Forward Bradly Nadeau made his season debut for Carolina and got his first NHL point with an assist on Jost’s goal. It was his second NHL game.

“It was an amazing experience,” Nadeau said. “I mean you get to play against a team that obviously needs the point to get in the playoffs. You know, they played their whole lineup and battled hard tonight, and you learn a lot from those experiences.”

Defenseman Riley Stillman, who played 11:13, was the fourth player recalled from Chicago of the American Hockey League on Tuesday in the Hurricanes lineup.

“I think they acquitted themselves pretty well,” Rod Brind’Amour said. “It’s a tough environment they’re walking into and they did a nice job.”

NOTES: Suzuki finished with a career-high 89 points (30 goals, 59 assists), the most by a Canadiens player since Pierre Turgeon (96) and Vincent Damphousse (94) in 1995-96. … Montreal forward Emil Heineman had two hits in 12:00 after missing the previous five games with an upper-body injury. … Skyler Brind’Amour is the eighth player in NHL history to have his father as head coach, and first since Adam Lowry of the Winnipeg Jets was coached by father Dave Lowry in 2021-22.