Hurricanes cruise past Canadiens in Game 5 to reach Stanley Cup Final

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Taylor Hall and Logan Stankoven each had a goal and two assists, and the Carolina Hurricanes advanced to the Stanley Cup Final with a 6-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final at Lenovo Center on Friday.

The Hurricanes will host the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1 of the best-of-7 series on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, TVAS, CBC).

Carolina is back in the Final for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup with a seven-game victory against the Edmonton Oilers in 2006. This was Carolina’s fourth conference final in Rod Brind’Amour’s eight seasons as coach.

“It’s kind of hard to unpack right now,” said Brind’Amour, who was the captain of the 2006 championship team. “It’s a weird feeling because it’s kind of where we all thought we should be, our group. From the time we came together as a group, this is where we thought we would be.

“It’s been a long journey for sure. I’m just really proud of the group. I keep saying it. It’s nice that it paid off. Obviously we’ve got one big hurdle here to go, but I’m trying to enjoy this part.”

Jackson Blake and Seth Jarvis each had a goal and an assist, and Frederik Andersen made 23 saves for the Hurricanes, the No. 1 seed in the Metropolitan Division and the East.

“To be a part of it, obviously only in my second year, it’s such a good feeling,” Blake said. “I’ve dreamt of this since I was a little kid, for sure. Obviously the job’s not finished yet, still one series to go. We’re going to enjoy tonight.”

The Hurricanes have won four in a row after a 6-2 loss in Game 1 and are 12-1 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Cole Caufield scored for the Canadiens, the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Division. Jakub Dobes made 24 saves.

“I feel like it’s something we’ve built, and we keep growing,” Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. “We’re going to learn a lot through this process and failing at advancing. You learn way more through failures. (But) there’s a lot of wins in what we did this year. It’s going to help us keep progressing.”

Hall gave Carolina a 1-0 lead at 9:17 of the first period. Dobes made a left-pad save on Logan Stankoven as he cut to the net from the left face-off circle, but Hall jammed the rebound into the net.

Montreal challenged for goaltender interference on the play, but the call on the ice stood.

Stankoven pushed it to 2-0 at 15:12. Hall held off Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson behind the net and passed into the right circle to Stankoven, who scored from the dot on a snap shot over Dobes’ left shoulder for his team-leading ninth goal of the playoffs.

“You want nothing more than to hoist that Cup someday and share it with your teammates and your family.” Stankoven said. “We still have a lot of work to get done, but that’s what motivates you to play the game and it’s why you love the game.”

Eric Robinson then made it 3-0 on a breakaway at 16:52. He took a flip pass from William Carrier in the neutral zone before settling the puck on his backhand and scoring through the five-hole.

“I think that was his third goal of the series,” Hall said. “It really tips the scales when you can have a fourth line not only playing in their end and generating momentum, but finding the back of the net. It’s a game changer.”

Carolina extended the margin to 4-0 at 7:19 of the second period. Dobes stopped Hall on a drive to the net, but Blake scored on the rebound in front. The play started when Hall forced a turnover in the defensive zone before skating the puck through the neutral zone off a pass from Stankoven.

Hall has 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in 13 games in these playoffs. His 14 even-strength points (five goals, nine assists) are the most in the NHL this postseason.

“You’ve got to give ‘Hallsy’ a lot of credit for the way he’s played coming to this group,” Brind’Amour said of the forward, who is in his 16th NHL season and second with Carolina. “He just said, ‘Whatever you need me to do.’ And he’s certainly played well.”

Shayne Gostisbehere’s power-play goal from the right of the crease gave Carolina a 5-0 lead at 18:02. He scored at the back door off a pass across the low slot from Jarvis.

“I’m not really sure why we couldn’t bring better,” Montreal defenseman Lane Hutson said. “We’re still far off and we know it. I think it’s mentality more than anything. It’s the most hockey we’ve played. Hopefully we put ourselves in this spot again, and we go from there.”

Caufield scored from between the circles on the man-advantage to cut it to 5-1 at 10:50, and Jarvis scored an empty-net goal at 16:19 for the 6-1 final.

“It (stinks) what just occurred,” Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said. “I thought we could do a little better, but still a lot of pride in the group and what we accomplished this year. The guys fought right until the end. We had a pretty grueling three rounds. Looking back at the whole season, there’s a lot of positives to take away from it.”

NOTES: Andersen is the third goaltender in NHL history to win 12 of his first 13 games in a playoff season (Ken Dryden, Canadiens, 1976; Gerry Cheevers, Boston Bruins, 1970). … The Hurricanes outshot the Canadiens 167-89 for the series. They also scored first in each of the five games. … Stankoven has scored 16 goals in his past 21 games dating to the regular season.