{"id":1361,"date":"2026-05-24T04:33:31","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T04:33:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=1361"},"modified":"2026-05-24T04:33:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T04:33:31","slug":"ehlers-huge-game-2-performance-in-eastern-conference-final-pushes-hurricanes-past-canadiens-in-ot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=1361","title":{"rendered":"Ehlers’ huge Game 2 performance in Eastern Conference Final pushes Hurricanes past Canadiens in OT"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Carolina Hurricanes\u2019 Nikolaj Ehlers celebrates his game wining overtime goal against the Montreal Canadiens during overtime in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference final NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo\/Karl DeBlaker) (Karl B DeBlaker\/FR7226 AP)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

RALEIGH, N.C. \u2014 Nikolaj Ehlers wanted to play for a winner. The Carolina Hurricanes wanted another scoring threat with open-ice skill and defense-stretching speed.<\/p>

Read more PK goals by Logan Farrington, Santiago Moreno send Dallas to 2-1 victory over Rapids<\/a><\/p>\n

The pairing worked perfectly to get the Hurricanes back into their Eastern Conference Final series against the Montreal Canadiens.<\/p>\n

Ehlers got loose up the center of the ice and popped the puck past Jakub Dobes at 3:29 of overtime to lift the Hurricanes past the Canadiens 3-2 on Saturday night<\/a> , leveling the best-of-seven series at one game apiece. It was part of a two-goal night for Ehlers, who had a highlight-reel effort on his second-period score, and joined a roaring home crowd with his own full-throated scream with arms raised after the OT winner.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing to a new place, it was the first time in my career and it\u2019s been great so far, it\u2019s been special,\u201d Ehlers said. \u201cThe city\u2019s been great. The guys, the organization. So to be able to do this at home in front of our crowd was special.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt everything out there. So that\u2019s one I\u2019m not going to forget.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neither will Hurricanes\u2019 fans considering the stakes.<\/p>\n

Carolina was facing massive pressure to regroup from Thursday\u2019s 6-2 loss in the series opener, coming after an 11-day rest<\/a> that stood as the longest between-rounds playoff break in more than a century. Carolina went from sweeping through the first two rounds<\/a> to magnifying the team\u2019s long-running troubles in scaling the roadblock that is the Eastern Conference Final.<\/p>\n

Ehlers was a sought-after free agent<\/a> last summer after spending 10 years in Winnipeg. He opted to sign with the Hurricanes, a team looking for more high-end finishers to help punch through tough playoff grinds. That was particularly true for this round, where the Hurricanes had gone 1-12 under coach Rod Brind\u2019Amour \u2014 being swept out by Boston in 2019 and Florida in 2023, then losing in five games to the Panthers in last year\u2019s rematch.<\/p>\n

Ehlers met that moment Saturday night, down to his line \u2014 centered by captain Jordan Staal and including Jordan Martinook \u2014 taking the primary defensive matchup on Montreal\u2019s top line of Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky and Cole Caufield.<\/p>\n

Brind\u2019Amour put it simply: \u201cHe\u2019s a special talent, and it was on full display tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

The winning sequence<\/a> started with a retreating Jalen Chatfield bouncing the puck back into the neutral zone to Mark Jankowski. Jankowski sent a quick redirection to Ehlers entering the zone at full speed for a clean look at Dobes.<\/p>\n

\u201cEasiest assist of my life on that one,\u201d Jankowski said. \u201cJust poke it to him in the neutral zone and let him do the rest.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Gunshots fired near the White House, FBI director says<\/a><\/p>\n

Ehlers fired quickly for the sudden winner across Dobes\u2019 body to the blocker side, leaving the netminder sitting at the top of the crease with his legs extended out as Ehlers\u2019 on-ice celebration began.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s definitely a good player with a lot of speed, so definitely got to be aware of him,\u201d Montreal defenseman Mike Matheson said.<\/p>\n

While the winner was clearly the biggest moment, Ehlers\u2019 second-period score was a beauty<\/a> .<\/p>\n

With the game tied at 1-1 in the second, Ehlers carried the puck into the zone on the right side on a 2-on-2 opportunity with Staal lurking. Ehlers cut toward the slot against a retreating Lane Hutson and his back turned toward Dobes, then weaved the puck around the stick of a reaching-in Caufield.<\/p>\n

Ehlers turned to his right and whipped the puck low toward Dobes, with it slipping through the five-hole for the 2-1 lead that sent Ehlers leaping into the glass to celebrate.<\/p>\n

Saturday night marked Ehlers\u2019 second career OT postseason winner. The other came five years earlier, to the day, to help Winnipeg beat Edmonton and complete a comeback from three goals down in the third period for a 5-4 win and a 3-0 lead in that opening-round series<\/a> .<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing was the shooting mentality,\u201d Ehlers said of taking advantage of playoff chances. \u201cWhen I have that, then my legs feel a lot better. … So it\u2019s worked out pretty good so far and it\u2019s something that I want to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP NHL playoffs: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/stanley-cup<\/a> and https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/nhl<\/a><\/p>

Read more Mauricio Gonz\u00e1lez scores stoppage-time goal for Minnesota in 1-1 tie with RSL<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nikolaj Ehlers gave the Carolina Hurricanes the scoring punch they needed to get back in the Eastern Conference Final against the Montreal Canadiens<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1359,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nEhlers' huge Game 2 performance in Eastern Conference Final pushes Hurricanes past Canadiens in OT - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=1361\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ehlers' huge Game 2 performance in Eastern Conference Final pushes Hurricanes past Canadiens in OT - 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