The Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes are going to answer a frequently debated question that NHL fans always have about the playoffs: Is it better to be well-rested going into a series or to have momentum on your side?
We'll learn a lot about both of these teams during the Eastern Conference Final, but this particular aspect of it is sure to be repeated in the coming years by fans and analysts alike. Sort of like how the St. Louis Blues' miracle 2019 Stanley Cup run is mentioned every season when a mushy middle team acquires talent instead of moving out their own UFAs for futures.
This question can be answered, thanks in large part to how ridiculously good the Hurricanes had been heading into Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final. If Montreal hadn't won the opening contest, we would likely be asking if they were going to be next to get knocked out in four straight.
The Hurricanes looked like a well-oiled machine, dismantling the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers in the first two rounds in back-to-back sweeps. No team had swept through rounds one and two since the NHL moved to the best-of-seven format for all four rounds in 1987.
Carolina didn't give up more than two goals in any playoff game before Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final, and it hadn't lost in regulation in nearly a month. They were the second-best regular-season team, boasted a balanced scoring attack, and a typically solid defensive group. They were in motion and seemed poised to break their Eastern Conference Final curse.
Canadiens kept rolling in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final while Hurricanes struggled to reboot
Then came the longest stretch of time off between series in at least a century for the Hurricanes. The object--the team--rested. Fans and pundits alike pointed out that Carolina players were probably loving the last few games of the second-round series between the Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres. The intensity spiked, and along with it, the physicality. All told, the Sabres and Habs combined for almost 400 body checks in their seven-game series.
For context, consider this. Across the entire 82-game regular season, the least aggressive team according to NHL.com was the Chicago Blackhawks, who registered 1,348 total hits. That means the Habs and Sabres hit each other roughly a third as often during just the second round as the 'Hawks played the body all season long. That is wild.
Canadiens remained engaged and kept rolling through Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final
So it would stand to reason that the Hurricanes would have a full tank of gas and a fresh coat of paint while the Canadiens came into the series banged up and tired. That may still unfold across the Eastern Conference Final, but that is not how Game 1 went at all. The object in motion remained in motion, and the object at rest went down 0-1 in the series despite being the better hockey team on paper.
By the time one of these two teams reaches the Stanley Cup Final, talking heads and fans alike will have anecdotal evidence to support the rust and rest vs rolling and ready argument that pops up seemingly every postseason.
Next year, when a playoff team has four or five days of time off before starting their next round against a team that just wrapped up a seven-game series 36 hours ago, you can bet P.K. Subban or Mark Messier will bring up the outcome of this series to support their suggested winner.
If the Canadiens wear down and the Hurricanes end up looking fresher, that'll be a data point in support of rest. But if Montreal keeps swarming, and Carolina can't find its legs, well, all the more reason to hope for more Game 7's during the NHL playoffs.
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