Hurricanes aim to break through Eastern Conference Final in Game 5 against Canadiens

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes have put themselves in position to bury the storyline about hitting that same ol’ Eastern Conference Final roadblock.

Taylor Hall, Logan Stankoven and Eric Robinson scored in a dominating first period that pushed the Hurricanes to a 3-0 lead over the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night in Game 5, with a win set to push the Eastern Conference’s top seed to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in two decades.

The Hurricanes had won the last three games in the series, the last being Wednesday’s 4-0 road win that had them in complete control and staying on a smothering game. And Game 5 picked right up where that left off, with the Hurricanes taking a 15-4 edge in shots on goal while steadily pinning the Canadiens in their own end and attacking Jakub Dobes in net.

Hall struck first by finishing a feed from Logan Stankoven, who had crashed into Dobes on the left side. The Canadiens challenged the call for goaltender interference, but officials determined after a replay review that it should stand.

Hall returned the favor by feeding Stankoven from behind the net for a score on the right side. And late in the period, William Carrier sent a high-flip from deep in his own end to feed Rob...