Canadiens pounce on Hurricanes early in 6-2 win to open Eastern Conference Final

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Montreal Canadiens never flinched in winning two Game 7s on the road to reach the Eastern Conference Final. Opening on the road again was no different, even against a well-rested top seed that had yet to lose in the postseason.

The Canadiens pounced for four first-period goals on slow-starting Carolina — coming off the longest postseason break in more than a century — and beat the Hurricanes 6-2 on Thursday night.

“We knew we could come in here and try to get off to a good start to the series,” Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said after a three-assist night. “We’re happy with the result, but they’re definitely going to be better than what they were tonight.”

Cole Caufield and Phillip Danault scored in the opening four minutes, Alexandre Texier followed four minutes later, and Ivan Demidov finished a breakaway for a shocking 4-1 lead midway through the opening period. That came against a team that hadn't allowed more than two goals in an 8-0 playoff start.

Juraj Slafkovksy scored twice in the third period for Montreal, the second on a late empty-netter, while Jakub Dobes had 24 saves.

Game 2 is Saturday night.

The Hurricanes were the first team to sweep their first two playoff rounds since the NHL went to best-of-seven series in all four rounds in 1987. But that led to a lengthy break of 11 days, the longest rest for any team before starting the next playoff run since at least 1920, while waiting on the Canadiens to battle their way past Tampa Bay and Buffalo.

That led to the rest-versus-rust discussion about the Hurricanes, along with how well the Canadiens would pivot from those to-the-limit wins.

And outside of Seth Jarvis beating Dobes just 33 seconds in, the Canadiens answered that question resoundingly in those opening minutes to extend Carolina's misery in this round.

“I didn’t think we were very sharp, to put it bluntly,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Our top guys had tough nights. That’s not going to work at this time of the year.”

Much of Carolina’s success comes from pressuring opponents in the offensive zone and minimizing chances going the other way. But Montreal effectively moved the puck out of danger against Carolina's aggressive pressure early, setting up clean breakouts, open-ice space and multiple breakaway chances at Frederik Andersen.

“The execution was there right off the bat,” Canadiens center Jake Evans said.

Danault's goal was a full-speed breakaway right up the middle off a feed from Alexandre Carrier, while Demidov went forehand-backhand-forehand to beat Andersen for the 4-1 lead with 8:28 left in the first.

Andersen was leading the postseason in goals-against average (1.12) and save percentage (.950), but finished with just 16 saves.

Eric Robinson also scored for Carolina, which is in the Eastern final for the third time in four years and fourth time in the current eight-season playoff run under Rod Brind'Amour. But the Hurricanes are now 1-13 in those games, including sweeps against Boston in 2019 and Florida in 2023.

Carolina's loss meant the two Stanley Cup favorites both lost the opener of the conference finals. Colorado lost at home to Vegas on Wednesday night.

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour speaks to the media following Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Montréal Canadiens in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Montréal Canadiens' Juraj Slafkovský (20), center, celebrates his goal with Nick Suzuki (14) and Noah Dobson (53) during the third period in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series against the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Carolina Hurricanes' Seth Jarvis (24) has his shot blocked by Montréal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) during the second period in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Montréal Canadiens' Mike Matheson (8) takes out Carolina Hurricanes' Taylor Hall (71) in front of Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) during the second period in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Montréal Canadiens' Ivan Demidov (93) shoots the puck past Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) for a goal during the first period in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Montréal Canadiens' Nick Suzuki (14) collides with Carolina Hurricanes' Seth Jarvis (24) resulting in both getting penalties during the first period in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Montréal Canadiens celebrate their third goal during the first period in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series against the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

MILAN (AP) — Carlo Petrini, the founder of the Slow Food global grassroots movement promoting sustainable food production and local, traditional cuisine, died Friday at the age of 76 in his hometown in Italy’s northwestern Piedmont region, the organization announced.

Slow Food called him “a visionary leader and a public intellectual with a profound commitment to the common good, human relationships and the natural world.”

Slow Food, initially called Arcigola, grew out of opposition to the arrival of fast food in Italy, with a 1986 protest on the steps of the newly opened McDonald’s at Rome’s Spanish Steps announcing their mission.

Petrini was elected president on Dec. 9, 1989, in Paris, when more than 20 delegations from around the world signed the Slow Food Manifesto. He held the position until 2022.

The movement was shaped around the philosophy that food should be “good, clean and fair,” and it spread quickly throughout Italy and to more than 160 countries. Restaurants adhering to the principles display Slow Food stickers, recognizable by the snail logo and formally called the Snail of Approval.

Key Slow Food initiatives included the 2004 founding of Terra Madre, which created communities of farmers, fishers, chefs and academics to spread the mission.

Petrini also founded the University of Gastronomic Sciences, touted as the first academic institution dedicated to the multidisciplinary study of food and food culture — an approach that was recognized when the Italian government established a Bachelor’s degree in gastronomic sciences in 2017.

The university, located in northern Italy, has trained some 4,000 food professionals from 100 countries, Slow Food said.

Petrini also founded the Laudato Si’ Communities with the bishop of Verona, Monsignor Domenico Pompili, in 2017, which applied the principles of Pope Francis’ environmental encyclical through a network of some 80 local groups.

Petrini’s books include “Slow Food Nation: Why Our Food Should Be Good, Clean and Fair,” and “Slow Food: The Case for Taste,” which includes a foreword by Alice Waters, a pioneer of the farm-to-table movement in the United States.

FILE -Slow Food movement founder Carlo Petrini speaks at the funeral of Italian playwright and 1997 Nobel for literature winner Dario Fo, outside Milan's Duomo gothic cathedral, Italy, Oct. 15, 2016. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)