The Montreal Canadiens are currently taking on the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2026 NHL Eastern Conference Finals Series. Ahead of Game 1 at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, a report was published earlier today in CBC in the French language that stated the Canadiens' viewing party has been put on ice.

It stated that the Ottawa Senators cancelled the Canadiens viewing party scheduled at the Slush Puppie Centre in Gatineau for the upcoming Game 2 between the Canadiens and the Hurricanes on May 23. According to the sources mentioned in the report, the Senators prevented the event over a dispute about the exclusive territorial rights.

“We appreciate the passion and excitement surrounding the Stanley Cup Playoffs,” a league spokesperson from the NHL’s head office in New York said in a statement. “However, this planned event, organized by an independent promoter, never received the necessary authorization required by the NHL, Senators or Canadiens for large showings of our games.”

This situation happened despite the organizers' managing to obtain the broadcasting authorization for the game from TVA Sports. The tickets, too, went on sale for the Canadiens viewing party earlier in the week for $13 each.

“Additional validations carried out by the broadcasting rights managers led to a change of position regarding the event, the organizers wrote, without providing further details," reported CBC, via the HockeyFeed website.

Notably, Ottawa, Ontario, and Gatineau, Quebec, are separated just by the Ottawa River despite being located in two different Canadian provinces.

The CBC also stated that while the Senators didn’t veto the move to cancel the Canadiens viewing party, they didn’t accept it either, since the organizers never reached out to them.

They also alluded to how the NHL regulations give each of its members the exclusive territorial rights in their city and within a radius of 50 miles (80 kilometers).

Meanwhile, the ticket proceeds from the event were planned to be given to local charities in their entirety.

Canadiens Beat Hurricanes 6-2 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals Series

The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 6-2 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals to take an early lead in the playoff series on Thursday, May 21. The Canadiens got the edge early in Game 1 by scoring four goals in the first period.

It took the Hurricanes just 33 seconds to open the scoring with Seth Jarvis before the home side responded almost immediately. Cole Caufield of the Canadiens got on the board with his first even-strength goal in the playoffs to make it 1-1 within the first minute of the game.

Philip Danault gave the Canadiens a 2-1 lead on a breakaway after beating goaltender Frederik Andersen in a one-on-one battle with 15:59 left on the clock. After that, Alexandre Texier and Ivan Demidov made it 4-1 for the visitors with goals in quick succession before the first period ended.

During the second period, Caufield hit the post before Eric Robinson got hold of the rebound and put the puck past goaltender Jakub Dobes with 17:14 left on the clock to halve the opposition’s lead to 4-2.

Notably, the Canadiens had swept the Hurricanes 3-0 in the 2025-26 regular season before their ongoing battle in the playoffs.

After the victory, share your thoughts on the Canadiens' watch party being put on hold.

Read more at the NHL Fan Central.

Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar