Apr 4, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Wayne Gretzky speaks during a press conference with Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (not pictured) after the game against the Chicago Blackhawks at Capital One Arena. Ovechkin scored the 893rd and 894th goals of his career, tying Gretzky for most all-time goals in NHL history at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images
Apr 4, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Wayne Gretzky speaks during a press conference with Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (not pictured) after the game against the Chicago Blackhawks at Capital One Arena. Ovechkin scored the 893rd and 894th goals of his career, tying Gretzky for most all-time goals in NHL history at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images
NHL legend Wayne Gretzky had choice words about Game 4 of the Eastern Final between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Montreal Canadiens. On Wednesday, May 27, the Hurricanes steamrolled the Canadiens with a 4-0 score line at Bell Centre in Montreal to take a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Final Series.
With that, they also became the seventh team in the history of the NHL to go 6-0 on the road in the playoffs, boasting an 11-1 overall record in the process.
When the TNT Sports host Liam McHugh asked Gretzky about whether the Canadiens’ convincing 6-2 win in Game 1 felt remotely close to the Hurricanes’ dominance tonight,
“Not tonight, it was men against the boys tonight,” responded the 65-year-old in a huge compliment to Carolina, as per the Instagram post of the B/R Open Ice.
The ex-Canadian ice hockey player also hailed the Canes for bouncing back from the Game 1 defeat to now get within just one win from making the 2026 Stanley Cup Final.
“You could see a team that really believes they are Stanley Cup contenders, that they really believe in the system that they play,” Gretzky explained.
“Starts with that fourth line, who he starts in the beginning of the hockey games. And they set the tone to get pucks in deep, psycho, take the body, pound, and then, the skill players go out there, and they do their thing.”
With a win in Game 5 of the East Final over the Canadiens on Friday, May 29, the Hurricanes will be able to reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006. They will be playing the all-important game in front of their home fans at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, NC.
Notably, in 2006, Carolina won their first and only Stanley Cup title in franchise history after beating the Edmonton Oilers in seven games.
Hurricanes took a 3-0 lead in the first period of Game 4 in the East Final vs. Canadiens
The Carolina Hurricanes were exceptional with their performance in the first period of Game 4 in the Eastern Conference Final against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night at the Bell Centre.
They scored three goals within a phase of just 2:47 minutes, with Sebastian Aho making it 1-0 from the right side after receiving a pass from Nikolaj Ehlers with 14:59 on the clock.
Captain Jordan Staal made it 2-0 for the Canes at 16:07 after deflecting a centering pass from K’Andre Miller between the pads of the Montreal goaltender Jakub Dobes. Shortly after, Logan Stankoven stretched their lead to 3-0 at 17:46 on a counterattack alongside Jackson Blake after gaining a 2-on-1 advantage on the ice.
Following that, Carolina kept their attacking intent going until Andrei Svechnikov scored an empty-net goal to make it 4-0 with 1:55 remaining on the clock in the third period. Also, their goaltender, Frederik Andersen, made 18 saves in Game 4 to secure his third shutout in the playoffs.
Will the Carolina Hurricanes set up the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday? Tell us in the comments.
Written by
Arjun Sharma
Edited by
Ankita Yadav