Having had plenty of rest after sweeping the Philadelphia Flyers, there was much reason to believe that the Canes were strong favourites heading into the series. After all, the Habs needed overtime in Game 7 against the Buffalo Sabres to advance at their expense.
The first goal of the series came just 33 seconds into the game. Seth Jarvis was the one to get a shot off after the puck was tipped in his direction by Andrei Svechnikov.
It did not take the Canadiens very long to equalize, as just 27 seconds later, Juraj Slafkovsky's pass found a wide open Cole Caufield, who fired past Frederik Andersen to tie the game.
The chaotic start did not end there. The teams had a two-minute four-on-four situation as Sean Walker and Nick Suzuki were both given penalties. Phillip Danault made it 2-1 in Montreal's favour when he won the puck at center ice and skated in unmarked towards goal.
His low shot found the bottom corner, giving the Habs their first lead of the series.
The lead was doubled closer to the midway mark of the opening frame, when Danault played provider for Alexandre Texier, whose shot was low and gave Andersen no chance.
It did not stop there for the Hurricanes, as they found themselves down 4-1 in the opening frame. On another one-on-one, Ivan Demidov was all alone with the Canes netminder, making a move to create some more space before shooting it home.
Few saw this result coming for Carolina, who had nearly two weeks to prepare for this series. They were much more dominant after the first intermission as they got a goal back. A couple of minutes into the second, Caufield hit a shot that came off the post.
The hosts immedately went the other way, with William Carrier playing in Eric Robinson. The shot from the winger went straight in, giving his team some hope.
In a second period dominated by the Canes, they would have wanted another goal to show for it. Outshooting Montreal 11-3, Robinson's marker was the only one of the middle period.
It also turned out to be the final goal for Carolina in the contest, as the Habs got two from Slafkovsky in the third to round out the scoring.
First, the 22-year-old made a dazzling move to make a defender miss before tucking his shot past Andersen and in.
The other came in the last few minutes of the game, when the Canes brought on an extra skater. They were caught out, as Slafkovsky confidently beat his man before scoring his second of the night.
It ended 6-2 in the Canadiens' favour, and they will look to double their advantage on Saturday when teams reconvene at the Lenovo Center.