Morning Coffee: Habs remain underdog as ECF shifts to Montreal for Game 3

The Vegas Golden Knights rolled the dice when they hired John Tortorella to replace Bruce Cassidy as their head coach on March 29th.

Now one win away from the Stanley Cup Final, it’s fair to say that gamble has paid off.

On Sunday night, the Golden Knights rallied from down three goals to beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 and take a 3-0 series lead in the Western Conference Finals.

Vegas, which could be found as high as +1300 to win outright down 3-0 to start the second period, was 0-19 all-time when trailing by three goals or more in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

After finishing the regular season on a 7-0-1 run to clinch first place in the Pacific Division after Tortorella was hired as head coach, the Golden Knights have gone 11-4 this postseason for a combined 18-4-1 run since the change.

Vegas opened +225 to win the Western Conference Final and was +600 to win the Stanley Cup entering the series.

The Golden Knights are now -1300 to advance and +135 to win the Stanley Cup as the favourite at FanDuel.

As for the Presidents’ Trophy winner, the Avalanche were 52-0-0 when leading by two or more goals before blowing a three-goal lead in Game 3 versus Vegas.

Teams that trail 3-0 in a best-of-seven series in the round before the Stanley Cup Final are 0-49 all-time.

If Colorado can’t pull off an unprecedented comeback to win the series, it’s fair to wonder whether they will follow suit with a coaching change of their own this offseason.

Meanwhile, the Carolina Hurricanes avoided an 0-2 hole with an overtime win against the Montreal Canadiens on home ice in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final.

As the series shifts to the Bell Centre for Game 3 tonight, the Hurricanes remain a close second choice to win the Stanley Cup behind Vegas at +145 at FanDuel.

The Canadiens are +470 as the third choice on the board.

After defying the odds all season to get to the final four, can the Habs seize control of the Eastern Conference Final on home ice?

Let’s stage the stage and lock in a FanDuel Best Bet for Game 3 in this Morning Coffee column for Monday May 25th, 2026.

Habs Remain Underdog As ECF Shifts To Montreal For Game 3

The Canadiens have been disrespected and overlooked as legitimate Stanley Cup contenders all season long.

After clawing their way to the NHL’s final four, they have a golden opportunity to silence their skeptics in the Eastern Conference Final.

Montreal is one of the most fascinating underdog stories in recent memory.

The Canadiens opened 100-to-1 to win the Stanley Cup at FanDuel last summer.

They were +156 just to make the postseason at FanDuel.

Coming off an unexpected postseason appearance, their critics still felt that they were too young, too inconsistent, and lacking the experience and depth that was needed to make a deep run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Instead, the Habs delivered under pressure with a pair of Game 7 wins on the road as the underdog against both the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Buffalo Sabres.

After a dominant win over the Carolina in Game 1 on the road, Montreal took a step back in an OT loss in Game 2.

The Canadiens were held to just five shots on goal through two periods – their second fewest through two periods in any postseason game since 1996.

Of course, Montreal found a way to beat Tampa Bay in Game 7 as a road underdog in the first round despite just four shots on goal through two periods.

Still, consistency has been an issue for a Habs team that has won back-to-back games only once this postseason.

How will the Canadiens respond in Game 3 on home ice?

Montreal is 2-4 straight up on home ice this postseason.

Meanwhile, Carolina went 4-0 on the road with back-to-back series sweeps against the Ottawa Senators and the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Hurricanes snapped a 10-game home losing streak in the Eastern Conference Final with a win over the Canadiens in Game 2.

Carolina also secured just its second win in the conference finals since 2009.

The Hurricanes are now 2-17 in their last 19 games in the Eastern Conference Final dating back to 2009.

While Nikolaj Ehlers’ OT winner should provide a spark, there will be a ton of pressure on both teams tonight.

The Habs are a young team playing on home ice for the first time in nine days and you must imagine they will be feeling some pressure now that they are three wins away from the Stanley Cup Final.

Meanwhile, the Canes are a more experienced group, but they also carry the burden of past failures into Montreal as a heavy favourite with the series tied 1-1.

Carolina is -137 to win Game 3 and -215 to advance.

The Habs will embrace the underdog role once again at +114 to win Game 3 and +180 to win the series.

This time around, the Hurricanes understand they can’t afford to disrespect the Canadiens’ speed and skill the way they did in a 6-2 loss in Game 1.

Montreal is still 4-0-1 versus Carolina dating back to the regular season.

While the Canadiens are 2-4 on home ice, three of those four losses were by a single goal, including two against the Lightning in overtime.

After registering just five shots on goal through the first two periods of Game 2, head coach Martin St. Louis will ask his players to shoot more tonight.

Montreal’s top six struggled in Game 2 in Carolina.

I’m banking on them bouncing back with a pair of FanDuel Best Bets for Game 3 on home ice.

First up, I’ll lock in a bet on Ivan Demidov to record 1+ points at -104 odds at FanDuel.

Demidov scored in Game 1 but played only 12:16 after Montreal jumped out to a big lead early.

His ice time jumped back up to 15:42 in Game 2, but it was a rare off night for Demidov as he registered one shot on goal on one attempt.

With the benefit of the last change tonight, I expect St. Louis to get the line of Demidov, Alex Newhook, and Jake Evans a favourable matchup in a prime spot to bounce back on home ice.

Demidov leads Montreal with a plus-14 On-Ice Goal Differential this postseason and after failing to record a point for just the second time in nine games, I’ll bank on him to bounce back tonight.

Next up, I’ll lock in a builder Same Game Parlay with Cole Caufield to record 1+ point and 2+ shots on goal at -108.

Caufield registered a goal and an assist in Game 1, but was held off the score sheet in Game 2 in Carolina.

After scoring in all three regular season meetings and registering 3+ shots on goal in 3-of-3, Caufield will be leaned on to produce in a key spot on home ice tonight.

Give me Demidov 1+ point -104 and a builder SGP with Caufield to record 1+ point and 2+ shots on goal as my FanDuel Best Bets for this Morning Coffee column.

Hopefully, the Habs best players step up tonight!

Have a great day, everyone!