'S--t Game,' Says Canadiens Star After Loss as Teammate Calls Habs 'Super Underdogs' vs. Hurricanes

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson had a harsh assessment of his team's performance after they were shut out by the visiting Carolina Hurricanes in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Canadiens were outshot 43-18 in a 4-0 Wednesday loss that put them on the brink of elimination from the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs.

"It's pretty self-explanatory, I guess. Just, s--tty. S--t game... This was probably at our worst game at home," Hutson said Wednesday night.

Rookie goaltender Jakub Dobeš meanwhile told reporters after the loss: "I feel like we've been underdogs the whole season, the whole playoffs, so we are super underdogs right now."

Hutson got a look at a goal that would have cut the Canes' lead in half late in Wednesday's first period.

That turned into a turning point for the Canes, who blocked the shot and sprung the other way on an odd-man rush. Hutson wasn't able to get back in time to stop the visitors from stretching their lead to 3-0.

Hurricanes-Canadiens Highlights

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Hutson said after the game he felt "the only guy who showed up" was Dobeš, who made 39 saves in the shutout loss.

Dobeš made some big saves early in the game, including one on a Jackson Blake breakaway to keep the game scoreless early in the first.

The netminder still took part of the blame for the loss, telling reporters after the game he "can't allow three goals."

The Canadiens will need to find a way to beat the Canes' defense and goaltender Frederik Andersen in order to stretch the series past Friday night's Game 5 in Raleigh.

Should the Canadiens win Game 5, the series would swing back to Montreal for another must-win game on Sunday.

Whichever team emerges from the series will face the Vegas Golden Knights, who clinched their own trip to the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday by completing their Western Conference Finals sweep of the Colorado Avalanche.