Montreal Canadiens fans look on outside the Bell Centre in Montreal, Friday, July 2, 2021, during Game 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup final against the Tampa Bay Lightning. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Canadiens-Hurricanes Game 5 coverage: Habs looking to stay alive

by · CityNews

Canadians will have to wait at least another year to see a team north of the border lift the Stanley Cup.

Canada’s NHL championship drought extended to 33 years on Monday when the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6-1 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final of the NHL playoffs.

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It’s the first time in three seasons that a Canadian team hasn’t made the Stanley Cup final, after the Oilers lost to the Florida Panthers in consecutive years.

The 1993 Montreal Canadiens are the last Canadian team to capture hockey’s top prize.

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Patrick Roy raises the Stanley Cup in 1993. (Denis Brodeur/NHLI/Getty Images)

The 2006, 2024, and 2025 Edmonton Oilers, 1994 and 2011 Vancouver Canucks, 2004 Calgary Flames, 2007 Ottawa Senators, and 2021 Canadiens all lost in the Stanley Cup final to an American team.

The previous longest drought between Canadian Stanley Cup champions was a six-season slump from 1936 to 1941.

The Habs were the last Canadian team remaining in the NHL playoffs, after the Ottawa Senators and Edmonton Oilers were eliminated in the first round.