5 things to know as Habs, Hurricanes face off in Eastern Conference final

Two paths, two Eastern Conference finalists.

The Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes will face off in the third round of the Stanley Cup playoffs after taking completely different routes to get there.

The young, ascending Canadiens battled through a pair of gruelling seven-game matchups to reach the conference final. The experienced and regimented Hurricanes, meanwhile, swept through the opening two rounds behind their smothering play.

It’s a maximum number of games versus the minimum. Here are five things to know before the puck drops for Game 1 on Thursday night in Raleigh, N.C.

Let the debate begin. The Hurricanes haven’t played since sweeping the Philadelphia Flyers out of the second round on May 9, giving them 11 days of rest. That’s the longest break from the end of one series to the start of the next in more than a century — the Canadiens spent 12 days off during the 1919 playoffs.

Montrealers celebrate as Canadiens advance to East final with OT win against Sabres

Is that an advantage or a disadvantage? Carolina, which posted the best record in the East this season, also had a six-day break after sweeping the Ottawa Senators in the first round and didn’t miss a beat with four straight wins over the Flyers.

The Hurricanes are the first team to open the playoffs 8-0 since the NHL implemented four rounds of best-of-seven in 1987. The Canadiens, meanwhile, downed the division-rival Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres to become the first team to win Game 7s in each of the first two rounds since the 2014 Los Angeles Kings, who went on to hoist the Stanley Cup.

Through two rounds, neither side is getting the top-line production they’re used to. Carolina’s Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis and Andrei Svechnikov have