RALEIGH, N.C. — Disaster loomed for the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night. Already down 1-0 in the Eastern Conference final to the Montreal Canadiens, Carolina blew a third-period lead in a game they largely controlled, putting themselves a bad bounce or a blown assignment away from leaving for the Bell Centre down two games to none.Enter Nikolaj Ehlers, who scored in overtime to lift Carolina to a 3-2 win over Montreal and tie the series 1-1. Game 3 is in Montreal on Monday night.Canadiens forward Josh Anderson tied the game 2-2 with 7:09 remaining in the third period, gathering the puck in a net-front scramble and beating Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen. The shot was just Montreal’s ninth of the game. Andersen finished with 10 saves.The Hurricanes, before losing the lead down the stretch, were fueled by highlight-reel goals from Eric Robinson and Ehlers’ first of the night and the sort of puck-possession dominance they show at their best — and, at times, their worst. Carolina finished the game with a 26-12 edge in shots.Robinson opened the scoring 2:33 into the game on a full-extension redirection of a shot by linemate William Carrier that beat Montreal goaltender Jakub Dobeš. Montreal tied it with 8:49 remaining in the first on a low-slot goal by Anderson that came after two failed clearing attempts by Carolina. The goal came on Montreal’s first shot of the game.Halfway through the second period, Carolina mounted a push that culminated with Ehlers’ goal, a remarkable, twisting shot from the slot that beat Dobeš, who finished with 23 saves on 26 shots.Andersen’s evening is the most obvious pivot point from Game 1, when his teammates’ mistakes and Montreal’s skill led to a five-breakaway first period that put the Hurricanes in a hole they couldn’t escape.“I expect us to play well every night. And when we don’t, it’s a bit of a shock to the system, to be quite honest, because it doesn’t look like it did (in Game 1) very often,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said after Saturday’s pregame skate. “So we give ourselves a chance. If everyone plays well, we give ourselves a chance. That’s what we need tonight.”That, largely, was what they got.Ehlers breaks through for CanesCarolina spent much of the middle frame heavily controlling play — outshooting Montreal 8-3 — but without many big chances, as the deadlock stretched deep into the period. With the Canadiens again forcing a lot of shots wide or into shinpads, it took a brilliant individual effort from Ehlers to make it 2-1 with three minutes left in the second.