MONTREAL — Carolina Hurricanes winger Andrei Svechnikov ended Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final, giving his team a 3-2 overtime victory and 2-1 series lead over the Montreal Canadiens.It was a huge win for the Hurricanes, and the way they got there — a crunch-time goal from their first line — made it even bigger. If Carolina is to keep control against Montreal and beyond, it’ll need more of the same from Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis, who’d largely been kept in check in the first 10 games of the postseason.The run-up to the game winner, though, was crucial, too, and an indication of how the Hurricanes had thrived without production from their most talented players. With 6:54 remaining in the period, Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour sent his fourth line — center Mark Jankowski and wingers William Carrier and Eric Robinson — out for an offensive-zone faceoff on their fifth overtime shift. Jankowski won the draw; Robinson eventually put a shot attempt on Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobeš; Jankowski and Carrier logged hits against Montreal defensemen Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson, respectively. About 10 seconds after they headed to the bench, the game was over, and the Hurricanes had their first lead in a conference final since 2006.Jankowski, Carrier and Robinson have emerged as a fairly rare commodity; a physical, play-driving fourth line that logs high-leverage minutes in postseason games.“I think they can play against anybody,” Brind’Amour said Tuesday. “It certainly helps our overall group. It helps me, being able to sit back there and just go, ‘OK, go ahead,’ when they’re playing at this level.”In 73:01 postseason minutes with Jankowski-Carrier-Robinson on the ice, the Hurricanes hold a 76-57 edge in attempts, a 26-24 edge in shots and an expected goal share of 57 percent while outscoring opponents 3-1. They’ve done their best work against Montreal (27-16 in shot attempts, 3-0 in goals, 6-3 in high-danger chances, 57 percent expected goal share), but they were effective in the first two rounds as well, playing the Ottawa Senators to a draw, then driving plenty of zone time and scoring chances against the Philadelphia Flyers.All three represent wins for Carolina’s front office. Jankowski was a 2012 first-round pick by the Calgary Flames who’d gone on to play for three organizations in five years and was acquired at the 2025 trade deadline from Nashville for a fifth-round pick. Robinson spent time in the American Hockey League the season before signing a one-year, $950,000 contract in the summer of 2024. Carrier was a known bottom-six commodity for the Vegas Golden Knights, but the specifics of the deal he signed with Carolina in 2024 — tons of term (six years), not a ton of money ($12.6 million) — were outside the box.The overtime shift Monday embodies what Brind’Amour asks of his forwards: Dominate the puck, stress the opponent at all times, believe that the goals will follow. If one line doesn’t score, it can still make it easier for the next.“It’s huge,” Jankowski said. “It puts a lot of confidence in us that the coaching staff believes in us to be able to go out there and have some good shifts, string some good shifts together (and gain) some momentum for our team. We’re feeding off it. We appreciate that confidence that the coaching staff is giving us, and we’re trying to run with it and trying to do everything we can to help the team, whether that’s a big hit one way (or) creating a scoring chance the other way.”Canadiens must figure out tough matchupsOn the flip side, one of the tough aspects of the Canadiens’ results through three games is that the vast majority of their lineup hasn’t gotten much traction. Some of Montreal’s top players — such as Hutson — are spending so much of their time in their own end, as evidenced by lopsided scoring-chance and expected goals (xG) numbers for the series.The Hurricanes, meanwhile, are getting more and more confident rolling all four lines, no matter who else is out there — which is a key advantage when playing on the road.Here’s how all four lines stack up for both teams entering Game 4 on Wednesday, using results for the centers on each line. Lines are ranked by five-on-five ice time in the series.Canadiens xG share