Two Eastern Conference Finals games Thursday and both road/underdog teams left winners. NHL: Montreal stole Game 1 of the Original Six matchup 6-2 at PNC Arena, ending Carolina's 8-0 playoff start. Canadiens scored four first-period goals; Cole Caufield and Phillip Danault in the opening four minutes, Alexandre Texier four minutes later, Ivan Demidov on a breakaway to make it 4-1 midway through Q1. Carolina's nine-day layoff after sweeping Philadelphia looked like a real rust factor. Habs steal home-ice; Game 2 at PNC Arena Saturday 5/23. NBA: New York took a 2-0 series stranglehold with a 109-93 G2 win at MSG; Josh Hart playoff career-high 26 points, Jalen Brunson playoff career-high 14 assists, an 18-0 third-quarter run that put it away. Donovan Mitchell 26 in defeat. Knicks now Eastern Conference favorite + two wins from the NBA Finals; series shifts to Cleveland for Game 3 Saturday 5/23. Cup futures: Montreal climbs to +550 in the East; Carolina drops to +275. Knicks at -115 to win conference. Tonight (Friday 5/22): NHL COL-VGK G2 at Ball Arena (VGK leads 1-0, Makar status uncertain) + NBA OKC-SAS G3 at Frost Bank Center (series tied 1-1).
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