The hockey world is reacting to a surprising anthem choice before Game 1
Mason Greer and Martin St-Louis got Game 1 started with a moment that landed before the puck ever dropped.
Before the Eastern Conference Final opened in Raleigh, the Hurricanes made a smart choice that did not go unnoticed in Quebec.
They had young singer Mason Greer perform O Canada in French.
That may sound small from a distance, but it was not small in this setting.
Montreal had just arrived for a huge road opener, emotions were already high, and Carolina decided to show respect to the Canadiens and their Francophone fan base right away.
That is why the reaction was so strong online.
Fans from both sides were praising the gesture, and a lot of the response focused on one simple point: an American organization did not have to do this, but it chose to anyway.
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An unexpected national anthem scene before Game 1 is suddenly blowing up online
That matters because playoff hockey can get nasty fast. The games tighten, the chirping starts, and the rivalry edge takes over almost immediately.
So a pregame scene like this cuts through all of that for a minute.
It also sounded even better because Greer did not look overwhelmed by the spotlight. He delivered the anthem in a way that felt respectful and steady, not like some rushed add-on before the main event.
Adam Lee Decker then handled The Star-Spangled Banner, giving the building its usual energy on the American side.
Together, the two performances gave the start of Game 1 a different feel.
And honestly, Carolina earned credit for that. This was not empty pageantry. It felt thoughtful.
That is part of why so many people immediately compared it to the Canadiens' previous road series, where the anthem situation in Tampa created a very different reaction.
This one was the opposite.
The Hurricanes gave Montreal fans something to appreciate, and for a few minutes, before the hitting and scoring began, both sides got a shared playoff moment instead of another reason to grind at each other.
That stuff matters in this sport.
The handshake line gets all the attention for sportsmanship later in a series, but sometimes you see it before Game 1 even starts.
Carolina did that here.
And even with the Canadiens eventually taking the opener in a 6-2 road win, the anthem moment still stood on its own. It was classy, well-timed, and exactly the kind of touch fans remember when a series starts to build real heat.
Source : Hurricanes anthem singer sings 'O Canada' in French before Game 1
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YESTERDAY
MAY 21, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Juraj Slafkovsky | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Nick Suzuki | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Cole Caufield | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Phillip Danault | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Ivan Demidov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Seth Jarvis | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Eric Robinson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alexandre Texier | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Alexandre Carrier | - | 1 | 1 | |
| William Carrier | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jake Evans | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Kaiden Guhle | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Alex Newhook | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Josh Anderson | - | - | - | |
| Jackson Blake | - | - | - | |
| Zachary Bolduc | - | - | - | |
| Jalen Chatfield | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||