Unexpected anthem update sparks reactions before Canadiens vs Hurricanes
Mason Greer and Rod Brind'Amour are suddenly back in the spotlight after Carolina changed its anthem plan for Game 2.
That is a strange little twist in this series.
Before Game 1, the Hurricanes earned real praise for having Greer sing O Canada in French. It was classy, smart, and well received on both sides.
Then the puck dropped.
Montreal walked into Raleigh and hammered Carolina 6-2 to grab a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Final.
Now Greer says the Hurricanes will stick with 1 anthem singer for the rest of the series.
That update hit fast because it came only 1 game after his bilingual performance got so much attention online.
It also gave Canadiens fans an easy joke to run with. Karine Hains summed it up perfectly by joking that Carolina was making an adjustment ahead of Game 2 and maybe that was what went wrong in Game 1.
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Canadiens vs Hurricanes anthem announcement is causing a huge debate
Greer handled it well.
His message was gracious, thanking the Hurricanes organization and saying the support he received over the last 3 days was something he would never forget.
That matters, because none of this sounds like drama from his side.
Still, the timing is impossible to ignore.
Carolina tried something different, got praised for it, then got run over by the Canadiens in the opener. Now the club is changing that part of the night heading into a must-answer game.
Does the anthem decision really affect the hockey? Of course not.
But playoff series always collect these little details, and once a team loses badly, every small adjustment starts looking symbolic.
That is why this caught on.
The Hurricanes are already under pressure because Montreal stole Game 1 on the road and exposed them early. The Canadiens hung 4 goals in the first period and turned a loud building into a pretty quiet one.
So even a pregame change like this suddenly feels part of the story.
For Montreal fans, it is an easy wink.
For Carolina, it is one more reminder that after a bad loss, even the harmless parts of the night can become talking points.
And for Greer, it is a weird playoff footnote.
He delivered a classy moment, got strong support, and then got squeezed out by the next adjustment.
That is hockey in May.
Everything gets noticed.
Everything gets joked about.
And once a series starts tilting, even the anthem becomes part of the noise.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 22, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Ivan Barbashev | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jack Eichel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Pavel Dorofeyev | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Ross Colton | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brent Burns | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nazem Kadri | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nick Blankenburg | - | - | - | |
| Dylan Coghlan | - | - | - | |
| Nic Dowd | - | - | - | |
| Jack Drury | - | - | - | |
| Noah Hanifin | - | - | - | |
| Carter Hart | - | - | - | |
| Tomas Hertl | - | - | - | |
| Brett Howden | - | - | - | |
| William Karlsson | - | - | - | |
| Parker Kelly | - | - | - | |
| Keegan Kolesar | - | - | - | |
| Kaedan Korczak | - | - | - | |
| Brett Kulak | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||