RALEIGH, N.C. — The Montreal Canadiens never flinched in winning two Game 7s on the road to reach the Eastern Conference Final. Opening on the road again was no different, even against a well-rested top seed that had yet to lose in the postseason.The Canadiens pounced for four first-period goals on slow-starting Carolina — coming off the longest postseason break in more than a century — and beat the Hurricanes 6-2 on Thursday night.“We knew we could come in here and try to get off to a good start to the series,” Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said after a three-assist night. “We’re happy with the result, but they’re definitely going to be better than what they were tonight.”Cole Caufield and Phillip Danault scored in the opening four minutes, Alexandre Texier followed four minutes later, and Ivan Demidov finished a breakaway for a shocking 4-1 lead midway through the opening period. That came against a team that hadn’t allowed more than two goals in an 8-0 playoff start.Juraj Slafkovksy scored twice in the third period for Montreal, the second …
