One team hit by an unexpected dismissal just hours before game 3 between the Canadiens and Hurricanes
Mason Greer was dropped by Rod Brind'Amour's Hurricanes hours before Game 3, after his French O Canada turned heads across Quebec.
The decision broke Monday morning, with Greer sharing the news himself on social media.
It landed only hours before Montreal and Carolina were set for an 8 p.m. puck drop at the Bell Centre.
Greer had become an unexpected playoff storyline on May 21 in Raleigh.
His bilingual performance before Game 1 caught fire fast, especially in Montreal, where fans loved the effort to sing part of the anthem in French.
That's what made the switch hit harder.
Carolina chose to stick with one anthem singer for the rest of the series, and Greer made it clear he didn't see it coming.
He followed with a second line that carried even more weight: «The support I've received over the last 3 days is something I will never forget.»
The reaction didn't stay small. It spilled right into the Canadiens' side of the rivalry.
Canadiens fans want Mason Greer at the Bell Centre
Anthony Martineau helped push the story even further on X.
His post drew more than 95,000 views and 951 likes in less than 24 hours, a sign that this had already grown beyond a simple anthem change.
Martineau wrote, «I'm just imagining the face of the Hurricanes decision-makers if they saw Mason Greer appear on the Bell Centre ice for tomorrow's anthem.»
That idea took off for one reason: it fits the moment.
Montreal fans don't need much to turn a small slight into playoff theater, and this one landed right in the middle of a series tied 1-1.
Now the pressure shifts to the Canadiens. Do they turn Greer into a pregame statement, or let the moment pass and keep the focus on the ice?
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Either way, Carolina made a quiet anthem change and handed Montreal a fresh storyline before Game 3.
In the playoffs, even the music can turn into bulletin-board material.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 24, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Tomas Hertl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| William Karlsson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Mark Stone | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Kaedan Korczak | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Mitch Marner | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Devon Toews | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Jack Drury | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Brett Howden | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nazem Kadri | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Keegan Kolesar | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Gabriel Landeskog | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Dylan Coghlan | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Parker Kelly | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nathan MacKinnon | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Manson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Martin Necas | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Shea Theodore | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | - | - | |
| Brent Burns | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||