RALEIGH, N.C. — For now, there is nothing but pain, which might be more formative for the Montreal Canadiens than anything else they experienced through this season and these Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It is the pain of every blocked shot, every hit and every slash now suddenly throbbing uncontrollably, radiating over the deep wound inflicted by a fourth straight humbling loss that ended a dream after 101 games.

The ice won’t make it go away just yet, and that’s not a bad thing.

No one knows more than these Carolina Hurricanes — who pulverized the Canadiens — that this pain is a pathway forward. They suffered it in three straight Eastern Conference Finals, over which they lost 12 of 13 games in demoralizing fashion to better teams, and it turned them into the punishers they’ve become.

“A lot of years with a lot of pain,” said Jordan Martinook after Friday’s 6-1 win over the Canadiens at Lenovo Center, his 89th playoff game that finally pushed him and the Hurricanes to Round 4.

"We had teams that could’ve got there and just (didn’t do it)… It’s been a crazy journey…"

The Canadiens have only taken a few steps on theirs, with each one of them bringing them hope that the pain they’re feeling takes them to where Carolina has now gone.

“I don’t know if I have three more years,” said 33-year-old Phillip Danault, who’s under contract for one more season with the Canadiens. “I hope it’s not that long for us, but we’re a different team. Sometimes it’s just a matter of who you play against. The maturity you build, the brand you........

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