I'd like to start on a positive note: Next year is the 100th Anniversary celebration for my beloved Montréal Canadiens. The 2008 All Star Game will be played in the Bell Centre. And the Habs will be coming off their best season in years.The down side, The Drive for 25 ended last night.
Admittedly, I really didn't start watching the Habs until about January this year. It's hard, when your favourite sports team is 365 miles away and in another country, to really see many games. If I was a Rangers or Bruins fan, or even a fan of a more popular sport, I would have been able to see every game this year... maybe even go to one. But I'm a Habs fan. I've always been a Habs fan. I'll always be a Habs fan.
My love of Hockey obviously comes from my family in Montréal, specifically my grandparents, even though, ironically, they're Red Wings fans. The reason is rather socio-political, and has to do with the era they began watching. In the days of their teenage years there were 6 teams, 2 in Canada and 4 down in "the States". Living in Montréal, Toronto was right out. But, being English, Les Habitants were not "their" team, either. Being fans of the game in the truest way, it was a genius player of their day that brought them to support one favourite team: Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe. I can't argue with that. So, for no less than 60 seasons they have been loyal to their Red Wings, even when 19 times the hometown Habs have taken home the Cup.
My grandmother was a sports fan all around. At one time I believe she held season tickets to both the Expos (MLB) and the Alouettes (CFL). The first professional sports game I saw live was an Alouettes game with my grandmother. I still remember the long Metro ride out to Olympic Stadium, or Stade Olympique, at the Pie IX station, in Montréal's East End. I'll also never forget watching the last hockey game with her -- this time just a CBC broadcast on TV -- in March 2004, just a couple weeks before she died.
My grandfather is a great guy to watch a game with -- not only is he a huge fan of the game, but having been so for better than 70 years, there's no one I know with as much insight as him. It wasn't just a fan's insight, the usual comments about who could do what better, and who was weak this season, but real insight from not only a fan, but a former player, and later, a referee. In the 40's and 50's, my grandfather played at the AA level. His career topped at City Champions playing for the Point AAA, but I thought he could have gone up to the NHL level. A purely academic argument, though, as he gave up hockey in order to be a husband and father, and since my existence is dependent on the decision, I can't really argue it.
But, based on his knowledge of the sport, and pure love of it, and a certain intangible element that I can only explain by his being Canadian -- if you've ever watched the Canadian telecast of a game, and the fervor with which the announcers have the play-by-play, you'd understand -- he watches every game with such passion, whether his team is playing or not. Sitting here, passively watching the Pens-Rangers game as I type, I cannot claim such passion.
Growing up, grandson of those two fans, not to mention aunts and uncles of similar die-hard passion for their own favourite teams, and even my mother who grew up watching my grandfather referee the local Youth Hockey games during her youth, being a hockey fan was just a given... simply in my blood. If there was Youth Hockey in Milford, when i grew up, I'm sure I'd have played, instead of wasting my time with Little League.
My attention breaks for a moment, as Evgeny Malkin just put Molly's Pens up 2-nothing on the Rangers, with a beautiful little backhander. OK, sorry, where was I?
The first recorded evidence of my Hockey fanaticism appears in 1976, when I'm still less than a year old. My favourite toy is a rubber hockey stick, probably originally designed as a doggy chew toy, but I could care less. I have a picture from 1978, standing in my great-grandmother's hallway, in pajamas that resemble a Canadiens uniform, holding my grandfather's hockey stick, which itself was about 2 feet taller than me. Perhaps that was the moment that started me as a Habs fan, a simple gift from my great-grandmother, probably influenced solely by the availability of such items in Montréal in the 70's.
But perhaps it was bigger. In the late 70's, we did have the Hartford Whalers, and they weren't half bad. It would make perfect sense for me to grow up a Whalers fan, but that wasn't the case. Montréal was my second home, and in my mind the epicenter of the hockey world, and so I did my best to watch my Habs when they played New York, or Hartford, or sometimes the Islanders. Any time I could catch a game, I suffered through every fuzzy, black and white, 13" minute, on broadcast television, on the other team's network. For the All Star game, and when they made it to the playoffs, I'd be rewarded with network coverage.
In 1986, perseverance paid off, and by this time, in color, on a 19" TV, I got to see my Habs win their first Stanley cup since I was 2. I survived another 7 years of drought until 1993, now having access to cable and ESPN, I watched the Habs win #24. Two years later I was lucky enough to be at Boston U. the year they won the NCAA championships. Now having much greater access to the game, and the ability to watch any game I wanted thanks to ESPN and the younger ESPN2, I thought the late nineties would be a great time to be a Habs fan. ESPN Classic even gave me access to the great games of my youth, reliving the glory days of le blue, blanc et rouge, and even watching the 1976 cup series swept by the Habs just 3 days before I was born.
My luck, and that of the Canadiens, would not be so good. Instead of a great return to glory, the next great Montréal dynasty, my adult life has been marked by the longest cup drought in franchise history. For 15 long years I have faithfully watched my Habs, only to see them miss the playoffs, or be eliminated by the likes of Carolina, or more painfully still, by long-time rivals the Boston Bruins. I've travelled to Montréal to see the Habs beat the Bruins in 2002, and to Madison Square Garden to see them foil the Rangers in their home opener after the lockout season. For 15 years I have remained a loyal fan, and I thought this year I might see the turn around I've so long waited for.
The first half of the season, I have to admit I didn't follow too close. The Versus Network coverage hasn't been what I would have hoped, focusing far more on American, and worse than that, West Coast teams. But coming out of the All Star break, the schedule gave me more opportunity to at least watch match-ups against New York and Boston. Then, in the late hours of the season, the Habs are in a race not only for the playoffs, but for number one in the East. Not only can I finally catch some games, but this is exciting hockey.
So from late February on, I've been glued to my television. I'd come to believe this could be the year. Even with Captain Koivu out for the end of the season, and into the playoffs, it's a year to have hope. Right up until April 6th, it was hard fought. Ending the season April 5th on a win against Toronto gave us an opening round match-up against long-time rivals Boston, who we'd gone 8-0-0 against in the regular season. A shootout loss by the Penguins the next day gave us first place in the East, and number 1 seeding. It was the most exciting end to a season I can remember.
That excitement carried right into the post-season. 4 to 1, April 10th at home; 3 - 2 in overtime, 2 nights later; this was the playoffs I'd been waiting for. It was hard fought, but Kovalev, Higgins, the Kostitsyn brothers, and a rookie sensation Carey Price in goal were getting it done. the Bruins came back with a 2- 1 overtime win at home the next night, but the Habs answered with a 1 -0 shutout, still in Boston, the following Tuesday. By now Price was being compared to Dryden in 71 and Roy in 86.
20 year old rookie sensations are a funny lot, though. Sometimes 20 and rookie win out over the sensation, and that was true about Price. In game 5, Carey fell apart, giving up 5 unanswered goals in a 5 - 1 loss. 2 nights later wasn't any better, and a 5 - 4 Boston victory forced a game 7. Some questioned coach Guy Carbonneau's faith in the young netminder, but Price pulled through in a stunning 5 -0 series-ending shutout. Price had been tested, bounced back, and the Habs were back in the race. Only 12 more wins to a 25th cup.
Montréal went 4 and 0 against the Flyers in the regular season, and Philly, too, had come off a hard fought 7 game series that they squeaked out in a 3 - 2 overtime victory over Washington. There was every reason to be optimistic. A 4 - 3 overtime victory in game 1 on the 24th added to that optimism, optimism that would be short-lived.
A 4 -2 loss, then a 3 -2 loss, marked by a complete break-down by price, squandering a 2-goal lead, brought big doubts. These doubts caused Carbonneau to pull Price and start Jaroslav Halak. But fixing Price wasn't enough, and in fairness, he was never the whole of the Habs' issues with Philly. Halak's night in net still resulted in a 4 - 2 loss. Game 5 would be in Montréal in 3 days, and with the Canadiens facing elimination on home ice, something had to change.
On May 3rd, in front of 21,000+ of the leagues greatest fans, their backs against the wall, it was do or die. Price got the start. Had Carbonneau made the necessary changes? Could the Habs figure out the recently stellar Martin Biron? It looked like they could when Tomas Plekanec tipped in a 30' rocket by veteran defenseman Patrice Brisbois, the only Hab besides Carbonneau with a ring from the 1993 series. The Canadiens were on the board early.
There had been 4 points where I believe the Habs were lacking thus far in the series:
Price needed to just play better. He needed to use the glove hand, he needed to be confident, and he needed to be ready and alert.
The power play needed to change. Great skating and effective cycling had made the Montréal power play the best in the league, and source of the majority of their scoring in the regular season, but in the playoffs, it was barely breathing.
Martin Biron was nigh unstoppable. The Habs needed to figure him out and figure him out fast. He seemed to only have one weakness, hard shorts from in close, 30 feet or less, and Montréal needed to exploit that.
And finally, R.J. Umberger needed to be shut down. He had at least a goal in every game thus far, and more importantly, the opening goal in 3 of 4 games. in fact, Philadelphia had shot first in all 4 games thus far.
Now in the opening minutes of game 5, it looks like Montréal may have figured it all out. Price had gone out and got himself a new glove, one it looked like he intended to use. Montréal's earlier failing defense had stopped Umberger's first period tries. Now, on a power play, from 30' out, Brisbois and Plekanec had teamed to figure out Biron. Most importantly, they got themselves on the board first.
Halfway through the period, Umberger got loose, and tied it up, but within 90 seconds, Alex Kovalev answered. Early in the second period, Higgins, who had been struggling controlling the feed, tallied an insurance marker. Thing were really looking Montréal's way. But in the last 5 minutes of the second period, Price, the Habs, and the hopes of thousands of fans fell apart.
Richards from Umberger at 14:02 -- 3 to 2. Umberger from Hatcher at 15:44 -- tied 3 to 3. Hartnell from Timonen at 17:00, and now the Habs went to the dressing room down a goal after 2.
At 2:13 of the 3rd period, it looked like the Habs might mount the comeback they needed to keep their season alive, when Andrei Kostitsyn tied it back up. But that was it, and for almost the entire rest of the period, the two teams were held deadlocked, until, with 3 minutes and 4 seconds left in the game, Scotty Upshall came up with the go ahead goal against Price. The nail in the coffin came with 50 seconds left, Price pulled net for an extra attacker, and Mike Knuble broke away for the empty net, finishing the Habs' chances and ending the game, 6 to 4.
After another few faceoffs, the clock ran out, and the Flyers poured onto the ice from their bench. It took a couple seconds of stunned silence for the reality to sink in, then 21,000+ Montréal fans applauded. No boos, no more taunting, they congratulated the Flyers, and applauded their Habs, for a great season, on the night of their last game of the season.
We couldn't go all the way this year, but I'm still proud to be a Habs fan. It felt like this was the year we could have done it, but the reality is a little bit different. When Bob Gainey took over as General manager a few years back, I was forced to say "this was a building year", but I had faith. I saw our draft picks rise up to star quality like Higgins and Price. I saw an All Star goaltender in Jose Theodore get traded away. I saw Guy Carbonneau come in as Head Coach, with Kirk Muller and Doug Jarvis on the bench with him. With Bob Gainey, all of these guys had seen cup victories with the Habs, Muller and Carbonneau both on the most recent cup team in 1993. In a short time I saw Montréal build a team that could win a cup, and a real Montréal team, not a purchased roster like Detroit in 2002, but a team built on both experience and youth, that had a chance not only to win a cup, but to do something that hasn't been seen in decades, build a dynasty.
I have faith in the next Montréal dynasty. It won't begin in 2008, but I believe it's coming.
As I've written here, the Pittsburgh Penguins have won game 5 in overtime, eliminating the Rangers, and moving on the the Eastern Conference Finals. Not wanting this season to be over for me, I will shift my attention to the team of Molly's youth, who swept Ottawa and beat New York in 5. I'm not jumping ship on the Habs, but with them eliminated, I'm going to cheer for the Pens.
At the risk of offending legions of Habs fans by paraphrasing the words that for years have been written above the lockers in the hallowed halls of the Montréal Forum and the Bell Centre, Pittsburgh, To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high.
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