Canadiens fans have seen this movie before.
It was just over two weeks ago at the Bell Centre, and the Habs had the chance to finish off the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series. Instead they lost that game 1-0 in overtime and were forced to return to Tampa, where they finally won the series in a dramatic Game 7.
Fast-forward 13 days and the Canadiens’ loyal fans were once again set for a huge party, hoping Montreal would win Game 6 versus the Buffalo Sabres and clinch its berth in the Eastern Conference final. Alas it was not to be, with the local heroes losing in rather spectacular fashion 8-3 to the Sabres.
Canadiens fans outside the Bell Centre weren’t liking what they were seeing as the clock wound down on an 8-3 loss to the Sabres Saturday night.
“Buffalo now has the momentum,” said Jason Castellan, who was at the Bell Centre on Saturday night. “But it’s Game 7 and that’s a hard game to win for either team. So we’ll see what happens.”
Castellan thinks Buffalo is probably the favourite. I pointed out the Habs won the last Game 7, but Castellan made the fairly reasonable point that Montreal only had nine shots in that game and that’s really not a formula for success.
Even Saturday night that was an issue, with the Canadiens handily out-shot by the Sabres 36-22.
Castellan pulled out the famous Wayne Gretzky quote: “You miss 100 per cent of the shots you don’t take.”
A large crowd gathered outside the Bell Centre ready to party on Saturday night, but it was not meant to be.
All too often Saturday, Habs players were in decent shooting position and they chose not to shoot.
“I thought tonight was going to be the night,” said Elvis Amber, who watched the game at a downtown bar. “I thought they were going to take it tonight so it was a bit disappointing. I’m leaving tomorrow morning, I’m flying back, I live in Asia. I’m flying to Beijing. I was hoping they’d wrap it up tonight and now I’m going to have to wake up Tuesday morning and watch Game 7. I’m not looking forward to that.”
Jack Zegorski came in from St-Lazare thinking there’d be a big party downtown.
“Normally I watch at home, but I came out tonight figuring that’s when they’d win it all but of course it didn’t work out that way,” Zegorski said. “It’s almost a mirror image of the last game in reverse.”
Huge crowd outside the Bell Centre was joyous after the Habs raced to a 3-1 lead early in the game Saturday night but the enthusiasm died down quickly.
That’s a good point. Buffalo jumped out of the gates Thursday, scoring three goals on four shots on Jakub Dobes and then collapsed. Montreal was up 3-1 Saturday, scoring on its first three shots, and then gave up seven unanswered goals
Adrienne Campbell only had one thought — let’s all support our goalie, who did not have a good night Saturday.
“My only message to (Dobes) is we love you, we believe in you and you’re capable,” Campbell said. “He’ll absolutely pull through. We’re all behind him.”
Martin Gilbert was less inspired.
“We were ready for a party and now we’re going home very disappointed,” Gilbert said.
Fans weren’t liking what they were seeing during the second period as the Canadiens saw their 3-2 lead dissipate after giving up three goals in the frame.
Gena Campos and Juan Jurez looked super down on des Canadiens Ave. as the final buzzer went.
Campos said she had a premonition when Montreal had a good start that it would turn out like the last game, when the Sabres started strong and then lost.
“We’ve got to keep it up, we have one more chance,” Jurez said. “We started really strong, but I don’t know what happened. But I think we’re going to win it. This is the year. We’re going to the finals.”
If there was a silver lining to the evening — and there was — I started the soirée out at Parc Girouard in N.D.G. deejaying for a couple of hundred people prior to an outdoor viewing party for the game. People came out even though it was raining off and on and it was only the latest reminder that the Habs bring the community together like no one else can.
So many people came up to me in the park to say they loved being able to watch their hockey team with other people from the neighbourhood and whatever happens Monday, this has been a magical reminder of the unifying force of the Habs.
But nothing unites people like winning and most fans still believe. Will Game 7 Monday be another movie fans have already seen? Let’s hope so.
