Habs fans predict sweep after Game 1 thriller
People at Maison Publique McLean’s went wild when Juraj Slafkovsky scored in overtime to win the game 4-3 for the Canadiens.
BELIEVE.
That’s what I wrote on social media Sunday night seconds after Slafkovsky scored against Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy in overtime with a laser-precision shot from the left faceoff circle to settle the opening game in the Canadiens’ first-round playoff series against the Bolts. Yes, I wrote it in all-caps. I may have gotten a little carried away by the enthusiasm of the folks around me at McLean’s.
As I was walking out, the bartender said he’d never seen anything like the atmosphere Sunday night.
We live in an anxiety-inducing world, from world politics to the global economy to our own finances to the stresses of daily life. But for a few hours in various bars, cafés and living rooms across the city, we were all just having fun watching the hockey team we love. To put the cherry on the sundae, our team won that crucial first game on enemy ice in oh-so-dramatic fashion. It was a beautiful moment.
At the pub, whenever the Good Guys scored, there was some loud singing of Olé Olé Olé. But there was also tension, particularly when Tampa was up 2-1 on Montreal. When the Canadiens had just five shots about halfway through the game, there was dark muttering that maybe the Habs weren’t throwing nearly enough pucks in Vasilevskiy’s direction.
But by the time Slaf won it in overtime, there was most definitely no more grumbling. “Believe” is a pretty good word to sum up the mood of the room. Anything is possible.
There was already a wave of optimism before the series started.
What long-suffering fans are particularly digging is that this dynamic young core of stars is going to be with the team for years, and it’s not unreasonable to think they’ll be in the playoff conversation for a bunch of seasons.
They showed Sunday that they can go head-to-head with a top-tier team like Tampa. For days, I’d been raging against the narrative that the favourite in this series was the Lightning. Tampa won the Cup four years ago. Since then? Not much playoff success. This season, the two teams ended up tied with the same number of points.
Then they went to overtime in Game 1. They’re an even match. One guy at McLean’s predicted a sweep for the bleu-blanc-rouge.
Lori Manon-og, who has a CH tattoo on her wrist and was wearing a Habs jersey, said the night was a bit of a roller-coaster, but she sure liked the way it ended.
“My heart’s beating. They keep you on your toes,” said Manon-og. “But I think that’s what we need. We need a team that’s exciting. We go with the highs in the highs and the lows with the lows, and that’s what they do.”
She said one of the things that impresses her the most about this Habs team is that nothing scares them.
“I love it; they’re fearless,” said Manon-og.
And if they beat Tampa, she added, the rest of the league better start to take the Habs seriously.
“If we get through Tampa, oh boy, everyone else, watch out!” she said.
Hannah Prokaziuk, a first-year McGill University arts student, spent the evening at the bar intently watching the screen. Like any self-respecting Habs fan, she was taking this very seriously. It couldn’t have been a better ending, she said.
“I feel amazing. Slaf is my all-time favourite player and seeing him have a hat-trick tonight is like the best thing I could ever wish for,” said Prokaziuk.
And for her, the sky’s the limit.
“I see a championship in their future,” she said, as the bar’s sound system blasted, appropriately enough, Thin Lizzy’s classic The Boys Are Back in Town. “2026 is our year. It’s now. This is the Habs’ year. It’s gonna happen.”
“The playoffs are where the magic happens, and the Montreal Canadiens have proven that they can hang with the best,” said Alex Billard. “And anything is possible.”
Leon Holder said he expected the Canadiens to win.
“When they were down 2-1, I told everyone around me, ‘This is right where we want them,’ ” said Holder. “And the game panned out. And even if we’d lost tonight — it’s such a resilient team and such a good road team — I would’ve expected them to win in Tampa on Tuesday.”
Kevin Dopp is the one who said he expects a Habs sweep.
“It’s happening,” said Dopp.
So yeah, not a lot of grumbling. In fact, none at all. Just much happiness and even more optimism.
