Caught some hockey up north of the border....

As previously posted by wifey, we ventured to the great city of Montreal for two games at the Bell Centre. We had purchased our tickets several months ago, and it was pure luck that our vacation plans coincided with the retiring of the #33 jersey that belonged to the legendary Patrick Roy.

The ceremony itself was phenomenal! Patrick Roy entered the building through the main entrance, and was followed by a camera crew as he marched through the concourse (much to the shock and delight of fans grabbing their hot dogs and beers), before entering the arena to the cheers of 20000+ fans. Stopping to chat briefly with Jean Beliveau, Roy made his way onto the ice and acknowledged those who made him welcome (and given the history, he probably did not know what the overall reaction would be). After the obligatory speeches, the banner raising took place and #33 was forever enshrined amongst the other legends that represented the bleu blanc et rouge.

The Canadiens were unable to put the icing on Roy's cake, however, as they fell to the Boston Bruins in a shootout. To really rub salt in the wound, one of the Bruins goals came from Milan Lucic, who was booed consistently for his actions in the previous meeting between these two original six rivals. The anticipated on-ice attack for Lucic never materialized, and many left the game feeling the effects of both a loss and unfinished business with Boston's agitator.

It All Started in 1985...

Nearly twenty-four years ago, I fell in love with a game called hockey and especially a team called the Montréal Canadiens courtesy of CBC's Hockey Night in Canada, which I was able to watch via a huge satellite dish in our Kansas backyard. My parents thought I was absolutely insane but gave up a lot of Saturday night television for my addiction, even buying me a Habs jersey as a Christmas present.

This past weekend, I finally saw my beloved Habs play at home in the Bell Centre and was able to scream "Go Habs Go!" along with 21,000+ similarly addicted people. Even better, the weekend we chose for our hockey excursion was the one during which Patrick Roy's jersey was retired, in an emotional (and beautifully done) pre-game ceremony. The fact that this was a player that I had actually watched and followed made it especially meaningful for me, and I was grateful that Patrick read the French portions of his speech slowly enough that I could pick up quite a bit of what he was saying. :-)

The game itself, an Original Six matchup against the Bruins, was a bit of a disappointment in that the Habs simply did not look sharp. Granted, the Bruins have been on a streak of late, but the sheer numbers of missed passes and botched defensive matchups cannot be attributed solely to the Bruins' skill. As much as I enjoyed the play of Alex Kovalev last year, his play so far this year leaves much to be desired. It's as if he is simply a shell of himself, or simply marking time, I'm not sure which.

We also attended Monday's game against the Islanders, and since so many have already harped on poor Ryan O'Byrne, I won't follow suit. The fact is that the Habs had plenty of chances to win that game and failed to capitalize on the majority of them. As big a mistake as O'Byrne made, it's equally foolish to pin the loss on him.

On our way out of Montréal Tuesday, we caught some of the morning discussion on the Team 990, and I have to agree with the commentators, most of whom agree that the Habs are not playing as a team but as a group of individuals. What is the reason for this? Ego? Poor guidance from their coach? Believing too much of their own press?

Since we were at the Capitals/Thrashers game last night (and I'll let Hubs tell you about that one - it was a goody), we didn't catch most of the Habs' win over the Red Wings last night, but I'm very pleased that they were able to take that kind of a win on the road. Tomorrow night we will be a divided household as I represent Habs Nation at the Phone Booth and Hubs supports the Caps - hopefully it will be a happy ending for le Canadien!