A Winning Habit
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Canadiens Fans React As Lightning Advance To Cup Final

By Lissa Albert

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CANADIENS Fans React As LIGHTNING Advance To Cup Final

Fans of the Montreal Canadiens don’t have a horse in the race, when it comes to the Conference Finals or the Stanley Cup Final. Or do we?

I’m a one-team fan. There are fans who cheer for more than one team, and that’s something that I admire, in a way. It means there may always be a team for them to cheer as long as post-season continues.

I can’t; it isn’t right or wrong, it just is. And yet, I’ve watched the Conference Finals for a few reasons:

  • The ECF held my interest as the team that eliminated the Habs was playing
  • It’s hockey, and I miss watching hockey
  • It’s hockey and I’m a hockey writer
  • It’s not just hockey – it’s exceptional hockey.

Tonight, the New York Rangers were eliminated by the Tampa Bay Lightning; and I spent much of my time on Twitter observing Habs fans as they followed the game.

Some couldn’t cheer for either team:

It was a tough game for Rangers fans, and my sympathies – even empathy – go out to them. I know how hard it is to watch one’s team get eliminated. It wasn’t too long ago we sat in stunned silence as the Lightning eliminated our team.

But I’ve both anticipated and dreaded this moment, the moment where the Lightning won the East and advanced to the Finals.

Anticipated because I believe the writing was on the wall all season. Starting from Tampa having swept the Canadiens in all 5 games they played this season, continuing to their hard-fought win against the Detroit Red Wings in the first round, and then taking the first 3 games against the Canadiens in the second.

That last bit was the toughest of all. Coming from having taken 3 games from the Ottawa Senators in Round 1, Habs fans were on air to advance to Round 2. But on cautious air, knowing the Bolts were virtually unbeatable by our team.

And so it went. I won’t recount the process, it’s still hard to relive. They weren’t unbeatable. The Habs won 2 of 6 games against them in playoffs. Small comfort, though.

But elimination happened, and Tampa went on to the ECF. Against the Rangers, no less, our Habs’ eliminators last season. The dilemma was excruciating.

I actually cheered for the Rangers to win this series; it’s about the time and space between this year and last; we were a year removed from having been eliminated by the Rangers, and so they became that proverbial “enemy of my enemy is my friend” team.

But it was not to be. The Lightning not only prevailed – they did it in a shutout; their second Game-7 shutout elimination in these playoffs.

Some people rationalized – and effectively, I might add:

And then, the writing on the wall became neon: the Lightning are a great team.

So processing this is a little easier. See, watching your team get eliminated is an awful feeling. There’s a finality, a grieving period, and it pretty much lasts until the new season and that clean slate goes up with 82 new games to play.

But now, the picture is more clear: the Canadiens – the team I love, support, cheer, agonize over, and celebrate – were eliminated by the Eastern Conference Champions. And suddenly, it isn’t such a hard pill to swallow.

After the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2008-09, the Canadiens lost to them in a 6-1 blowout early the next season. I was fairly new to hockey, and seriously upset about that loss. But a friend of mine reminded me that these were the Cup Champs beating my team. He said, “there’s no shame in losing to the Champs.”

Suddenly, it all came clear. I never forgot those wise words. And I began to approach the losses differently.

(NB: That very season, 2009-10, the Habs eliminated the Penguins to move into the ECF; redemption was sweet)

So, that’s how I’m looking at things tonight. One series removed from having been eliminated, it’s easier to process because the team that eliminated my Habs is now clearly the Best Team in the East.

The NHL got it right, too – watching these final 4 teams battle for the ticket to the Finals has been a validation of the process.

It doesn’t mean I’ll cheer for Tampa Bay in the Cup Finals. I’ll let you all in on a little secret: I’m rooting for the Chicago Blackhawks to win the WCF and the Finals…

Yup. See you back here as the last round unfolds.

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