Five Times The Montreal Canadiens Shocked The World In Round 1
What an exhausting season for the Montreal Canadiens.
From roaring out of the gate to crashing and burning. To Claude Julien, Kirk Muller and Stephane Waite losing their jobs to the new crew doing even worse statistically.
Is there even a point to cheer this team on come playoff time? Despite a trip to the playoffs, against the always hated Maple Leafs to boot, a lot of people have already checked out. Sure, Cole Caufield gives us reason to be excited, but when your short-term success is followed by consecutive losses, it’s hard to stay positive.
Then of course there’s the recent debate of which version of the 2020-21 Habs is better. The one with Tatar, Drouin, Weber, Gallagher and Price in the lineup or the one without them? Win-Loss record aside, I can’t help but remember a comment from a fan saying “Out with the snails, in with the youth!” Hard to disagree.
Fans have started saying what’s the point? What is the point of following a team that will likely get swept and likely embarrassed in the first round? On top of that, once it’s all over, we’ll be spending most of June debating about who stays and who goes. Then, we’ll be demanding Marc Bergevin’s head on a platter and start debating who the next GM and coach will be. Then, of course, we’ll still be complaining about Weber and Price‘s contracts.
Let’s put the skepticism aside because regardless of the sport you’re watching, the old saying is true – anything can happen in the playoffs. Plus, the Leafs haven’t won a round since 2004. That was a year before Hockey Night In Canada started showing games in High Definition.
This is our team whether we like it or not and the fact of the matter is, playoff hockey in Montreal is always special. No, we won’t be able to witness a packed crowd rocking the Bell Center to its very foundation, but it’s a spectacle to watch nonetheless and there’s always the chance of something special happening before your very eyes.
Just ask the Columbus Blue Jackets who shocked the world by sweeping the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the 2019 playoffs. The Lightning had just cruised through a historical 62-16-4 season.
Or the 2003 Minnesota Wild who came back from being down 1-3 to upset the powerhouse Avalanche led by Roy, Sakic and Forsberg.
The point is, as stated earlier, anything can happen. Remember the team that started the season piling up the goals and hitting everyone in sight? They can still come back if everyone gets healthy on time.
Will an unsuspected goalie like Jake Allen suddenly take Price’s place and start robbing games? Will Tyler Toffoli be the one who leads the offence in the clutch? Will Cole Caufield or Nick Suzuki explode into a star?
Yes, it seems farfetched, but the playoffs are a completely different beast.
Here are 5 examples in the history of Les Glorieux where we had no business of winning but prevailed.
Whenever the 2010 playoffs come up in conversation, I smile a little wider and proudly say “I was there.”
I was there that night during Game 6 against the Capitals. Sitting in the very last row of the Bell Centre with my dad and just beyond excited. This wasn’t my first game. I had seen many before in different cities to boot. I had memories of when I was a kid and sitting at the Montreal Forum watching the Habs in LA on a giant screen TV set on the ice, and the place was packed as well. Screaming as if their heroes were right in front of them.
But this. This was my first live playoff game and oh my was it ever a thrill.
This ride would be dubbed “The Spring of Halak” as the Slovakian netminder was the chosen one to lead the Habs to the promised land.
The Montreal Canadiens barely made the playoffs to begin win, barely squeaking their way into the final seed. To kick things off, they had to deal with the President Trophy winners Washington Capitals. The Caps had 33 points on us in the regular season so the chances of overcoming such a beast were low, if not impossible.
In the blink of an eye, Washington led 3-1 in the series. Fans were dejected but not fully surprised. Head coach Jacques Martin was doing what he could and clamped the team down defensively and tried his best to choke Washington’s offence as much as possible.
Through Hal Gill sprawled across the ice like a squid to Josh Gorges releasing his inner Doug Harvey, Game 5 was in the books and it was now 3-2. Then it all happened in Game 6.
Jaroslav Halak was bombarded left, right and center. Just non-stop shot after shot after shot and nothing went through. Only Eric Fehr managed to get one through but by then the Habs were only 5 minutes away from sending this to overtime.
The shots were 54-22 for Washington. Halak shook the entire province with an outstanding 53 saves. The floors were shaking, the walls were shaking, I lost my voice and my ears were ringing after the final horn.
Dominic Moore sealed the deal in Game 7 and the Habs completed the upset and came back from a 3-1 deficit for only the second time in their history.
The Habs did it again in the second round, this time beating Sidney Crosby and the Penguins in 7 games.
Enter the Conference Finals against the beast that were the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers had just beaten Boston in 7 games after being down 3-0. Needless to say, after 2 rounds needing 7 games and a Flyers squad that held all the momentum, we really never stood a chance.
But 11 years later, we’re still talking about that spring.
The 1992-93 season was special for many reasons. Gary Bettman was named league Commissioner in February 1993. The league expanded to 24 teams with Ottawa and Tampa Bay joining the NHL. The Stanley Cup was celebrating its 100 anniversary and the all-star game was being held at the Montreal Forum.
A rookie from Finland name Teemu Selanne dazzled the league by setting a record for most goals by a rookie with 76. Meanwhile, a 23-year-old Russian named Alexander Mogilny also scored 76 goals. “The Eagle” Ed Belfour would go on and win the Vezina by winning 41 of his Blackhawks’ 47 victories. Meanwhile, Mario Lemieux would continue to amaze the hockey world by scoring an incredible 69 goals and 190 points in the first 60 games of the season, giving him a legitimate chance to beat Wayne Gretzky’s records of 92 goals and 215 points, until he was diagnosed with Hopkins Lymphoma, ultimately ending his season. He still ended up winning the Art Ross trophy.
The stage was set for the first round and the Montreal Canadiens were poised to face their provincial rivals, the Quebec Nordiques. Despite finishing with nearly identical records (104 points for Quebec and 102 for Montreal), the Nordiques were heavily favoured to win this series mainly due to their incredible 1-2 punch down the middle consisting of 21-year-old Mats Sundin who had just finished a brilliant 114 point season, and 23-year-old Joe Sakic who finished second on the team in points with 105.
The previous off-season, the infamous Eric Lindros incident took place. At the time Lindros had apparently adamantly refused to join the Nordiques if they were to draft him 1st overall in 1991, but they did anyway. This led to the now-famous trade that sent him to the Flyers in return for Peter Forsberg, Ron Hextall, Mike Ricci, Kerry Huffman, Steve Duchesne, Chris Simon, 2 first-round picks and $15 million. Lindros would later set the record straight on what happened.
The team was already stacked with young and productive up and comers such as Owen Nolan (20), Adam Foote (21), Andrei Kovalenko (22), and Martin Rucinsky (21), and between the pipes, Stephane Fiset (22) showed promise but would get great support by the fiery Hextall. Young and older veterans, such as Mike Hough, Valeri Kamensky, Scott Young and Alexei Gusarov, provided a good mix of leadership to support this extremely offensive club.
Head Coach and General Manager Pierre Page loved and trusted his young club to a point where Joe Sakic was named team captain and deployed a high-energy offensive game that was being recognized and respected across the league. Reports were flying far and wide that this team could become something very special as quickly as this year.
After taking Game 1 in overtime, 3-2, the Nordiques were making reporters nod in agreement at their predictions. Montreal was never really in it during Game 2 as Quebec easily won 4-1. It seemed the young Quebec club had Montreal’s number and would easily win this one.
But never question someone’s faith.
Coach Jacques Demers, for the Montreal Canadiens, was a very religious man. Even as a boy he loved going to church for the hymnals and tried to join the choir. He was an incredible motivator throughout his coaching career, but this time, even he needed a little motivation, and he found one from above.
The stories vary from one person to another with Demers himself shying a little bit at the story. But that 4-1 loss hit him hard. So he went out to church and prayed. He prayed hard and asked that his club show heart and passion and just wanted…or actually, needed… to win this. This was a man who tasted poverty and desperation, spent his life chasing success and validation, and he knew he had a club that could bring him there.
Did they ever.
Game 3 saw the Habs return to the Forum with their raucous crowd and the ghosts of yore. After Kirk Muller tied the game at 1 in the second period, it was Vincent Damphousse who would be the game hero scoring in overtime.
Game 4 was another back and forth affair. Damphousse scored for the Habs in the first while Scott Young tied it up. Gary Leeman would give the Montreal Canadiens the lead in the 2nd only to see Joe Sakic tie it up. Benoit Brunet would give Montreal the lead once again but this time Patrick Roy refused to give one up as the Habs suddenly tied the series 2-2.
The pivotal Game 5 was going back to Quebec City and you could feel the intensity in the air for miles away. We knew we were in for a barn burner and we weren’t disappointed. After Mike Keane opened the score 4 minutes into the game for the Montreal Canadiens, it was an all-out war. A total of 7 penalties were called in the first period alone and the Nordiques were trying to intimidate the Habs.
It seemed to have worked as they scored twice in the second period to give Quebec the lead 2-1. 2 minutes later Damphousse would tie it all up and this time the players were really going at it. At the 17 minute mark, Eric Desjardins would give Montreal the lead only to see Owen Nolan tie things up 20 seconds later. Fists and sticks were flying and both teams were at war as another 7 penalties were called in that period.
3rd period and it’s more of the same. Hard physical Don Cherry rock-em-sock-em hockey and no one knows what’s going to happen. All of a sudden, Quebec is sent into a frenzy as Mats Sundin gives his team the lead. The Habs however scratched and clawed and finally with 6 minutes left to the game, Gilbert Dionne ties it all up once again.
Both teams got into overtime exhausted. They were spent and they left it all on the ice. But “Captain Kirk” Muller ended up the hero and gave Montreal a 3-2 lead in the series. There were a total of 20 penalties called in the game.
Game 6 at the Forum didn’t have that same amount of intensity but you knew the Montreal Canadiens had the edge. They played smarter hockey and Patrick Roy was a wall, stopping 28 out of 30 shots thrown his way, and the Habs eliminated the Nordiques in 6 games in a dominating fashion with a score of 6-2.
The Habs would go on and win a record total10 overtime victories en route to their 24th Stanley Cup.
This was the year Wayne Gretzky scored 215 points. The Oilers would finish with 119 points and finish on top of the NHL. Everyone expected them to just dominate and win a 3rd straight Stanley Cup. The Calgary Flames would ignite the Battle of Alberta and eliminate the Oilers in the 2nd round in 7 games.
In the east, the 1986 first round of the playoffs had an eerie sense of familiarity to the time these two rivals faced each other in ’71. Boston was led by a superstar defenseman in Ray Bourque and played violent hard-hitting hockey. Meanwhile, the Montreal Canadiens played an ultra-defensive game with the likes of Guy Carbonneau and Bob Gainey leading the troops with only having Mats Naslund and Bobby Smith as real offensive threats. Also just like in ’71, a rookie was in goal for the Canadiens in the name of Patrick Roy.
Roy had a decent season in his first go-around in the NHL. After splitting time with Steve Penney and veteran Doug Soetaert, he grabbed the starting goaltending job, finishing with a 23-18-3 record with a 3.36 GAA and .875 SV%. Not bad for a 20-year-old goaltender in the 80’s. John Vanbiesbrouck would win the Vezina with a 3.33 GAA.
Despite the regular-season matchup going 4-3-1 in Montreal’s favour, no one gave the “Bleu, Blanc, Rouge” a chance in a best of 5 series. Critics were saying the Habs were “too soft” to face a team like Boston in a long series. Some even questioned the methods being used by Montreal’s rookie head coach Jean Perron, calling his methods “unorthodox,” and saying it was “a fluke” that he managed to bring this team to the playoffs. Needless to say, looking up and down the lineup, we were a long way from the era of Lafleur, Robinson and Dryden.
But that skinny goaltender in the white mask picked 54th overall just 2 years ago got the critics to swallow their pride, as he stopped the Bruins nearly on his own by stopping 72 of 78 shots sent his way and leading Montreal to sweep the series 3-0. Mats Naslund and a 20-year-old pest on the ice named Claude Lemieux led the way for the little offence Montreal generated but ultimately outscored Boston 10-6 while using Jacques Lemaire‘s famous “neutral zone trap” system implemented just a year ago.
Roy would begin his legendary resume with an incredible 1.93 GAA and .923 SV% in 20 games, winning the Conn Smyth trophy and his first Stanley Cup.
No one predicted Calgary beating Edmonton.
Absolutely no one predicted Patrick Roy beating everyone.