Sam Montembeault had a first-hand look at the Bell Centre frenzy

The Montreal Canadiens' young core is getting their first look at the Bell Centre in it's prime. Some of the players were around for the 2021 Stanley Cup run, but it was during the COVID-19 season when the rink wasn't allowed to be at full capacity. Brendan Gallagher is the only player remaining who has seen the Bell Centre at full capacity in the playoffs, but Sam Montembeault has been able to see the vision of what it'll be like.

"“I think this is the greatest hockey arena to come to. I love this city, I love being here, I think this is the greatest away arena in the league to come to, I marvel at what is put on here, I think hockey is done right here”"

Jon Cooper

Montembeault didn't play any games at the 4 Nations Face-Off, but he had a great view of the action from the press box as a healthy scratch. The Bell Centre was at its peak in the Canada-USA game when the three fights broke out in the first few seconds. The stadium has been on fire since those games, and the Canadiens went on their recent run. Kyle Bukauskas spoke about the atmosphere and his conversation with Montembeault on the most recent 32 Thoughts podcast episode.

"[Montembeault] was taking videos of the action when all hell was breaking loose in the Canada-USA game and sending it to his Canadiens teammates, saying 'I've never seen the stadium like this before.' And now the Canadiens are getting a taste of it the last little while," Bukauskas said.

The Canadiens won't be the favorites to emerge from the Eastern Conference when the playoffs begin. It's more likely they'll have the lowest odds if they make it as the second wild card. However, they have been defying the odds all season, and one thing is for sure: the Canadiens will have the best home-ice advantage out of any of the 16 teams.