Go Habs Go! (Updated for 2021)

I was raised in Winnipeg in the center of Canada, far from any hockey teams at that time. I latched on to the Montreal Canadiens and in fact they won the Stanley Cup every year of my University years (76-79) … this made my finals easy to deal with since all was right in the Universe.

Since then, Patrick Roy returned the Habs (les Habitants, as they are called in Quebec) to glory in 1986 and again in 1993.

Could this year be another such glorious moment in history? The mighty Washington Capitals fell in the 7th game to the new wunderkind Jaroslav Halak.

The Penguins almost fell to Ottawa … and now they must face a goalie who seems to be in touch with some force in the Universe right now …

Go Habs Go!

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Update 2021: The Habs have given us a glorious run all the way to the finals on the backs of Carey Price, an all-world goalie, a core of leaders at forward and defense, and of course the new kids on the block like Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Jesperi Kotkanieni.

As I write this the Habs have lost the first 3 games. They have not been outplayed in the large, but have rather fallen victim to small mistakes that are hugely amplified by the speed of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The fact that Tampa Bay somehow is $19M over the cap has been harped on quiet a lot by the fan base. After all, that buys you multiple elite players, and that is really showing in these finals. Some have even said that these two Tampa Bay Stanley Cups (assumption being that they win it all again in the next few days) should have an asterisk (*) against them because of the over-cap situation, and that is somewhat justified by the fact that the rule has already be tightened up for next year, but is not retroactive to this year. Sigh.

Alas, Montreal has played beautifully most of the time and had the Islanders managed the 7th game OT goal, we'd be seeing a completely different series.

But we have to enjoy the series we have under the rules in play this year. And so I hold out some hope that the Habs find a way to extend the series tonight and regain the dignity that they deserve for this incredible run. Although it is painful to see them struggle against the speed and aggressiveness of the Lightning, they have had their moments and we will cherish this run for a long time. And we can hope that the core of youngsters is given the chance to mature in place and to bring us a few cups in the next 5 years. That would really be something, yes?

GO HABS GO!!!!