Montreal Canadiens fans were thunderous on Saturday night and gave a heroes welcome to the former Habs, who were introduced to the crowd, but they were equally as loud in voicing their displeasure at current events.
There may not be any Montreal Canadiens players dressed for Team Canada. Still, the Montreal crowd was absolutely electric for the most eagerly awaited duel of the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.
While plenty of fans were visiting for the game, Americans there to support their team, and Finns and Swedes who had flown over for the duration of the tournament, most of the crowd seemed to be local. That much was evident when former Canadiens were shown on the Bell Centre scoreboard.
P.K. Subban, who was covering the game for ESPN, received a massive cheer (just like in the afternoon game) when his presence was announced. While he does enjoy the spotlight, he soon showed the crowd he was with Mark “the Moose” Messier in the broadcasting booth, and the former Edmonton Oilers captain was also showered with applause.
Summit Series alums also took in the game; Paul Henderson, Ken Dryden, Serge Savard, and Yvan Cournoyer received a warm welcome when they were put on the scoreboard, even though some of the younger fans weren’t aware of who they were or what a defining moment the Summit Series was.
However, the warmest welcome of them all was given to former Canadiens’ franchise cornerstone, netminder Carey Price. The masked man who led Canada to victory at the Sochi Olympics in 2014 and the World Cup in 2016 was introduced to the crowd in the final frame as the local favorites desperately tried to tie up the game.
Price, who never particularly relished the attention, played along yesterday and hyped up the crowd, asking them to cheer louder for their country. It wasn’t enough, but Saturday night was the loudest I’ve ever seen the building famous for its fantastic atmosphere.
Of course, even though Michel Lacroix made the announcement asking the crowd to respect all country's national anthems despite recent events, loud boos could be heard throughout the Bell Center as the Star-Spangled Banner was sung.
Every fan I spoke to about their motivation for acting in such a manner agreed that it wasn’t about the United States and the deciding role the country has played in history; it wasn’t about disrespecting their veterans, their players, or their history. It was their way of expressing how they felt about recent events on the political stage. Some will say politics have nothing to do with sports, but this event is one of the biggest stages of them all and, as such, gave Canadians an opportunity to make their feelings known publicly.
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