Original Six standards of celebration lowered
It is said that absence makes the heart grow fonder.
The adage was certainly exemplified by the destructive celebrations of unruly Montreal fans following the Canadiens’ colossal upset of the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins in their Eastern Conference Semi-Final series.
The looting, rioting and vandalism in the Habs’ home city – which resulted in over 40 arrests – tarnished what was otherwise a mood of euphoria as the team advanced to the third round of the playoffs for the first time in 17 years.
Without discrediting the accomplishment of Jacques Martin’s underdog squad in knocking off not only the Penguins but also the Presidents’ Trophy winning Washington Capitals, the reaction was needlessly overzealous.
The behaviour was undoubtedly a release of long-time, bottled frustration as Montreal fans haven’t seen their team come this close to a championship since winning the Stanley Cup in 1993, when now assistant coach Kirk Muller patrolled the left wing and Wayne Gretzky – then six years away from retirement – was an opponent in the Final.
Coincidentally Canadiens’ most recent Cup victory occurred in the same year that their historic rivals the Toronto Maple Leafs enjoyed a post-season of relative success. Led behind the bench by one-time Habs coach Pat Burns, Toronto ended a long drought of appearing in the NHL’s final four by winning a pair of hard-fought seven-game series, just like Montreal has achieved in this year’s post-season.
Like the Habs of 2010, the Leafs of 1993 achieved their success with not only strong goaltending, but a commitment to defence. Toronto would have been quickly eliminated without the likes of Felix Potvin in goal, or Sylvain Lefebvre and Bob Rouse on the blueline, just like Montreal would have found the golf course by now if not for Jaroslav Halak, Hal Gill and Josh Gorges.
Similarly, the Leafs exhibited a curious celebration of their own that year, in spite of an eventual defeat that left their Stanley Cup dreams unfulfilled.
While there was no rioting in Toronto’s streets of which to speak, the team released a commemorative video “The Passion Returns”, in celebration of the club’s return to the NHL’s semi-finals after a 15-year absence.
The hour-long documentary produced by now-defunct Molstar Communications, was well-assembled.
Yet its mere existence was open to some ridicule, looking out of place on many store shelves in subsequent years as it appeared next to videos honouring the 1994 New York Rangers and 1995 New Jersey Devils – actual Stanley Cup champions.
In fairness, the video would not have been made had their not been a rabid market that existed for it, as is the case in Toronto where there is no lack of enthusiasm for its hockey team, even during its periods of futility.
Likewise, the Montreal store looting resulted from a relatively small group of hooligans, and certainly does not represent the mentality of the city as a whole – most of whose citizens are able to show their support in an enthusiastic but civilized manner.
Yet the reactions speak to the hockey culture that has been prevalent in both Toronto and Montreal since both cities were part of the membership when the National Hockey League was founded.
Between 1942 and 1967, the Maple Leafs and Canadiens combined for twenty Stanley Cups in 26 seasons, winning ten times each.
Who could have foreseen the days when either city would react so vigorously after merely making it to the final four?
***
Here’s my report card for the second round, based on my predictions from two weeks ago (in brackets)
Western Confernce:
San Jose over Detroit in 5 games (Detroit in 7)
Chicago over Vancouver in 6 games (Chicago in 7)
Eastern Conference:
Montreal over Pittsburgh in 7 games (Pittsburgh in 6)
Philadelphia over Boston in 7 games (Boston in 6)
That makes me 1-for-4 in the second round, and 5-for-12 overall. Hopefully you’re not placing money on my picks, if so, maybe you should just wager against me.
Nevertheless, here are my third round predictions:
West
Chicago over San Jose in 7 games
East
Philadelphia over Montreal in 6 games
Rob Del Mundo is the author of Blue And White Beat, and is a regular columnist at TMLfans.ca
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