On March 11, 1996 the Montreal Forum hosted its final NHL game as the Canadiens defeated the Dallas Stars (including Guy Carbonneau, Craig Ludwig, Mike Lalor and Brent Gilchrist) 4-1. The post game closing ceremony was epic. Tears of joy and tears of sadness could have filled dozens of buckets used by former trainer Eddie Palchak to carry pucks to the bench for the pre-game skate. And then there were many others (mostly men) who worked awfully hard to keep from crying. I was one of them.
The game was a blur. I do vividly remember the overflow in the Jacques Beauchamp media lounge prior to the game. The Canadiens invited many former writers and broadcasters who had covered the team on a regular basis but who had left Montreal, including Bob Dunn who flew in from Vancouver with his son. Dunn hired me at CJAD in July of 1982 (followed by Elliott Price a month later) but I hadn’t seen him since he had returned to his B.C. home about a year later. I might have stayed in the Beauchamp Lounge for a good chunk of the game catching up with Bob and others. But I was back at my seat in the press box for the final few minutes to get set for the closing ceremony. It was time to salute the Habs Hockey Hall of Famers and it was going to take awhile.
I was ok until Ken Dryden was introduced. Dryden walked away from hockey after winning his 4th straight Stanley Cup in 1979. His public appearances as a former Hab were practically non-existent. If he had been back to the Forum in any capacity many of us had missed it. So the ovation was thunderous. As he stood on the red carpet with a big smile, slowly looking around the building where he made his name I found myself chewing on my lower lip. If there was no cheering in the press box (an unwritten rule waived for the event) there was certainly no crying either. Until The Rocket was introduced.
THE GOOD
- Alex Galchenyuk-Sven Andrighetto-Max Pacioretty. What else is there to say? I actually thought Pacioretty was the best player on the ice. Galchenyuk became the first Canadiens player with 5 multi goal games over an 8 game span since Jean Beliveau in 1959. But they’ve all been two goal games. He had a hat trick on his stick in the final seconds but his shot at the empty net hit the outside of the goalpost. Clearly he needs a goalie in there to score.
- Mark Barberio. The first two assist night of his NHL career. He did score two goals in a game for Tampa Bay in January of 2014.
- Torrey Mitchell. Picked up a Barberio rebound and fired it over Robin Lehner for the game winning goal. Better yet was the pre-St. Patrick’s Day jig he performed after scoring. 2016 has been a struggle for Mitchell. It was good to see him enjoying himself.
- Stefan Matteau. Also chipped in on the Mitchell goal – his first point as a Hab. He was finally able to ditch the helmet-cage he was wearing to protect a facial fracture. Will spend the rest of the season trying to play catch up to Devante Smith-Pelly who scored again for the Devils in their 3-0 win in San Jose. In four games with New Jersey Smith-Pelly has four points. Three of them are goals.
- Lars Eller. Back from an injury which he referred to (was told to) as “mid body”. Strong game. He did everything but score.
- Michael McCarron. Still trying to find the net but he came close on a power play prior to the winning goal when he had a couple of whacks at a loose puck from in close. The game got unexpectedly physical so McCarron fit right in. Or maybe – after dishing out 40 hits in their win over Dallas followed by 36 in this one – this is part of what a new Habs team might look like.
- Alexei Emelin. Don’t look now but Emelin has put a long string of consistently strong performances together. And it wasn’t because of his defense partner.
- Mike Condon. Stopped 36 of 38 shots (.947) including Jack Eichel in alone on an early third period power play. It’s going to take a mighty effort including his first NHL shutout but I’m rooting for Condon to hit the .910 mark for the season. But it’s a very slow climb. He’s sitting at .906.
THE BAD
- Tomas Plekanec & Paul Byron. They have even less chemistry than Galchenyuk and Pacioretty did when those two guys were put together (without Brendan Gallagher) for a grand total of two games. Since December 1 (43 games) Plekanec has scored 5 goals.
- Greg Pateryn. Struggled badly. For the first time since getting a chance to play every game Pateryn looked like the guy who coughed up the puck in Detroit, leading to a Red Wings win in the final minute and a trip back to the press box. Playing time understandably reduced to 13:15 after getting over 20:00 in the win over Dallas. (He also served a fighting major for a tussle with Marcus Foligno.)
- Victor Bartley. Took a costly tripping penalty after he was easily beaten one on one. Bartley was back on the ice but not in the play when Brian Gionta’s deflection tied the game at two.
THE UGLY
- Coudn’t help but make a connection. The ovation for Rocket Richard twenty years ago lasted over seven minutes. P.K. Subban – who seems indestructible – was on the ice, almost motionless, for over seven minutes. Fortunately, the injury Subban suffered as he chased down Foligno but then awkwardly went down while his head snapped back via Emelin’s rear end, is not serious. But to see a prone Subban loaded onto a stretcher while Pacioretty looked on was eerie. It was almost five years to the day (March 8, 2011) Pacioretty was stretchered off after he was rammed into a stanchion by Zdeno Chara. It’s been 20 years but still way too much blood (Saku Koivu, Donald Audette, Trent McCleary, Pacioretty, Blake Geoffrion, Lars Eller, George Parros) has been spilled on Bell Centre ice. I’ll take Forum tears any day.
