Game 7: The Party Continues
another round, another party
We did it again! And we made Sidney Crosby cry a little.
Seeing the footage of a defeated man in the locker room, not even a trace of a full beard (or even close enough) explaining to the media what happened, keeping composure. You can see the tears ready, the voice hesitant. Sidney Crosby is a mere moral, not the kid who scored the overtime goal for Canada.
He is now the recent giant to fall by the hands of the Montreal Canadiens.
The Habs have done it again, it wasn’t about luck or hard work, there is strength, smart play and the belief in themselves and the entire city that is making this happen. Crosby is now reduced to the chant of “Crosby Sucks” late into the night.
Game 7: the one thing on most minds lingered throughout the day as we wait. The day dragged on as all I saw on the streets were newly bought jerseys and riot cops getting ready for what may happen. Win or lose, something is bound to happen on Ste. Catherine. They even closed the street from traffic an hour before the game.
Before heading to the bar of choice that night, I went over to the Bell Centre at Centennial Plaza to see the teams and players that have won the Stanley Cup. The ones in particular I looked at were 1971, 1986 and 1993. These were the cups where The Habs won as the underdogs. The ones where we worked the hardest with young goaltenders becoming leaders in their own right. These goalies were Ken Dryden and Patrick Roy.
Both were the heroes of their time, now Jaroslav Halak is mentioned in the same breath.
Got to Brutopia on Crescent to be in the heart of the action. I got to their basement where I found 20 other people wanting that same action a lot earlier. I lucked out finding that they added TVs on the top floor so no fear of the frantic bar run. It was still frantic as friends I was saving seats were not on time and people were asking for their spots.
Rule of thumb: in a game 7 situation, please show up on time and not treat this as a nonchalant event. Really?!?
The other thing that was coming between me and a good time: puck bunnies.
Puck bunnies are mere girly girls who have jumped on the hockey bandwagon and are watching solely to either: 1) impress their douchebag of a boyfriend or 2) find one of these hockey players kind of hot on the screen hoping for a chance at the glory and the glitz of the game.
You guys got Carey Price and Sergei Kostitsyn in your web, you’re not going to mess things up with PK Subban.
They are ditzy, squeally and all around annoying. Note to self: get the guy from game 3 to outdrink them, too easy.
The bar was full to capacity as 10 seconds into the game Sidney Crosby takes a penalty for roughing. The entire building roars in anticipation of the power play. PK takes his lead pass over to Gionta and you know what happens next.
The crew of people I was with expanded to twice as many as we resorted to sitting on people’s laps and contorting. My friend forgets to be social as she’s hypnotized in the moment that would end up being a 2-0 lead after the 1st.
I felt for the waitress who was calm and focused while dealing with a large crowd all by herself. Marc Andre Fleury should have taken a page from her book, he wasn’t looking good at all. He completely lost it, letting in 4 goals on 13 shots. The man, who stopped Detroit with 6 seconds left for the Stanley Cup was reduced to being ordinary.
Halak won the duel but needs to hang on for the win.
Each time Cammalleri scores, he pumps his fists hard in the air, showing that he has what it takes to win and to compete. It’s not at all cocky but the man now has more playoff goals than Sidney Crosby this series. The man, the team is beating the best…
and we spoke too soon. There goes the shutout. A few minutes later Jordan Staal notices one. Montreal comes back to earth. I have full respect for Staal, who came back after getting his tendons sliced. An iron man he is and a grinder, which I can’t say much about his teammates.
Pittsburgh could come back. However former teammate Hal Gill doesn’t make it easy. Returning from a cut leg and the opportunity to one up his team shows why he was a steal in the off season. In fact, Montreal stole the thunder from what could have been an easy series. Bill Guerin is pissed, Evgeni Malkin is confused, Sidney Crosby frustated about how a number eight team that was unable to get one point in order to make the playoffs beat them by a score of 5-2.
Simple: it’s the playoffs. Anything can happen. And now for the first time since 1993, the Canadiens will be in the conference final. All it took were small players, half an injured defense corps and a goaltender wanting to prove he can be #1 to go this far.
This got the party started on the street. The minute I left the bar I could see the sea of people crowding the centre of Ste Catherine and Crescent. Screaming, waving flags, celebrating this moment that Montreal hadn’t felt in a long time. This was becoming destiny.
Or another reason to make a fool out of one’s selves. There were drunk guys climbing trees and streetlights. Hung stuffed penguins being lit on fire, which resulted in setting garbage on fire. Beer bottles being thrown, which later on in the evening resulted in a couple broken windows and several arrests.
The strangest thing is that thousands of people, whether if it’s the hardcore fans, the ones on the bandwagon, or (ugh) puck bunnies, all wanted to be part of the party. I had a friend with a sweet spot atop the Parasuco window, another ran all the way from NDG, beer in hand, to make it. I was on top of a garbage can taking pics in a scene that looked more like a street party in Brazil than Montreal. There were drummers and flares, yes, there were homemade fireworks.
So now we wait for the next round. Good news, the Habs get to take a break till Sunday. Great news for my liver too. Kind of feel bad for Pittsburgh, they were my backup and loved last year’s Stanley Cup run.
But this is now, it’s our time. Each time a Canadian team goes far and all the way into the final, I would cheer them on. I would envy the city taking part in street celebrations. This year, it’s Montreal’s turn.
Boy, do we know how to throw a party.
I have photos of party time, Canadiens style. Go check them out at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cindylopez/sets/72157623926628035/
Pingback: Tweets that mention Game 7: The Party Continues | Forget The Box -- Topsy.com
Pingback: Tweets that mention Game 7: The Party Continues - Cindy's Hockey Blog | Forget The Box -- Topsy.com