When hockey fans are greeted by the sight of Yvan Cournoyer, Henri Richard, and other great Habs oldtimers on opening night each season, they remember a Montreal Canadiens franchise defined by composure and class. As was incredibly poignant in the team’s Game 5 defeat last night on home ice, both of those traits have long since left the still-proud Habs organization.
The Moral Decay of the Montreal Canadiens
Everything was perfectly primed for it to be a night similar to those in 1970’s Montreal, when the Canadiens dominated their opposition and were the toast of the National Hockey League. Ginette Reno belted out a typically rousing rendition of the national anthem, the Bell Centre faithful were loud and proud, and Montreal jumped out to a 6-0 lead in shots out of the gate.
But something else happened. Les Canadiens found themselves trailing by three after forty minutes, and all sense of nostalgia amongst older, lifetime Habs fans disappeared in the third period.
Despite a Tom Gilbert goal early in the final frame which sparked some hope, Montreal sputtered and died down the stretch, eventually slumping to a 5-1 defeat. As they left the ice at the Bell Centre, it looked as though they were a team trailing its series 3-2, not the team leading it.
Gone were the loyal masses of the glory years, who up and left at various points throughout the third period. Gone was the composure, as Brandon Prust speared Senators goaltender Craig Anderson. Gone was the class, as team leader P.K. Subban was handed an early shower and spent his entire trudge to the dressing room chirping at, and waving to, the Ottawa bench.
It makes one wonder: what happened to the once-proud Montreal Canadiens organization? It’s hard to imagine a Jean Beliveau (Rest in Peace) or Yvan Cournoyer acting like that. It’s hard to imagine any of the Canadiens teams of the glory years falling apart so visibly in a series they led.
Who is to blame? Is it Michel Therrien, propped up behind the bench while being out coached for the third consecutive year in the playoffs? Is it Subban, for embodying the reckless, irresponsible nature of the 2010’s Canadiens? Or, is it on the likes of Brandon Prust and Brendan Gallagher, who play on a very fine edge and some nights, as Prust did in Game 5, go over that edge?
Only the hockey gods may know the answer to that one. Regardless of Montreal winning or losing its first round series against Ottawa, one thing is clear: the class and composure with which Les Canadiens won many a trophy and much respect from their opposition with during the team’s glory years is gone.
