Music: {allcanada} Canadiens’ push for playoffs has Montreal abuzz

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MONTREAL -- The Colorado Avalanche were having their way with the Montreal Canadiens after one period Saturday, up 2-0 after having outshot their hosts 16-6.

No matter the deficit, a Stanley Cup Playoff atmosphere was spilling from the arena bowl into the crowded Canadiens' Bell Centre alumni lounge during the first intermission, guests including seven former players who won a combined 30 championships and the son of an icon who won eight more.

"Tonight we're playing one of the best teams in the League," defense legend Serge Savard said of the Avalanche, the visitor sitting third in the Central Division, ranked fifth of the NHL's 32 teams. "If we get a point tonight against those guys, it will be a bonus."

In front of a lounge TV an hour or so later, Savard watched an inspired third-period comeback, three unanswered goals in a span of 4:08 tying the game 4-4, a sellout crowd of 21,105 shaking the arena to its foundation.

In the end, Montreal fell 5-4 in a shootout, the building having risen in a thunderous standing ovation after 60 minutes, but finished the night where it began as second wild card in the Eastern Conference, one point up on the New York Rangers.

Canadiens forward Cole Caufield sprays from a water bottle during warmups at Bell Centre before Saturday's game against the Colorado Avalanche.

"There's your bonus point," it was suggested to Savard, who won the Stanley Cup eight times as a player from 1968-79 and another as general manager of the 1993 champion, the Canadiens' 24th and most recent title.

He nodded with a tight smile then replied, "But it could have been two."

Hockey expectation has ramped way up here in recent weeks, a spring in this city's step that has nothing to do with locals hurdling Montreal's springtime asphalt-crater potholes.

There remain 13 games for coach Martin St. Louis' 2024-25 Canadiens, 5-1-4 in their past 10 games. But on this March 23, the NHL's most storied franchise is breathing playoff-perfumed air that it's not inhaled this deep in the schedule in four years.

Never in franchise history have the Canadiens failed to make the playoffs four consecutive seasons. That might yet happen, but right now the idea of the postseason is delicious in this city. An exciting product on the ice, a solid rebuild by general manager Kent Hughes and a promising future with a young core and more talent on the way has a famously fickle fan base fully engaged.

Former Canadiens defenseman and 1993 Stanley Cup-winning GM Serge Savard (r.) speaks with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman during the first round of the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Bell Centre on July 7, 2022.

"I watched the warmup tonight, and I don't think I saw the interest so high in my (playing) time," Savard said. "It's a different time now, a different crowd. Fans were older in my day, more shirts and ties in the crowd than jerseys.

"But these days, it's like playoff hockey in Montreal. Everywhere you go in town, you see cars with Canadiens flags. People are very excited right now. I think we have a really good shot at making the playoffs."

If the Canadiens are still playing after April 16, their 82nd and final regular-season game here against the Carolina Hurricanes, it will mark the first time Montreal has seen a playoff game since July 7, 2021. That was a 1-0 series-ending loss in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final at the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Six players from that Canadiens team were in uniform against the Avalanche: forwards Brendan Gallagher, Nick Suzuki, Josh Anderson, Cole Caufield, Jake Evans and Joel Armia. Gallagher and Suzuki, their captain, each contributed an assist Saturday.

Yvan Cournoyer won the Stanley Cup 10 times between 1965-79. To this day, the man nicknamed "Roadrunner" for his blazing speed is hugely popular any time he sets foot in his city, a cherished champion and team ambassador.

"I remember the playoffs," Cournoyer said, sitting almost directly beneath his alumni-lounge portrait featured among those of every captain. "When I was going to the Montreal Forum to play, my palms were sweaty. When I come to see this team, my palms are still sweaty.

Former Canadiens captain Yvan Cournoyer waves to the crowd during a ceremony honoring him prior to the NHL game against the Minnesota Wild at Bell Centre on April 19, 2022.

"I don't think they have the best team, but they have character. They're fun to watch and they don't quit," he added prophetically shortly before the Canadiens' mid-third-period rally, down 4-1 with one skate in a shallow grave. "They give their best every night, you have to give them full credit."

Maurice Richard Jr. watched the game Saturday three rows behind the Canadiens bench, sitting with Elise and Helene Beliveau, respectively the wife and daughter of late, legendary captain Jean Beliveau, a 10-time Cup champion.

Seventy years and five nights earlier, Montreal experienced a fiery riot on March 17, 1955, outside the Forum following a suspension that banned Maurice Richard from the 1954-55 season's final three games and the entire playoffs. The Rocket's son thoroughly enjoyed a legally riotous atmosphere at Bell Centre on Saturday.

"The fans are livelier than the team tonight, but I hope that's going to change," he said, the Canadiens soon to oblige him.

"My dad would be proud of this team," Richard Jr. added, speaking near a pair of his father's game-worn skates that are showcased in the lounge. "The only thing that mattered to him was winning. He had no other thoughts."

Colorado goalie Mackenzie Blackwood stops Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki during the shootout on March 22, 2025, at Bell Centre.

The Canadiens are getting the job done this year with many parts, notably Suzuki and Caufield, who are 1-2 in scoring with a respective 72 and 61 points, having scored 21 and a team-leading 33 goals.

Gallagher, the team's black-and-blue inspirational leader, has scored 17 goals in his 69 games, one more than he had in 77 games last season.

Forward Juraj Slafkovsky ranks fourth with 43 points, two of his 16 goals coming Saturday. Stir in the contribution of Patrik Laine, his season start delayed by injury, with 30 points (17 goals, 13 assists) in his 39 games.

And then there's sensational defenseman Lane Hutson, who should be in every discussion for this season's Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie.

The 21-year-old led all first-year defensemen in assists, points and ice time in October and November. Through games Saturday he led the League in rookie scoring, one point ahead of San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini, as well as rookie assists (48), power-play points (23) and power-play assists (22).

Hutson's average ice time of 22:29 is second for Montreal only to workhorse defenseman Mike Matheson (25:02), his offensive output of 53 points (five goals, 48 assists) ranking him third on this year's Canadiens.

Canadiens' Brendan Gallagher is congratulated by his teammates after scoring a third-period goal against the New York Islanders on March 20, 2025.

Very quickly, Hutson has become a fan favorite for his superb skating, hockey IQ and power-play quarterbacking that's reminiscent of Andrei Markov, a gifted Montreal cornerstone from 2000 through 2017.

"We're probably spending a lot less time in our own zone because of Hutson, the new kid on the block," said Savard, who in the 1970s was part of the "Big Three" on the Canadiens' defense with Guy Lapointe and Larry Robinson.

"He's probably our best player right now. Hutson is so good with the puck. Look at how good he is, look at the power play … he's in full control of the puck, he's not nervous. We haven't had a player with talent like his in a long time."

Savard is a charter member of Hutson's fan club, the young defenseman one of many reasons the Canadiens have their fan base crackling for the present and the future.

"He does a lot of good things on the ice that not many guys do," Savard said of Hutson. "He's an All-Star already, and I think he should win the Calder Trophy. He's something special."

The Canadiens now embark on road trip with games to finish the month in St. Louis, Philadelphia, Carolina and Florida. Those four games could go a long way toward determining Montreal's postseason chances, and fans will live and die with every second.

"One day you're in the playoffs, the next day you're not," Cournoyer said. "One day you're three points in, the next day you could be two points out. This team has been enjoyable to watch. It's fun to read the standings in the morning."

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