{allcanada} Canada Shakes: Montreal Canadiens Fans Trigger Earthquakes Celebrating NHL Playoffs Win Over Buffalo

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The Montreal Canadiens’ 3-2 overtime win on Monday against the Buffalo Sabres literally made the Earth move.

Might seem smalltime to LA residents, but Natural Resources Canada seismographs registered tremors of 0.5 on on the Richter scale during both the May 16 at-home NHL playoff in the Canadian metropolis and similar shakes during the away game on May 18. According to sensors at Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf and McQuill University, the multiple small earthquakes and seismic activity occurred during primetime ET goals scored by the Original Six team in their Stanley Cup second round down-to-the-wire battle with the formidable Sabres.

Both institutions are fairly close to the Canadiens’ Bell Centre home in downtown Montreal. The legendary arena had 21,000 fans inside and 20,000 fans outside on both nights — and they weren’t sitting on their hands, if you know what I mean?

In moves familiar to Los Angeles residents, Habs supporters commonly riot if their team wins or loses. Like the City of Angels, Montreal sits on a  significant fault line. In the case of the ancient city (by North American standards), it is the Western Quebec Seismic Zone.

And it can shake and stir.

Last night, even with the Canadiens winning Game 7 in the 3-3 tied series over the border in Buffalo, seasoned Montreal cops were deployed in force around the Bell Centre and other watch parties.

The first two goals by Montreal saw a huge reaction by hometown hockey fans with strong seismic reactions. When Canadiens forward Alex Newhook scored the winning goal less than 10 minutes into OT, the célébration by the thousands of fans caused those sensitive sensors to peak again.

After the game ended, riot police moved in to contain some trash can tossing and fireworks setting fans and chemical gas was unleashed. The Montreal Gazette’s Harry North was on the streets when the celebration (and police reaction) of the Canadiens to the Eastern Conference finals went down.

Heading into the next round against the Carolina Hurricanes with Game 1 on May 21 in Raleigh, NC, the Canadiens are far from the only team to cause a quake or two.

The 60,400-strong fan jamboree in the May 2025 Premier League title win by Liverpool over Tottenham Hotspurs generated at 1.74 reading when Alexis Mac Allister put The Reds ahead 2-1. Of course, as many a metal and pop fan can tell you, that’s weak sauce. Very weak compared to the 2.3 seismic activity Taylor Swift devotees created in at the ‘Shake It Off’ star’s Seattle shows on July 2023 her Eras tour stop. That could be Emerald City fans — as several Seahawks games have registered such shakes as well.

BTW – the only team from the Great North still in this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs, the Canadiens have not won the iconic trophy since 1993. The best of seven games Eastern Conference series will be shown on TNT and truTV.

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{allcanada} Dobes embracing playing the villain in Canadiens’ run to East Final

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BUFFALO -- Jakub Dobes is grateful to the fans of Buffalo.

For mocking him.

And if the rowdy fans of the Carolina Hurricanes known as the Caniacs want to verbally berate him in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final at Lenovo Center on Thursday (8 p.m. ET: HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC), the Montreal Canadiens goalie says bring it on.

Because he embraces every single derogatory word.

“Their fans like to chant my name, so I like that,” the 24-year-old said of the Sabres fans at KeyBank Center after Montreal’s 3-2 overtime victory in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Second Round on Monday.

 “Thank you. Thanks for that,” Dobes said. “Actually, that was giving me fire because I like when you're the villain (and) you’re in this situation.”

The colorful Dobes is many things. A villain. A “goofy goalie,” as he referred to himself after Montreal’s 6-2 victory in Game 3. An emotional competitor who’s shed his share of tears behind his mask in these 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, both from adulation and frustration.

The one thing he’s not is boring.

And when the chips were down, when his team needed him the most, the rookie goalie was at his best in Game 7, stopping 37 Sabres shots before Alex Newhook scored the series winner at 11:22 of overtime.

This after he was almost pulled after allowing three goals on the first four shots he faced in Game 5. The decision by interim goalie coach Marco Marciano to keep him in ultimately proved to be the correct one when he stopped the remaining 32 shots he faced in Montreal’s 6-3 win.

He did get the hook in Game 6 after allowing six goals on 33 shots, part of Buffalo’s 8-3 victory at Bell Centre. In the process, there was plenty of speculation of how Dobes, who’d only had the No. 1 job since mid-January, would react to the pressure of a Game 7 after his game seemed to be developing some deep cracks.

In the end, his way of dealing with it was pure Dobes through and through.

“I was playing video games with the guys after Game 6,” he explained with a chuckle.

Then he went out in Game 7 and was a stud, making a couple of snow-angel stops that were reminiscent of Dominik Hasek, his fellow countryman from Czechia who regularly performed similar theatrics for the Sabres in this same building decades earlier.

It’s another example of the resiliency shown by Dobes, who had to bounce back after he allowed a game-changing goal in Game 4 on a neutral zone dump-in from Sabres forward Tage Thompson that ricocheted off a stanchion on the Zamboni door in the corner at Bell Centre and deflected off him into the net.

He’s a very motivated kid, if nothing else, seemingly fueled by adversity. 

“I think me getting pulled at home was kind of a wakeup call,” he said of Game 6.  “I took it personal.”

And then he took it out on the Sabres in Game 7.

Now he’ll face a Carolina team that likes to put as many pucks to the net as they can and create chaos around the crease, the type of system that can easily toy with the emotions of the combustible Dobes.

“Look, we know how to bounce back,” he said. “We just keep getting experience. And I think that every round, every game, every experience makes us a better team for the playoffs and for the future because we are a really young group and we are learning a lot.”

He certainly seems to be. In fact, Dobes became just the second goalie in NHL history, behind late Canadiens Hall of Famer Ken Dryden, to win multiple road Game 7s in a single playoff year, having previously played in Montreal’s 2-1 win at the Tampa Bay Lighting in the first round.

And if you think the grind of playing each and every one of Montreal’s 14 playoff games thus far is wearing on him, he rejected that notion during an on-ice interview with Sportsnet after the post-series handshake line between the Sabres and Canadiens had been completed.

“Me? Oh, I can play 40 more,” he said matter of factly.

“Really?” Sportsnet’s Kyle Bukauskas replied, almost as if he’d been caught off guard by Dobes’ response.

After seeing the roller-coaster ride he’s been on the past month, only to always find a way to somehow, someway, come out on top, this much is certain: With Dobes, anything, the good and the bad, is possible.

It shouldn’t take long for the Hurricanes to discover that for themselves.

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{allcanada} NHL Coaches' Association 'closely monitoring' Bruce Cassidy situation

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DENVER — The NHL Coaches’ Association said Tuesday it is closely monitoring the situation involving Bruce Cassidy amid reports that the Vegas Golden Knights have denied multiple teams permission to speak with him about working for them.

Cassidy was fired in late March and is still under contract through next season, so anyone wishing to interview him must get permission from the Golden Knights, according to league rules.

“It is our position that coaches who remain under contract, but are no longer working for their club, should not be prevented from pursuing other employment opportunities,” the Coaches' Association said in a statement. "It would be unprecedented at the head coaching level should multiple teams be denied permission to speak with Coach Cassidy. The situation is still unfolding, but our priority is to protect the interests of our members in this type of circumstance.

Vegas has reportedly not allowed Pacific Division rivals Edmonton and Los Angeles to talk to Cassidy when asked since their seasons ended. Word of the Oilers' interest in Cassidy leaked last week before they fired Kris Knoblauch following a first-round playoff exit.

It was not clear if teams in the Eastern Conference or elsewhere in the West sought or received permission to interview him.

Cassidy, who turns 61 on Wednesday, guided the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup in 2023, helped Boston reach the final in 2019 and won the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year in the pandemic-shortened '19-20 season. He was an assistant on Canada's staff at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

Vegas is in the West final against Colorado, and general manager Kelly McCrimmon and coach John Tortorella are set to speak to reporters in Denver later Tuesday ahead of Game 1 at the Avalanche on Wednesday night.

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{allcanada} Mboko, Fernandez set to meet in all-Canadian quarterfinal at Strasbourg International

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STRASBOURG — Victoria Mboko and Leylah Fernandez will meet in an all-Canadian quarterfinal at the Strasbourg International tennis tournament.

Mboko, the top seed at the WTA 500 clay-court event, advanced with a 6-4, 6-3 win over 2025 French Open semifinalist Lois Boisson.

Earlier, seventh-seed Fernandez defeated Poland’s Magdalena Frech 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

Thursday’s quarterfinal will mark the second meeting between the 19-year-old Mboko, from Burlington, Ont., and 23-year-old Fernandez of Laval, Que.

Mboko defeated Fernandez 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals of last year’s Hong Kong Open en route to winning her second WTA title.

The players are gearing up for this year’s French Open, which begins Sunday. Mboko reached the third round at Roland Garros last year in her Grand Slam debut, while Fernandez made it to the quarterfinals in 2022.

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