{"id":27649,"date":"2026-05-01T12:45:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T12:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/27649\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T12:45:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T12:45:08","slug":"drimonis-habsolutely-nothing-like-playoff-season-in-montreal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/27649\/","title":{"rendered":"Drimonis: Habsolutely nothing like playoff season in Montreal"},"content":{"rendered":"

I recently flew back to Montreal from a short stint in Mexico, only to exit the m\u00e9tro and immediately be greeted by STM buses flashing the iconic\u00a0 \u201cGo Habs Go!\u201d slogan<\/a>. It\u2019s NHL playoff season in Montreal and my heart could burst!\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a fair-weather hockey fan. I\u2019ll catch the occasional game during regular season, but the minute the Canadiens make the playoffs you can\u2019t pull me away from the screen.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

This city comes alive in a special way during playoff hockey. I love that the Habs\u2019 long legacy, intertwined with Montreal\u2019s French history, manages to unite and include us all regardless of language, politics or religion. Politicians could learn a lesson or two from our hockey club.<\/p>\n

This sense of inclusion makes cheering for La Sainte-Flanelle an important marker of Montreal and Quebec identity. We\u2019re not just simply rooting for a local sports team. It feels like we\u2019re part of something bigger.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0I watched Game 1 between Montreal and Tampa Bay in Playa del Carmen.\u00a0 As a general rule, when I travel, I avoid other tourists. What\u2019s the point of travelling thousands of miles, only to surround myself with people I\u2019d meet back home? But with the Canadiens in the playoffs, I made an exception.<\/p>\n

\"fansFans gather to watch the Canadiens-Lightning series outside the Bell Centre. Toula Drimonis watched Game 1 at a sports bar with rowdy Quebecers \u2014 in Mexico. Dave Sidaway \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

I watched the game at a Quebecer-owned Playa sports bar \u2014 Los Tabernacos, a cheeky portmanteau of the Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois swear word and taberna, Spanish for tavern. I spent the evening among rowdy Quebecers \u2014 most wearing Habs jerseys, which means they explicitly packed them \u2014 eating poutine (with non-squeaky but passable cheese curds made in Oaxaca) and cheering on the Canadiens.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

English-speaking Canadians were also there supporting the Habs \u2014 one of three Canadian teams that made the playoffs. From the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of an older gentleman wearing an outrageously flashy suit printed entirely with the bleu blanc rouge logo. I couldn\u2019t resist going up to compliment him on his attire. He proudly informed me he had it custom-made for a friend\u2019s wedding \u2014 a Toronto Maple Leafs fan. Perfectly, playfully petty!\u00a0<\/p>\n

The entire bar erupted that night when Montreal won the game in overtime.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

I arrived back home just as the Habs were preparing to play Game 3 in Montreal and the entire city was vibrating with excitement. Even \u201cprochaine station\u201d announcements<\/a> in some m\u00e9tro stations were taken over by Habs players.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

I headed to my neighbourhood bar \u2014 Bar de Courcelle \u2014 where they turn off the volume when the U.S. anthem is performed and play Stompin\u2019 Tom Connors\u2019 The Hockey Song instead. Every seat was taken and those with no reservations were standing against the walls or outside the door to catch a glimpse of the game.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s playoff hockey,\u201d as Habs star Cole Caulfield put it, \u201cand then there\u2019s playoff hockey in Montreal.<\/a>\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a Montrealer I know I\u2019ll never be able to truly appreciate a hockey game without \u201cAweille, mon esti!\u201d, \u201cLet\u2019s go, les boys!\u201d and \u201cTu me f\u2014g niaises?\u201d being yelled in the background. Even for us English-speakers, playoff games are in French.\u00a0<\/p>\n

By the time defenceman Lane Hutson scored that perfect goal in overtime, the entire stressed-out bar was in a collective frenzy.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tEditor\u2019s Picks\t<\/p>\n

The following day I was a panelist at Montreal\u2019s Blue Metropolis Literary Festival<\/a> on the topic of belonging in Quebec, alongside writers Kim Th\u00fay, Francine Pelletier and Guy Rodgers. I arrived voice already hoarse from cheering on the Habs the night before. Is that not the ultimate marker of belonging here?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Game 4 didn\u2019t go our way, but \u201cwe\u201d bounced back with a crucial win in Game 5 and are now in position to close out the best-of-seven series at home tonight. Who knows how it plays out.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the outcome, a big thank you to our team for all the \u00e7a sent la coupe magic. There\u2019s truly nothing like playoff hockey in this town.<\/p>\n

toulastake@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Toula<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tToula Drimonis is a Montreal journalist and the author of We, the Others: Allophones, Immigrants, and Belonging in Canada.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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