Outside the Bell Centre, fans pressed their faces to the windows of Lucille’s and La Cage to follow the action.
Patrick Rochelle said he had almost lost his voice by the final buzzer.
“I feel amazing,” he said, catching his breath after the Canadiens clinched a playoff berth for the first time in four years. “I was nervous the past few weeks — they kept losing. But we won tonight. That’s what matters.”
Rochelle, who’s originally from Quebec, had travelled from Niagara Falls with his son Tyler to be at the Bell Centre for Wednesday night’s 4–2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. It’s a result that secured the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and set off celebrations that spilled outside the stadium.
“It was crazy,” said Tyler, describing the atmosphere inside the stadium. “I dropped my phone at one point. Everyone was screaming. I was losing my hearing in there.”
Outside the stadium, fans watched through the windows of nearby restaurants Lucille’s and La Cage to follow the action.
When the Canadiens scored their fourth, then came the countdown — 10 seconds roared in unison — followed by an eruption of blaring music and chants.
“Olé, Olé, Olé” rang through the streets as supporters from inside the stadium and nearby poured out to join the scene in front of the Bell Centre, dancing in their jerseys and waving flags.
For Montrealer Rana Walker, the city needed the victory.
“Montreal hasn’t been this happy in years,” she said outside the Bell Centre. “It was a fantastic game. We’re proud of the push they made this season. Just proud to be here.”
The Canadiens will now face the Washington Capitals in the opening round of the playoffs, with Lane Hutson expected to face off against his brother Cole for Washington.
“That’s what I’m most excited about,” Walker added. “Hutson versus Hutson. It’s going to be special.”
But the road to the playoffs has not been straightforward for the Canadiens.
“They kept choking,” said Theo, a McGill student. “They had so many chances to clinch it and blew all of them.”
He added: “I have an essay due on Friday. If they’d done it last week, my essay would be finished by now.”
But as he looked out over the chanting crowd, “ecstasy and relief,” he said, summing up the mood outside the Bell Centre.
Fellow supporter Adam concurred. “I feel f—ing amazing,” he said. “We’ve got a long road ahead, but we’re in.”
Tyler, who bought a new Ivan Demidov jersey that night, believes the Habs can now make it to the second round.
“Think back to a few years ago,” his father Patrick added. “When we were underdogs and still made it to the final.
“Let’s win the Cup.”
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