With a minute to go, Canadiens fans rose in a tumultuous standing ovation, embracing the victory and the Fan Appreciation Night ceremony that was to come.
That event included the annual “Jerseys Off Our Backs” ceremony, randomly chosen fans invited onto the ice to receive just-worn sweaters from players.
The highlight was an exchange between fan Lucie Lachance and forward Brendan Gallagher. Lachance had won Gallagher’s “Hockey Fights Cancer” jersey a few years ago at auction, and on Wednesday she returned it to the player in honor of his mother, Della, who died of brain cancer last month, receiving another Gallagher jersey in exchange.
Drinking it all in was veteran defenseman Mike Matheson, who was traded to his hometown team on July 16, 2022, from the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 2023 fourth-round draft pick in exchange for Jeff Petry and Ryan Poehling.
“I don’t know if it’s completely set in,” Matheson said. “When I think of coming to this arena as a kid… I got to go to one playoff game growing up and I remember it was absolutely insane. When I was traded here, the team was in a different spot. I just dreamed of having this chance to play for the Canadiens in the playoffs.”
For Matheson, qualifying for the postseason now is also a thank-you to fans who have been with this team through the leaner times the past few seasons.
“This makes me think back even to last year, coming down the stretch, when technically we had nothing to play for and our fans were still here,” he said. “I think that’s when it’s hardest to be a fan, to still show up. There were games when we were down 4-0 at the start of the second period and they were cheering us on.
“As exciting as this is tonight, I feel it’s almost a thank-you to fans for all of that, and it feels really good to be able to give it back to them and have this exciting time.”
Their most recent 10 trips to the playoffs, not including the 2019-20 COVID “bubble” season, the Canadiens have clinched their postseason spot seven times at home. On Wednesday, they were playing on the April 16 anniversary of their eighth and ninth of 24 Stanley Cup championships, captured on the home ice of the Montreal Forum. Both were Game 5 wins against the visiting Boston Bruins, in 1953 and 1957.
Previous championships weren’t on anyone’s mind Wednesday, the dressing room a rowdy celebration before the doors opened to reporters.
“To me this means a lot,” Suzuki said. “Since we started this rebuild, we’ve had some hard days. For our group to come together like this and put together this effort and make the playoffs when a lot of people doubted us, I’m very impressed and proud of the guys in the room.
“The fans have been with us all season. There wasn’t a lot of hope and expectation for our group coming into this year, except from in this room. The fans really kept us going when we were playing well and playing bad.
“They showed up tonight, the last couple of warmups have been full, and the starts of the game through the game they’ve proven that they’re the best fans in the League for a reason. They’ve really helped us.”
