Downtown Montreal merchants board up windows as Habs fans fill streets to applaud team - CBC.ca

Hundreds of Montreal Canadiens fans gathered near the Bell Centre as the match got underway Thursday — a match that could propel the team to the Stanley Cup final for the first time since 1993.

The game is being played on local ice under a full moon on the province's beloved Fête nationale du Québec holiday; some say that's a sign of history in the making.

"It is written somewhere that they will win," said Daniel Savignac, who has proudly supported the Habs for 50 years.

With the excitement palpable even before the match began against the Las Vegas Golden Knights, city officials, police and merchants were worried that, win  or lose, the revelling could lead to rioting reminiscent of the 2008 playoffs.

Some downtown businesses were boarded up before nightfall to ward off looters and window-smashing revellers on Thursday as Mayor Valérie Plante called for calm.

On her Facebook page, she said the provincial holiday combined with the exciting game are "two great occasions that we will celebrate with passion, but also with respect, in order to allow all Montrealers to celebrate in safety and to avoid getting out of hand. We owe that to our merchants!"

Plante said fans can expect a strong police presence throughout the evening.

Officers were seen posted throughout the throngs of fans gathered outside of the Bell Centre.

Halfway through the game, thousands of fans were gathered on des Canadiens-de-Montréal Avenue downtown, setting off fireworks and climbing on street signs.

Police closed off the street, not allowing anymore people in, but it was already jam packed from end to end.

WATCH | Fans celebrate during Habs game in downtown Montreal: 

Fireworks were set off in street as hundreds of fans gathered in downtown Thursday evening to cheer on the Habs as underdog Canadiens are a win away from their first Stanley Cup final since 1993. 0:48

Excitement in the air

Glenn Castanheira, general manager of Montreal's downtown business association, said merchants are used to rough nights, and were already getting prepared for the worst before the puck was dropped.

In 2008, thousands of people rushed to the streets following the Montreal Canadiens' seventh-game win over the Boston Bruins, which advanced Montreal to the next round of the playoffs. 

But what started as a peaceful celebration quickly devolved into violence.

More than a dozen police cars were damaged that night, and officers were pelted with rocks and bottles. 

More recently, rioters protested Quebec's strict public health measures back in April, breaking windows and setting fires.

Regardless of the worries from some quarters, fans were loving the jovial atmosphere throughout the city on Thursday.

Savignac strolled the city's Old Port on Thursday morning with his friend and "just because we have a Canadiens jersey on our back, there were a lot of people talking to us," he said, describing fans as a "big family."

The provincial cannabis store, known as an SQDC, was among the businesses boarded up on Thursday evening for fear celebrating Montrealers may get out of hand. (Marie-Michelle Lauzon/Radio-Canada)

His friend Stéphane Paillé agrees, telling Radio-Canada that the Habs are playing well as a team.

"The guys are united, the timing is there," he said.

Alexander Ferlacoirazzn, one of the first supporters to walk des Canadiens-de-Montréal Avenue on Thursday morning, said he has never seen the city of Montreal so joyful.

"It is a large city, fully united under the same banner," he said, adding that the festivities will do everyone some good after more than a year in isolation.

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Downtown Montreal merchants board up windows as Habs fans fill streets to applaud team - CBC.ca
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