How Is It Even Possible?

That the Habs beat both Washington and Pittsburgh. If the next round is against Boston I think the city may blow up. I thought 'no way can they beat Washington, it's gonna be like last year, four and out'. Instead they showed up and with the help of some of the best goaltending I've ever seen, stole it from Washington in seven games. I was at game 6, I sat behind Halak for two periods, it was insane. He's not Hasek diving here and there with super heroics, he's always in the right position and he doesn't give up too many rebounds. The rebounds that do pop out are often cleared by the defense quickly. It's very solid goaltending.

I was equally sure that Pittsburgh would beat them but nope same thing. I've watched the Leafs go this far in the playoffs four times. Not always against such odds but close in the early nineties. There are always guys that drag the rest of the team with them, goaltenders are often big for that. Montreal has all of the new skaters they got in the off season playing some of their best hockey, Cammalleri at the top of that list. "Their goalie can't withstand fire power of that magnitude!" Sorry that was a bit Star Wars geeky but it just fits so well. This guy has 12 goals in the playoffs this season, in the second round no less, know who the last guy to score 12 in the playoffs for Montreal was? Guy Lafleur, yep, heard it on the radio just a couple hours ago.

So what's it like for a Leaf fan to be stuck in the middle of all this? It's difficult. My favorite times in Toronto, at least the times I felt the most in touch with the city was when sports teams did well. I remember working the night shift at the Beer Store warehouse and the entire floor would stop work for three hours and watch the hockey game. I remember the Jays getting runs while we were stuck in traffic on the 401 and the horns going crazy. There are fewer times better to be in a city than when a popular sports team is doing well. Even the girls are into it. Kate for the first time ever, cares about sports. Which leads me into one of the parts that sucks for a Leaf fan stuck in the middle of all this. My girlfriend is turning into a Habs fan.

Yep, which isn't bad really I don't think she's going to be buying jerseys and decorating the bathroom with les bleu, blanc, et rouge but I hope that when the Leafs do well she's as excited. The thing is we probably won't be living in Toronto when it happens. We may not even be in a place that cares about hockey at all. So how can she get excited when it's only me that cares watching it on my laptop? Even I won't be as excited because I won't be in the city to feed of the energy. But I'm in Montreal right now though for one of the craziest playoff runs ever and I can feed off that energy. In fact the first round was a lot of fun, I expected them to lose so it was easy to be involved, especially when they were playing competitively and I still expected them to lose. Then in the second round I figured lightening can't strike twice so it was easy to get involved again. Now they're in the semi finals and they may play Boston! A huge old rivalry.

So what do I do? I can't actually cheer for the Habs but am I going to cheer for Boston? No freaking way and everyone is excited around me for the Habs. Plus I'm loving the city right now, minus the after series violence. Even riding my bike past a construction crew, I could hear the laughs. They wouldn't be laughing if Pittsburgh had won last night. It puts the whole city in a good mood, except for the people that get looted after every series.

It's tough being a Leaf fan in Montreal right now but I'm going to have fun with it nonetheless. Hopefully I won't accidentally cough up a cheer when they get scored on in a crowded bar.