Welcome to the 100th season, Montreal.

Jean Beliveau

Ooooh, they blew the 3-0 lead on purpose so that they could have a dramatic shootout victory at their first home game of their 100th season. I get it.

Canadiens legends Elmer Lach, 90, and Emile Bouchard, 88, two of the oldest surviving Canadiens alumni dropped the puck on the Canadiens season at the Bell Centre. They were joined by ten other Canadiens Hall of Famers: Jean Beliveau, Dickie Moore, Henri Richard, Yvan Cournoyer, Guy Lafleur, Bob Gainey, Guy Lapointe, Steve Shutt, Larry Robinson and Dick Duff. It's one of the truly nice things about Original Six teams like Montreal, they have this immense history and their former players are more than willing to come back and share.

Emile "Butch" Bouchard (#16) greets Elmer Lach (3)

The Canadiens built up a 3-0 lead by the end of the first period, with goals by Saku Koivu, Alexei Kovalev and Maxim Lapierre. But it slowly began to unravel, and silly old me thought that the Canadiens were going to blow it completely and lose. But all they wanted to do was have a thrilling finish. Ya gotta spot the other team some goals for fun, right? I mean really, what's the fun in destroying a team 6-1? (editors note: actually it's really fun, especially when it's Toronto on the wrong end of that score) Boston's David Krejci scored the first goal in the second period to get it rolling for Boston.

Carey Price had a bit of a bad bounce when he wandered behind the net. It was also extremely poor timing — there was 48 seconds remaining. As Price came to get the puck it took a strange bounce, hit the back of the net, squirted out front, and landed on the stick of Marc Savard. Price dove back at the net in a futile effort to make himself look like he tried. Savard also had the Bruins second goal of the night.



Price redeemed himself by stopping Patrice Bergeron, Phil Kessel and former teammate Michael Ryder in the shootout. And Alex Tanguay helped save the day by scoring the only goal for the Canadiens. Quebec boy does good.

Montreal has nine points of a possible ten this season. Boston continues its road to being not very good.

Alex Tanguay after scoring the shootout winner

The good kind of separatism.

As much as critics have said that the first outdoor NHL game in 2003 was special and that the NHL shouldn't do it too often because it will lose it's novelty. I think they're wrong.

To me, each one has its own vibe. The game in Edmonton was very... magical. It was -40 out there and Edmontonians stayed for the whole game. There wasn't really any ice issues because it was so damn cold. And that picture of then Montreal goaltender Jose Theodore with that toque over his helmet, frozen breath streaming out of the front of his mask will stick with me forever.

That doesn't mean that watching Sid Crosby take his touch at drama to a new level (while fluffy snow fell lightly) wasn't enjoyable. But put a game in Montreal and not only will you see good ice (see: Tragically Hip, Courage on Live Between Us, "The snow is so merciless, poor old montreal!") but i'm sure you'll see a good show. Montreal is a place meant to showcase the game outside.

And so the NHL dropped the ball this year. Chicago? Is Chicago having its 100th season? (that's a rhetorical question, the answer is "no".) I understand that the NHL didn't want to load everything to Montreal in one year (The 2009 entry draft and All Star game are there). But I would certainly give up the all star game or the draft... or both, if the official outdoor game was in Montreal.

But in true Quebec style, they're flipping the NHL the bird and having their own (god love Quebecers...) Yes, my friends, they will lure some sucker of a team to play outside... in Montreal. I've got my fingers crossed for one of the Florida teams.