Semifinal madness
Canadiens, Golden Knights series provides plenty of headlines to keep Cape Breton hockey fans entertained
SYDNEY — As the Stanley Cup playoffs reach the final four teams, the majority of Cape Breton hockey fans are interested in the Montreal Canadiens and Vegas Golden Knights series.
Why not?
The Canadiens, who are the only Canadian team left, have surprised the hockey world, knocking off the stacked Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games in the opening round, before sweeping their way to the league semifinals in four games over the Winnipeg Jets.
Meanwhile, the Golden Knights, who were considered contenders from the start of the season, earned their way the semifinals with series wins over the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche.
While not everyone is a Canadiens or Golden Knights fan, the series itself has plenty of headlines for both the diehard and average fans to relate to, especially Cape Breton viewers.
FOR THE DIE-HARD FANS
The series will mark the first-ever playoff meeting between the two teams. In a normal year, both Montreal and Vegas play in different conferences and would have only met in the playoffs in the Stanley Cup final.
Since Vegas joined the league in 2017, the Canadiens and Golden Knights have played each other six times. Montreal won five of six games with three of those victories coming in either overtime or a shootout.
The last time the Canadiens and Golden Knights played was Jan. 18, 2020, with the Montreal beating Vegas 5-4 in a shootout.
Historically, the series will feature the oldest franchise (Montreal) against the youngest franchise (Vegas) — this doesn’t include the Seattle Kraken since they haven’t officially played a game in the league.
The series will mark the first time the oldest franchise will play the youngest franchise in the NHL playoffs since the Canadiens faced the Hartford Whalers in 1989.
The biggest headline of the series is highlighted by Montreal’s Nick Suzuki and Tomas Tatar, as well as Vegas’ Max Pacioretty.
The Canadiens traded Pacioretty, who at the time was the club’s captain, to the Golden Knights for Suzuki and Tatar on Sept. 10, 2018. The biggest piece of the trade was Suzuki, who was Vegas’ first-round pick, No. 13 overall, in 2017.
Meanwhile, prior to this season, the Golden Knights made the playoffs their first three years in the league. Two of those three years the club has eliminated the last Canadian team standing — Winnipeg (2018) and Vancouver (2020) — a fact Montreal fans won’t like.
CAPE BRETON CONNECTIONS
For the average fan, there are plenty of headlines to watch for that have Cape Breton connections to them in the series.
Vegas’ Marc-Andre Fleury and William Carrier were both members of the thenCape Breton Screaming Eagles. Fleury played three and a half seasons in Sydney from 2000 to 2004, while Carrier suited up for Cape Breton for three and a half seasons from 2010 to 2014.
Staying with the Eagles connections, Vegas’ Nicolas Roy was drafted first overall by Cape Breton at the 2013 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft but didn’t report to the team. He was later traded to Chicoutimi.
The Golden Knights’ Reilly Smith has ties to Cape Breton. His great-grandfather was a coal miner from Glace Bay. Smith also has property on the Bras d’Or Lake and spends his summers there. The family also has relatives still living in Big Bras d’Or.
Meanwhile, Vegas’ George McPhee, who’s currently the president of hockey operations for the team, lived in Glace Bay for two years. His father and grandparents are from the community.
THE SERIES
The best-of-seven series will begin today with the Canadiens travelling to Vegas for Game 1, slated for a 10 p.m. Atlantic time. Game 2 will be played Wednesday at 10 p.m. in Vegas.
The series will shift to Montreal on Friday for Game 3 at 9 p.m., while Game 4 will take place Sunday at 9 p.m. in la belle province.
Game 5, if necessary, will be held June 22 at 10 p.m. in Vegas, while Game 6, if needed, is scheduled for June 24 at 9 p.m. in Montreal. A seventh and deciding game would be played June 26 in Vegas.
The winner will advance to the Stanley Cup final against either the Tampa Bay Lightning or New York Islanders, who began their best-ofseven series Sunday. The score result was not available at press time.
Montreal last advanced to the Stanley Cup final in 1993 when they won the league title, while Vegas last played in the final in 2018, losing to the Washington Capitals.