Robert Shaver/Bruce Bennett Collection. Getty Images.

The Montreal Canadiens of the late 1970s tortured my childhood. The Lunchpail A.C. was the first Bruins squad I followed as a tyke and the Habs beat them in the ’77 Stanley Cup Final (4-0), the ’78 Final (4-2), and, most painfully, the ’79 Semi-Finals (4-3). The Bs always gave Montreal everything they had but they were playing arguably the greatest dynasty in the history of the NHL. Guy Lafleur. Larry Robinson. Steve Shutt. Jacques Lemaire. Yvan Cournoyer. And in the pipes, the great Ken Dryden.

I was blessed to see this collection of Hall of Famers dummy my Bruins at Boston Garden a handful of times. And while my family can’t stand the Canadiens, my old man has always had immense respect for them and he passed that down to me (his favorite non-Bruin was the classy and elegant Jean Béliveau). So like the rest of the hockey world, we were very saddened when the legendary Hockey Hall of Fame goalie died last month at 78. 

Dryden won six Cups and five Vezina Trophies in his eight year career. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) in 1971 then the Calder Trophy (rookie of the year) in 1972. He put up insane numbers for the NHL in the 1970s: 258-57-74, 2.24 GAA, .922 SP, and led the league in shutouts in four of his eight seasons. He won five out of every seven playoff games he played in. Oh, and for good measure, he sat out the ’73-’74 season in a contract dispute to become a lawyer.

Before Montreal’s home opener last night, the Canadiens did something they always pull off with aplomb–paying wonderful tribute to a titan from their team history. 

Placing his iconic mask on top of the net with a solo spotlight was a simple, beautiful, and perfect homage. Combined with the lengthy standing ovation, it was a very touching moment on the St. Lawrence River island. 

When it came to player introductions, the Habs did something they’d never done before (and I’m not sure any team had). As each player hit the ice, their own personal song was played. 

13 Cole Caufield

Money for Nothing

Dire Straits

15 Alex Newhook

The Rhythm of the Goat

The Navigators

17 Josh Anderson

Sweet Child O’ Mine

Guns N’ Roses

20 Juraj Slafkovský

KSN – Pintlinch Remix

Yzomandias

21 Kaiden Guhle

Monster (feat. JAY-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj & Bon Iver)

Kanye West

35 Samuel Montembeault

La machine à scorer

Bob Bissonnette

45 Alexandre Carrier

#10

Loud

48 Lane Hutson

Come with Me Now

KONGOS

53 Noah Dobson

Broadway Girls (feat. Morgan Wallen)

Lil Durk

71 Jake Evans

The Stroke

Billy Squier

72 Arber Xhekaj

Across the Nation

The Union Underground

75 Jakub Dobeš

Where You Are (feat. HAYLA)

John Summit

76 Zachary Bolduc

Pour mon pays

Sir Pathétik

77 Kirby Dach

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The Show Goes On

Lupe Fiasco

91 Oliver Kapanen

Levels

Avicii

92 Patrik Laine

Titanium (feat. Sia)

David Guetta

93 Ivan Demidov

Animal I Have Become

Three Days Grace

8 Mike Matheson

Mr. Brightside

The Killers

11 Brendan Gallagher

Enter Sandman

Metallica

14 Nick Suzuki

Fix You

Coldplay

I know 7.5 of the songs, which was more than I expected given that I haven’t listened to recent stuff for awhile now and there’s a lot of young guys on the team. The .5 is for Patrik Laine’s selection, “Titanium” by David Guetta, because I’ve only heard a portion of the song when the lovely and talented Anna Kendrick sang it in the shower in the 2012 smash a cappella hit PITCH PERFECT. The others are Dire Straits, GN’R, Billy Squier, Avicii, The Killers, Metallica, and Coldplay.

This was a pisser idea and I think that the next move for the league should be individual goal songs for players. It will add some personality to the games not to mention the social media impact (read: memes) that will provide the NHL with free publicity. Also, teams should keep the songs a secret until the player scores to make it suspenseful and add a fun wrinkle for fans.

When ridiculously talented defenseman Lane Hutson was introduced, the Molson Center went ape-shit, showing their gratitude to the 21-year-old wunderkind for signing an 8-year/$70.8M contract extension.

After coughing up a 3-2 third period lead, 19-year-old Russian rookie Ivan Demidov knotted things up with his first goal of the season and 2:41 left on the clock. Just listen to that crowd go friggin’ wild.

In overtime, head coach Marty St. Louis called his time-out and summoned his studs for their input.

Whatever they discussed worked like a charm. 

Suzuki to Hutson to Caufield to blow the roof off the building.

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There’s nothing like hockey in Montreal and there’s not a livelier barn to play in. My guy Heat Daddy concurs.

It’s dynamite having the NHL back and games like last night in Montreal are just another reminder that we are truly in a golden era of hockey.Â