1993 all over again? The underdog Canadiens are back in the Stanley Cup Finals

On June 24th, the Montreal Canadiens shocked the hockey world by writing the greatest underdog story of Canadian hockey in the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs. First, being down 3 games to 1 in the first round, they were able to bring the Toronto Maple Leafs once again out of the playoffs by winning three games in a row and even more, win game seven on enemy territory. Then they swept the Jets in the second round - who in turn had swept the Oilers in the first round by winning three consecutive overtime games - and most recently defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in six games, and what's more, they did it on home ice on an overtime goal scored by Artturi Lehkonen, one member of the Finnish Mafia in Montreal.

The storyline itself is quite unique - in the beginning of the shortened 2020-21 season Canadiens had relieved Claude Julien of his duties and replaced him with assistant coach Dominique Ducharme, but on June 19th during the 2021 Stanley Cup semifinals, Ducharme was tested positive for COVID-19 and thus was unable to coach the team for the rest of the series. However, that didn't stop the Canadiens rally, and so, in the sixth game of the semifinals, the half-full crowd in the Bell Centre and the rest of the fans in Montreal were treated to a tooth and nail battle with Vegas, and finally, they got their reward as the Habs resumed their Cinderella story by finishing the semifinal series against Vegas in dramatic fashion.

Still awaiting their opponent from the Islanders-Lightning series, they have time to rejoice and reflect their feats thus far, but still they need to be prepared for things to come, for whichever team they will face, the opponent will not give up easily. After all, both the Lightning and the Islanders are hungry for success, especially the Lightning who seek two Cups in a row. but the Islanders have something to say as well, for they long to return their lost honour from the beginning of the 1980s and perhaps they are driven to win the last ever championship for Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Either way, there's no suspicion that the Canadiens are hungry, driven and capable to win, and wouldn't it be something for Bell Centre to get its first championship as the last Canadiens championship was won in the old Montreal Forum. Exciting times lie ahead, and the best series is yet to come.

The success of a team is never a one man show, but the job that Marc Bergevin has recently done in the Canadiens organization since being appointed as the GM speaks for itself, and if they resume their doing in the playoffs, both Bergevin and the Canadiens will be etched in the Bell Centre history by winning the greatest prize in hockey - the Stanley Cup.