I've had to take a little over two hours before I posted because I needed my heart rate to settle down.

Selfish as it might be to say, I wish the Bell Center held even more people because this is truly something everyone must experience in their lifetime: a Canadiens playoff game.
I knew what to do with the towel they were handing out the second I got it, and looked over at my step father who is my hockey partner and we smiled. We knew this was going to be incredibly special. But just how much, I wasnt prepared for.
The place was roaring, and I mean *roaring* before even the players had made their way on the ice. This was my first playoff game - ever - and from where my tickets are, I sit directly in front of George Gillet, where I've proudly sat all season.

Mr. Gillet, no matter how wealthy, or how badly he's handled the Liverpool scenario, actually loves this team. Here's a man who sits in his fancy box, with his fancy guests (Justin Trudeau was there tonight) who loves his hockey team. Gillet was part of the crowd tonight (albeit with a glass of wine in his hand). I was sitting near someone who made a pitiful replica of the Stanley Cup and George Gillet caught their attention and they were all screaming about being in the playoffs and that they love the team and "We're Number One!!!". Lots of thumbs up, smiles and "go habs go" being thrown around. It was actually really something to see (and dont think I didnt get involved myself!). This owner knows what the team means to this city, and you could tell in the way he interacted with them and made himself a part of them. And when Andrei scored, he jumped up, screamed with the crowd and pumped his fists "The brothers!" he shouted. He's a fan too. And thats what I really enjoyed about him. He has playoff fever. Needless to say, at the end of the night he shook hands with fans who took notice of him, smiled, joked and laughed with people.

Just being apart of that place was truly something magical. Seeing the twirling white towels on a backdrop of glistening red jerseys sent chills down my spine. My jaw is hurting from smiling so much. The place, as they say, was electric. But I think this time it was literal. We could probably power an entire city for a day or two - perhaps a global warming solution to energy consumption - the way people united together tonight.

The national anthem. Unbelievable. I've been to almost 30 games this season, and there was no way you were not going to sing tonight. The place was alive, everyone was singing. I had wondered if the players were too.

All this to say, it was an incredible experience (and thanks to those who have stuck it out to read the entire thing) even though its so clichéd to say. Though I suppose cliché's are probably written into the NHL PR strategies rulebook somewhere.

The only thing about my night that I wish to forget is walking back to my car and realizing I had been robbed. My car had been broken into, and all my Habs memorabilia had been stolen, along with my cds, among other things. I sat for a moment, and as violated as I felt, I realized that not even the robbery could take away from what I had just been apart of. I would not let it shadow this moment, because a feeling like this isn't easy to come by.