It's always an honor

Maybe it's been the two weeks between attending games. Then again, it could be wanting to end 2006 on positive note. And then there's always the fact that it's an Original 6 team.

For whatever reason, though, there's something about hounding the Les Habitants de Montreal. The team's storied and glorious history. The timeless uniforms, crisp and colorful. The countless number of hockey gods: Howie Morenz, Maurice "The Rocket" Richard, Jean Beliveau, Ken Dryden, Bob Gainey (shown above), Saku Koivu.

And while it's easy to grow tired of hounding some teams (the Thrashers, Capitals, Islanders and Devils, to name a few), the opportunity to add pieces of hockey history to our collection never grows old.

I'm sure they'll be a crowd tomorrow for the Canadiens. It happens every time. But, you know what? It doesn't matter. We'll all line up and wait our turn. Complaints, I'll bet, will be few.

And, as the bus pulls away on its trip to the St. Pete Times Forum tomorrow, we'll be satisfied. The Canadiens, the Le Bleu-Blanc-et-Rouge, are in town.

P.S. Don't forget that Saturday is Get Scotty Bowman's Autograph night. See you there.