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Montreal Fans, Gazette Writer Need to Move on From Playoff Loss, Stop Blaming Boston for Their Troubles

As any Bruins fan knows, supporters of the Montreal Canadiens take hockey very seriously — sometimes too seriously.

They run to the phones and try to get police involved in hockey-related matters, as we saw when (too) many Canadiens fans called Montreal police to try and have Zdeno Chara arrested for his hit on Max Pacioretty. They throw objects on the ice when things don't go their way. And when their beloved hockey team gets eliminated in a well-played, well-deserved Game 7 win by the Bruins, they complain about it to any media source willing to listen.

Montreal Gazette correspondent Dave Stubbs further cemented the idea that the Habs' faithful really can't handle losing when he unleashed what can only be described as an unnecessary diatribe on pretty much anything to do with the Bruins in his article titled "Sore Winners in Beantown."

The headline alone is enough to make any sports fan, let alone Bruins fans, gag. But what follows is even worse. What Stubbs' article seemed to be was an outlet to relieve his own frustration as he attacked Tim Thomas, Andrew Ference, Bruins fans, Boston radio hosts and even the content broadcasted on the TD Garden scoreboard all in one fell swoop. As far as newsworthiness is concerned, there isn't much to it.

"There's been a great deal of poor winning going on in Boston since Wednesday night," he wrote. "And that's a shame given the high road that the Bruins and their extended family could have chosen to drive into the Eastern Conference semifinals."

What Stubbs and other sour Montreal fans don't seem to comprehend is that the Bruins took the "high road" because, unlike in Montreal, the team and the fans have moved on. Yes, Boston celebrated its Game 7 win, but now all focus has been turned to the Philadelphia Flyers. Game 7, as incredible as it was, is in the past.

The Gazette writer refuses to put the series to rest, taking a particular beef with Boston goaltender Tim Thomas for his comments about rookie defenseman P.K. Subban and his antics throughout the series.

It was obvious to anyone watching the game that Subban was trying a bit too hard to draw penalties. He would drop if a Bruins player did so much as skate by him, and there's evidence to prove it. After the game, Thomas called the embellishment by Canadiens players a "travesty" and "infuriating." Fans in Montreal didn't like this very much. Neither did Stubbs.

He wrote of the Bruins' goaltender, "Thomas, usually one of the more polished pieces of cutlery in the drawer, was all kinds of tarnished in his reply."

Now we're comparing hockey players to silverware.

So because Thomas chose to express his opinion and say something negative about the way the Canadiens played, his opinion is "tarnished?" Do the same rules apply to Pacioretty who talked smack about the Bruins from his couch saying, "This game is longer than Brad Marchand's nose?" Doubt it.

Everybody (including the selection committee for the Vezina Trophy) knows that Tim Thomas is a class act. Thomas gave Montreal and Carey Price credit where credit was due before he talked about the embellishment.

Stubbs' next victim was Andrew Ference. Ference certainly didn't make any new friends north of the border with his one-fingered salute to the Bell Centre fans. Yes, it was uncalled for, but he was fined, case closed. Canadiens fans took further issue with his hit on Jeff Halpern, crying for a suspension, even though Halpern was able to get up and play later in the game. In this case, it's surprising the fans didn't overreact more with Chris Kelly's "hit" on Roman Hamrlik. Based on how long it took Hamrlik to get off the ice (long enough for a goal to be scored), it must have been pretty serious, right?

The Gazette correspondent even stooped so low as to attack another journalist. He said that Stephen Harris, a writer for the Boston Herald "proves that you can type with a cheerleader's pompom in each hand." Just as Stubbs proves that you can type with the world's smallest violin in one hand and a box of Kleenex in another.

What Montreal fans and the media should do is recognize that hockey is over. Regardless of how much whining they do in the next few months, the series is over.

The Canadiens won't be playing hockey for a while, and their fans need to relax and let the Bruins continue to play their game.

What do you think about Montreal's reaction after the Bruins' Game 7 victory? Share your thoughts below.