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Friday, October 1, 1999
Always a big night when Leafs-Habs meet
Every time the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs meet it's a special occasion, even if the peak of hockey's oldest rivalry was reached more than 30 years ago.
The Canadiens play host to the Leafs Saturday night (7 p.m. EDT, CBC) at the Molson Centre as the NHL's senior franchises open their regular season. There will be no shortage of energy on either side.
"Toronto-Montreal is always a great rivalry and to start the season this way is going to be fun," said Leafs goaltender Curtis Joseph.
Even the opening faceoff could be interesting if coaches Alain Vigneault and Pat Quinn start their European captains, centres Mats Sundin for Toronto and Koivu for Montreal.
It will be Koivu's first game since he was elected by his teammates on Thursday to wear the C once worn by legends like Jean Beliveau, Maurice (Rocket) Richard and Emile (Butch) Bouchard.
"Some days, I thought about being captain but I was scared to dream about it," said Koivu, 24, captain of Finland's Olympic and world championship team. "It's great for me and it's great for Finnish hockey."
But if Koivu is nervous, imagine the jittery legs of Ribeiro and Bouillon, who will each play his first real NHL game.
The heady Ribeiro, 19, had fans chanting his name during the pre-season when his deft passing and playmaking set up many scoring chances.
The Montreal native, who signed a three-year $2.55 million US contract this week, is slated to start on the fourth line, but may move up as the game progresses and will likely be used on power-plays.
Bouillon, 23, spent three years in the minors, largely because the Canadiens feared his five-foot-seven frame couldn't stand NHL hitting, but the smart and gritty defenceman was impressive in camp.
He may have only made the team because veterans Vladimir Malakhov and Patrice Brisebois are out for the long term with injuries, but now his chance begins to prove a lot of people wrong.
The match also marks veteran Trevor Linden's debut in red, white and blue.
The long-time Vancouver Canucks captain, who is to play on the left wing with Koivu and Martin Rucinsky, was acquired from the New York Islanders to replace Vincent Damphousse, who was traded to San Jose last March.
On the Toronto side, former Canadiens player Jonas Hoglund will skate on the Leafs' first line with Sundin and Steve Thomas. He's still upset Montreal didn't make much of an effort to re-sign him.
"It's going to be a special feeling coming into the Molson Centre to play against my former team," Hoglund said. "It's going to be a great game, a great night.
"I'm going to prove them wrong, prove they made a mistake. They didn't believe in me. Hopefully, I can show that was a mistake."
Yanic Perreault, Toronto's third-line centre, also looks forward to the game with great anticipation. Perreault was drafted by Toronto in 1991 and, after returning to the Leafs from the Los Angeles Kings last winter, he'll finally be appearing in a Toronto season opener for the first time. He's scurrying to get his hands on tickets.
"It's fun to be back in Toronto and it's always fun to play in Montreal because I was born in Quebec," he said. "All my family and friends will be there."
The Leafs have the superior team even before Montreal's many injuries are factored in, but meetings between them were usually close even when the roles were reversed.
"It's always tough to predict the outcome when we play Montreal," Sundin said. "There's usually a lot of Leaf fans there.
"It's always playoff-type hockey with a lot of intensity. Any time the Leafs and Canadiens play, it's a tight hockey game, no matter where they are in the standings."
The Leafs leapt back to respectability and a playoff spot when Quinn took over the club last season, while the once-mighty Canadiens continue to erode.
The Habs now face the prospect of missing the playoffs for a second year in a row for the first time in 78 years.
Aside from Malakhov, their top defenceman, and Brisebois, Montreal is missing veteran winger Benoit Brunet with a sore back, big forward Scott Thornton with a triceps injury and tough winger Jim Cummins with a concussion.
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