The Canadiens’ “La Petite Vie” effect, a long break, and Auston Matthews’ power

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
The Canadiens’ “La Petite Vie” effect, a long break, and Auston Matthews’ power
Credit: Ben Ludeman/NHLI via Getty Images

Watching TV isn't what it used to be.

Back in the day, when a popular show took Quebec by storm, the world came to a standstill that evening. At its peak, La Petite Vie emptied Quebec's stores—and hospitals, to a certain extent.

Everyone watched it at the same time.

Today, with platforms that let you watch whatever you want whenever you want, not only do people no longer watch the same thing, but they watch it whenever they want.

You don't have to wait to listen to Vitrerie Joyal, for example.

But that's true for TV series… not for the playoffs. Sports are possibly the last major bastion of live TV in a rapidly changing world.

We're seeing it right now with the Canadiens. Emergency rooms are emptying out during playoff games.

Even worse? During Game 7 against the Lightning, people's water consumption showed that everyone (I'm exaggerating, but you get the idea) was heading to the restroom at the same time.

Fans were waiting for the commercial break to go. The Habs are that powerful…

The big difference, that said, is that we laugh less watching the Canadiens than we do watching La Petite Vie. It's serious business when the Canadiens make it to the second round.

Oh, and Nick Suzuki isn't a woman dressed as a man. That's another difference from Môman.

A long break ahead?

Tonight, we should expect to see Quebec come to a standstill (as far as stores go… not sports bars) once again, as the Habs face off against the Sabres in Buffalo.

Note that the Habs won't be practicing this morning, by the way.

The Canadiens will try to even the second-round series and give themselves a chance to face the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals later in May.

I say the Hurricanes because, even though the series isn't over, it's hard to see the Flyers winning the next four games and eliminating the Carolina team in seven games.

In fact, it's possible the Canes could eliminate the Flyers as early as tomorrow.

If that happens, the Hurricanes could advance to the third round before even seeing Game 3 of the Canadiens' series. The Canadiens and the Sabres could each be just three wins away from joining Carolina in the Eastern Conference Final.

That would be a huge break. Especially if the Habs and the Sabres take it to seven…

If the Atlantic Division series goes to seven games, it will end on May 18, which is 10 days from now. The third-round series couldn't start before May 20, at the earliest.

We understand that the NHL had to have a game last Saturday and that having the Flyers and Hurricanes play made sense in that regard. But right now, it creates a potential imbalance.

We all agree that it makes no sense to start a series before the other one is over. And we can see why right now: it creates a win-lose situation. There's a reason we don't see this, under normal circumstances, in other sports…

The Power of Auston Matthews

Speaking of long breaks: the Maple Leafs are going to go many months without playing. Normal, we're in the second round of the—ah, never mind.

That'll give John Chayka and Mats Sundin time to handle a few issues.

Among them? The case of coach Craig Berube and the case of Auston Matthews, the team's captain who is two years away from free agency and whose future is uncertain.

And in reality, the two issues are linked.

Because Steve Simmons, in an article on the subject in the Toronto Sun, points out that if Matthews wants to stay on the condition that Berube is fired, he'll likely see his wish come true.

The guy has so much power right now… and I can't wait to see what he does with it.


In a nutshell

– Must-read.

– Respect for Nick Suzuki.

– Interesting.

– Good news.

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