MONTREAL—While it was billed as an open practice, the two squads of Habs players on the ice Easter Sunday could have pretended they were at a home game as 17,000 fans cheered them on.

So many enthusiasts turned out that the Montreal police had to close streets around the Bell Centre. As goalie Carey Price pulled out of the underground garage, his truck was mobbed by fans seeking autographs.

With the concessions open and the fans happy, the players had fun too as they played a practical joke on rookie Nathan Beaulieu to start. They were all supposed to come out at the same time, however they let Beaulieu skate around by himself.

“It was kind of last second,” explained winger Brandon Prust. “Army called him up and said come on lead us out and it all fell into place and we saw him skate his one lap and he's looking around and we all just stared dying.”

The 20-year-old rookie laughed off the prank.

“Army let me lead the troops there, but I guess the troops missed the call. A little late. It's all good fun,” said Beaulieu.

When all the Habs did finally come out on to the ice, what a treat the 17,000 got, a rare opportunity for many who don't get to games to see their heroes up close.

Although it was mostly families on an Easter Sunday, adults let their enthusiasm show too.

“This is incredible. I feel like a kid again. It looks like a real game. It's fabulous,” said one excited fan after sitting in the packed arena.

The fans saw some pretty good moments with a wild glove save by Price. To put it simply, it was a love affair rekindled after a long lockout.

“We got a taste of that before the season when we had that scrimmage and people were lining up at 7 a.m. and it was freezing cold out. We knew it was it going to be similar and we love the support,” said Prust.

“It's really crazy. I mean, some teams hope to have that many people at the games and we have that many people at the practice. We appreciate it a lot. It's fun to play here,” added rookie Alex Galchenyuk.

“We know that we have the best fans in the league. When you have events like this they come and show it. Not every day that you can sell out a practice,” said another young player, Brendan Gallagher.

On Monday, it's back to business as usual as the Canadiens take on the Carolina Hurricanes at 7:30 p.m. at the Bell Centre.