MONTREAL - Leave it to that cement-head Saku Koivu to goon it up in his first game back in Montreal. (Yes, that is sarcasm dripping from my chin...along with a smattering of bolognese).
Aside from taking three minor penalties -- two of which led to Montreal goals -- Koivu's return to the Bell Centre a year-and-a-half after leaving the Canadiens to sign as a free agent with Anaheim went pretty much the way he would have scripted it, if these things could be scripted: an assist in a 4-3 shootout win and a pair of thunderous standing ovations -- one before the opening faceoff and the other after he was named as the game's second star.
Even if there were a handful of cretins who booed because it's their default mode for anything or anyone not draped in the CH, the overall fan response was so overwhelmingly positive, it left any naysayers spitting into a gale force wind.
Some people think Koivu gets a free pass because he had cancer.
A free pass from what?
How can you not cheer for the guy?
He was already the embodiment of class and professionalism before the successful battle against cancer.
His strength and courage in those dark days were both a credit and an inspiration to the thousands of people who wage the same life and death struggle privately.
Yet after everything he's done and been through, Koivu was compelled to express his gratitude.
Between rioting in the streets after first round playoff wins and irrelevant debates over second and third language proficiency in the dressing room, Montreal's longstanding reputation as a savvy and sophisticated hockey town has taken a beating over the past several seasons.
The crowd at the Bell Centre Saturday went a long way towards restoring that reputation by setting partisan loyalties aside and giving Saku Koivu the kind of welcome home he so richly deserved.
