MONTREAL -- It’s official: the Habs have made the NHL playoffs this year—in a sense, amid the strangeness of the pandemic.

The games won’t be played in Montreal but in two hub cities that have yet to be determined. And local bars don’t even have a date set for reopening.

“Well, it hurts,” said Ziggy Eichenbaum, the owner of Ziggy’s Pub on Crescent St. “We don't know how to open.”

Even bar owners, though, say that despite their personal revenue losses, they have faith in one thing—that Montreal Canadiens fans will find a way to have their season.

“People will find a way to bring TVs outside, because that's who we are,” said Eichenbaum.

Montrealers are famous for their Habs victory street scenes, even riots, but Mayor Valérie Plante asked locals to keep their hockey partying well spaced out.

“I mean, I’m kidding,” she said on Wednesday at a press conference,

“But it's very important, even in a time of celebration—which we definitely need these days—to follow the [public health] recommendations. Very, very very important.”

The NHL is still working out some of the details of how its summer playoffs will work, including the hub cities, but it has said Toronto, Vancouver and Edmonton are all options.