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MONTREAL - If Larry Robinson is the sure bet as a prognosticator as he was a NHL defenceman, Habs fans will be once again dancing on Sainte-Catherine St.
“I’d like to make a prediction,” the Hall of Famer said Friday when asked for a gut feeling on the Habs-Flyers Eastern Conference final, “because I’m usually wrong. So I’m going to say Philly’s probably going to take the series.
“I hope I stay consistent.”
Robinson, who won six Stanley Cups during his 17 years (1972-89) with the Habs, is as surprised as everyone else that his old team was able to knock off the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins in the first two rounds. Goaltender Jaroslav Halak was the difference maker.
“Reminds me a little bit of our ‘86 run, where we weren’t expected to go that far but Patrick (Roy) kind of kept us in,” said Robinson, who added the Habs have to stick with what worked in Game 3’s 5-1 victory over Philadelphia. “If they’re able to utilize their speed and be as tenacious as they were last game, they have a very good chance of getting back into this series.
“If they don’t get to the net, and they don’t take advantage of their speed, Philly is just too big and too good a team.”
This is the time of year to expect the unexpected, Robinson added.
“That’s what makes hockey what it is. A very unpredictable sport,” he said. “You can have the best team and the best record but it doesn’t mean you’re going to win. I think back to the year we only lost eight games (1976-77), and everybody’s going ‘only eight games, that’s amazing.’ But we came within 30-40 seconds of not winning the Stanley Cup.
“Amazing as it is to do well in the regular season, it means nothing once the playoffs starts because everyone starts at Square 1 again. Then you’ve got to hit your stride and have everything going for you.”
As for the partying that sometimes gets out of hand in downtown Montreal when the hometeam wins at playoff time, Robinson doesn’t believe it’s representative of true Habs fans.
“Don’t forget, we’re in hard times and there’s a lot of people that are suffering out there, and they look to sports and they look to successes to help fulfill things that aren’t there in their lives,” he said. “A lot of that is just a release of all the frustration that’s going on. People don’t have jobs, and times are tough... so I think a lot of this is just being able to forget about all the crap that’s going on around you and just celebrate some good things.
“A lot of that stuff, window breaking and all that, is from such a small group ... probably not even people that went to the games. It’s just a bunch of hooligans that hang out and look for an opportunity to go out and cause mayhem out there,” he added. “I wouldn’t put the Montreal Canadiens fans as the ones that are doing all the looting and causing all the problems. I’d say probably 95 percent of the people were just having fun outside after the game was over and probably dispersed and went home after about an hour.”