MONTREAL - In the centre of the hockey universe, a couple of hundred kilometres down the highway, a province away from Sens Mile and all the giddiness of Sens Army, the home team, the Canadiens, has a motto: No excuses.
Anything less than a Round 1 playoff victory over destiny's darlings, the Ottawa Senators, will be a failure to the fans and to the players, who take great pride in representing so many years of greatness.
"To you from failing hands we throw the torch. Be yours to hold it high." The words, pulled from John McCrae's poem In Flanders Fields, are painted onto the wall of the Canadiens dressing room -- a reminder of the responsibility that goes with putting on the jersey, of representing a storied franchise that has won 24 Stanley Cups.