The team's anthem singer, Alexandre Silvestre, got things started before making way for three young patients being treated for cancer, performing virtually on Hockey Fights Cancer night at Bell Centre.
Silvestre opened the anthem then threw it to Clovis, 6, of Saint-Cyrille-de-Lessard, who has been fighting acute lymphoblastic leukemia since June 2020.
Brittany, 18 of Ville-Marie, is in remission of neuroendocrine cancer and went next before Nathan, 13 of Thetford Mines who is in partial remission of rhabdomyosarcoma, sang in both French and English then threw it back to Silvestre. Phillippe Villeneuve, 16, provided the introduction.
The three were part of the 36 young people that the Canadiens celebrated Saturday.
Montreal's players wore lavender jerseys with the names of young members of Leucan, a Montreal-based group that promotes the recovery of cancer-stricken children and provides support for their families.
Montreal also packed the stands at Bell Centre with more than 16,000 "I Fight For" cards, with each featuring a fan's choice of who he or she fights for against cancer.
The Canadiens also selected
