It takes greater than a transit strike and a shock November snow dump to maintain Montrealers from seeing the Canadiens.
Nonetheless, because the puck dropped Tuesday evening, dozens of followers had been nonetheless left outdoors, attempting to get into the Bell Centre.
The strike by STM upkeep staff has shut down métro and bus service outdoors rush hours for the month, pushing many to seek out alternative routes to the sport, from driving to getting a taxi.
Then got here
Monday evening’s snowstorm
. And by recreation time, visitors was gradual and parking troublesome, followers advised The Gazette as they rushed into the stadium.
“It was fairly horrible,” mentioned Mike, who got here from the east finish. “Visitors all around the streets. You possibly can inform there’s no transportation for anyone.”
He mentioned the drive normally takes him about half-hour, however on Tuesday it took an additional 40 minutes.
“When snow comes into the realm, it’s clearly loads more durable for individuals. And it’s so difficult to seek out parking,” he added.
The puck is dropping for the Habs however dozens of followers are usually not seated…The strike by STM upkeep staff and an surprising dump of snow final evening has left many both cabbing in or braving the drive… solely to be caught in visitors/not discover parking. pic.twitter.com/C6TQFb7Ofp
— Harry North (@hsnorth_) November 12, 2025
One other lady, dashing into the stadium who got here from the South Shore, mentioned she circled downtown for practically half an hour earlier than discovering a spot.
“There’s no parking. Montreal’s not likely serving to us for a giant occasion like this,” she mentioned, declining to provide her title. “They need to do one thing about it.”
Carl and Yannik got here from Rosemont and usually take the métro for video games however took a cab as an alternative.
“Forty bucks,” Carl mentioned, including that Uber was truly cheaper however he didn’t take it “out of precept.”
Not everybody confronted difficulties. Marco, from the South Shore, mentioned he dodged many of the visitors by taking a much less well-liked exit.
“There was a little bit little bit of chaos, possibly 30 automobiles piling as much as get in, however I went round and parked simply across the nook,” he mentioned.
It capped a chaotic day of getting round in Montreal after the snowstorm, which dumped 20 centimetres of snow downtown.
Earlier Monday morning, practically 400,000 properties had been with out energy throughout the province, in keeping with Hydro-Québec, together with 50,000 in Montreal.
By Tuesday night, the quantity had dropped to about 4,000 in Montreal and 120,000 provincewide.
The traces to get into the Bell Centre had largely cleared by the top of the primary interval — and earlier than the Habs went one up.
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