A team you should know

Hockey is a religion in Quebec, and the Montreal Canadiens, a team that has inspired songs and incited riots, is a club you should know a few things about:

• It is the oldest hockey team in the NHL, founded in 1909. It is the only club to pre-date the NHL.
  
• It has won the most Stanley Cups (24) and retired more numbers (15) than any other NHL team.
  
• Last time the team won the Cup was 1993. Until the 2000s, the club had won at least one Cup in every decade since the 1910s.
  
• Check the spelling: "Canadiens" not "Canadians" - it's French.
  
• Speaking of the name, you may hear the team called "the Habs." The Habs is short for les habitants, which is the French word for "inhabitants" and was the name used to refer to the French settlers of Quebec back in the day.


• The logo, which you probably recognize, is a C and an H, and stands for Club de hockey Canadien.

The story now: The Canadiens barely squeaked into the playoffs this year. In the first round they faced the Washington Capitals, the best team in the NHL all year. They won. Now they're playing last year's Stanley Cup champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins, in Round 2. Yesterday they won their game, tying the series at 2 games to 2. With this team, you just never know. They can make magic happen.

One more little note: You may hear the name P.K. Subban (pronounced Sue - ban) mentioned a lot. He got called up from the Canadiens minor league team to play with the big boys in Round 1 and he's doing really well. He's from Rexdale (near Toronto), and he's pretty adorable. Now you know!