\u2014 NHL (@NHL) April 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Let\u2019s start with Houde. The revered broadcaster has been doing the play-by-play for Canadiens games on RDS since 1989 and his catch-phrase \u201cEt le buuuuuuut\u201d might well be the French words most known to us anglos.<\/p>\n But another of his favourite lines is \u201cMa parole,\u201d which he only pulls out for really dramatic moments, and Habs\u2019 life doesn\u2019t get any more dramatic than what happened at a little over six minutes into the second period in the ultra-intense playoff-like Canadiens-Tampa Bay Lightning game on Thursday when Juraj Slafkovsky made a nifty back-pass to Nick Suzuki. The captain then feathered the puck to Caufield, who sniped it to the right of all-star goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. Oh, my, it was a dandy, as another great broadcaster, Bob Cole, might\u2019ve said if he\u2019d been there to witness this poetry in motion.<\/p>\n Houde was, let\u2019s say, a wee bit worked up, as he proclaimed: \u201cEt le buuuuuut! Ma parole! C\u2019est fait. De Maurice, \u00e0 Boom Boom, \u00e0 Guy, \u00e0 Steve, \u00e0 Pierre, \u00e0 St\u00e9phane, \u00e0 Cole. Le flambeau est pass\u00e9. Fifty buts!\u201d<\/p>\n (\u201cFrom Maurice, to Boom Boom, to Guy, to Steve, to Pierre, to St\u00e9phane, to Cole. The torch has been passed. Fifty goals!\u201d)<\/p>\n Houde, thus, name-checked the six previous 50-goal scorers on the Canadiens \u2014 Maurice (Rocket) Richard, Bernard (Boom Boom) Geoffrion, Guy Lafleur, Steve Shutt and Pierre Larouche.<\/p>\n More than anyone else, Houde is the voice of the Canadiens, even for us anglos. We prefer to watch on RDS rather than either TSN or Sportsnet because we feel Houde and his sidekick Marc Denis get the team in a way only us locals can. And he really is much-loved by English fans. Years back, he told me it means a lot to him to know it\u2019s not only francophones watching.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel so humbled when I\u2019m told by anglophones in Montreal and throughout Canada (that they watch the Habs games on RDS),\u201d Houde told me back in 2013. \u201cEven in Edmonton, they say: \u2018Hey Pierre \u2026 et le buuuuut!\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n But Houde is downright staid and soft-spoken on air compared to McGuire on 98.5 FM. The Quebec City native has been calling Habs games since the 2003-2004 season, first on talk station CKAC and then when that outlet closed down, over at the Cogeco-owned 98.5.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve always loved the way McGuire does it. He and his colour commentator Dany Dub\u00e9 are super well-informed and articulate, but the energy McGuire brings to the show is something else. You can be listening in the car to him call a meaningless Tuesday night game in November between Montreal and the Minnesota Wild and you\u2019ll practically veer off the road as he works himself up into a lather describing what\u2019s happening on the ice. A routine passing play becomes Shakespearian drama of the highest order in his hands.<\/p>\n McGuire didn\u2019t really say much when Caufield scored, simply saying \u201cLe 50e de Cole Caufield!!! Il l\u2019a r\u00e9ussi!!!\u201d (The 50th from Cole Caufield. He has succeeded.)<\/p>\n But it\u2019s the way he\u2019s saying it. He is quite literally shouting and all Dub\u00e9 can reply initially is \u201cwow,\u201d just blown away by his friend\u2019s enthusiasm. Though Dub\u00e9 does follow with a great recap of the play, noting it starts (as Canadiens plays so often do, I might add) with a nice move by Lane Hutson, then the puck is advanced by Slaf, adding: \u201cLa vitesse en zone neutre, la force du Canadiens, la carte de visite de cet \u00e9quipe.\u201d (The speed in the neutral zone, the strength of the Canadiens, their calling card.)<\/p>\n The Houde and McGuire clips were all over social media within minutes of The Goal and they were still popping up everywhere online Friday afternoon. We love Houde and McGuire because they capture the passion we have for this hockey team, an emotion that goes beyond sports \u2019round these parts.<\/p>\n Caufield scoring 50 was a moment for the city, for the province, and no one personified that fervour better than these two seasoned broadcasters. This was not the time for calm, cool observation and analysis, and Houde and McGuire totally got that. We needed to hear it told with feeling. That\u2019s how we roll here. Our hockey team leaves it all on the ice and we wear our emotions on our sleeves.<\/p>\n bkelly@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n \t\tEditor\u2019s Picks\t<\/p>\n \t\t![\"Hockey](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0410-spt-habs_302507054-1.jpg\")
Canadiens\u2019 Cole Caufield shoots the puck past Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy with Charles-\u00c9douard D\u2019Astous and Gage Goncalves defending for his 50th goal of the season in Montreal on Thursday, April 9, 2026. John Mahoney \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n