Canadiens fans outside Bell Centre force lockdown inside with violent celebration

Tom Gatto

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Canadiens fans outside Bell Centre force lockdown inside with violent celebration image

Montreal hockey fans made things dangerous for people outside — and inside — Bell Centre on Thursday after the Canadiens clinched the franchise's first trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 28 years.

CTV News reported that a police vehicle was turned on its side, fans threw objects at officers and officers responded by lobbing tear gas to disperse revelers following the Habs' 3-2 overtime win over Vegas in Game 6 of their semifinal series. No arrests were reported as of late Thursday.

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The fans who were allowed into Bell Centre for the game (capacity was 3,500) were kept inside when the postgame situation outside got dicey. 

This was the scene outside the arena at about midnight ET.

As word of the violence reached inside the arena, Canadiens acting head coach Luke Richardson called for calm. 

"I just wanted to send a message out there, I know it's a little crazy outside the Bell Centre. We hope everybody's enjoying themselves and has a great time, and especially Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day and it's such a special day to celebrate. But let's make sure we all celebrate responsibly and get home safe," he said.

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante anticipated problems in a midday pregame tweet.

Fans also clashed with police after the Canadiens swept the Jets in the second round of the playoffs. A police spokesperson told the Montreal Gazette that a small group of people threw fireworks at a police car and assaulted an officer.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.