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A native New Yorker, Curtis Lanton became a dedicated Habs fan one night in 2009 when he was reduced to tears by a Bell Centre tribute to Stanley Cup winning Canadiens coaches.

“They had such a great ceremony that by the end, I was crying and I had goose bumps and I became a converted fan right then,” Lanton told the Montreal Gazette.

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So much so when he returned to New York City, he converted the bar he managed into Habs’ central, its walls covered in Canadiens’ paraphernalia. The bar closed in 2013, but Lanton still organizes events for Montreal fans.

When the Canadiens take to the ice at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference quarter-final against the New York Rangers, Lanton and about 100 other Habs fans will be gathering at Finnerty’s bar on 2nd Ave. in Manhattan.