Montreal fans – Mic trouble before Game 3 of the Canadiens’ Eastern Conference final briefly sent Montreal’s crowd into “The Star-Spangled Banner,” after Quebec singer Éléonore Lagacé and backup vocalists started singing with no sound from the Bell Centre speakers.
The Bell Centre went quiet for a moment before Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday.
Montreal fans briefly carried “The Star-Spangled Banner” themselves after the microphone cut out. Quebec singer Éléonore Lagacé and three backup vocalists began singing the American national anthem with no sound coming from the speakers.
For about five seconds, the spectators picked up the lyrics. Then the microphones returned and the pregame moved on.
Lagacé followed with a rendition of “O Canada.” She paused to exclaim “êtes-vous prêts, Montreal!” — which translates to “are you ready, Montreal!” — before hitting her final note.
The brief crowd takeover of the U.S. anthem landed awkwardly in Montreal, especially given how political the moment has already become in recent seasons. Last year at the Bell Centre, fans loudly booed “The Star-Spangled Banner” amid political tensions before a Canada-U.S. game at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in Montreal.
This latest mix-up also comes less than a month after a similar microphone failure in Buffalo. At KeyBank Center, fans sang “O Canada” when a microphone failed before the Sabres and Boston Bruins played Game 5 of their first-round playoff series.
In both cities, the same kind of technical failure turned an anthem into something more immediate—something the crowd had to finish.
Montreal Canadiens Carolina Hurricanes Game 3 Eastern Conference final Bell Centre microphone failure The Star-Spangled Banner Éléonore Lagacé O Canada 4 Nations Face-Off Buffalo Sabres Boston Bruins KeyBank Center