Todd: Stanley Cup hopes of a nation rest on Canadiens’ shoulders

Buffalo and Canada share a lot of things. Niagara Falls. Lousy climate. The Bills, who almost certainly have more fans in Toronto than the Argos.

And a passion for hockey.

Unlike Tampa (where hockey has always seemed a sport grafted on by Gary Bettman) frigid Buffalo has legit hockey roots. If not quite an Original Six team, the Buffalo Sabres go back to the 1970-71 season, when the Canadiens won a miracle Cup and the French Connection line of Gilbert Perreault, René Robert and Richard Martin was born.