Lagacé leads Mtl Vs Car crowd for five seconds after mic cut

During mtl vs car on Monday, May 25, 2026, Montreal Canadiens fans at Bell Centre carried “The Star-Spangled Banner” for about five seconds after the microphone cut out before Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes. Quebec singer Éléonore Lagacé and three backup vocalists had started the anthem with no sound coming from the speakers.

Bell Centre anthem cut

The spectators picked up the lyrics until the microphones came back on. Lagacé then paused before turning to “O Canada” and exclaiming “êtes-vous prêts, Montreal!”

The article gives that line as “are you ready, Montreal!” The Canadian anthem followed as a full performance after the brief interruption at the arena.

Lagacé at Game 3

Lagacé was the singer in front of the crowd when the sound failed. She was joined by three backup vocalists, but the crowd briefly became the loudest part of the anthem as the speakers stayed silent.

That moment came in the middle of playoff hockey at Bell Centre, where the same building drew attention last year for a different anthem reaction. Before a Canada-U.S. game at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in Montreal, fans loudly booed “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Bell Centre crowd response

The contrast is sharp enough to stand on its own: last year’s booing gave way to fans helping carry the song this time when the microphone failed. A similar breakdown happened less than a month before this report in Buffalo, where fans at KeyBank Center sang “O Canada” after a microphone failed before the Sabres and Boston Bruins played Game 5 of their first-round playoff series.

For readers tracking the game itself, the immediate takeaway is simple. The anthem at Bell Centre did not stop when the sound system did, and the crowd filled the gap until the microphones returned.