Goalie Crawford

MONTREAL — For Corey Crawford, the moment was years in the making.

The Montreal native, who grew up attending games at the Bell Centre, returned Tuesday as an NHL goalie.

"It's special to come back and be here after being a kid and coming to watch games when I was younger," Crawford said. "I don't know how to explain it. It's a weird feeling."

Crawford, who admitted he'd be a little nervous for the first five minutes, said about 20 family members and friends were in attendance and had gotten their tickets months ago.

Before the game, he fielded questions from a throng of reporters and answered in French and English. He talked about his journey to become an …