The Montreal Canadiens punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Finals on Thursday night ... and the fans went absolutely insane!!!
Moments after the Habs defeated the Vegas Golden Knights at the Bell Centre in Canada, thousands of fans swarmed the streets ... and pandemonium ensued.
Cops say fans were just rowdy as hell -- setting off fireworks, fighting and even attacking police officers.
At one point, a group of Habs fans -- still wearing Habs gear -- smashed up a police car and flipped it upside down!!
Police used tear gas to break up the chaos -- and eventually arrested 15 people ... while issuing citations to an additional 60 people!
Riots have already started in Montreal after the Habs game. Smh this the part about winning I don't like. Not a good look for the citt pic.twitter.com/FzEszFaS2q
— Blackcoinpurse (@blackcoinpurse) June 25, 2021
By the way, officials had only allowed 3,500 fans inside the arena for the game -- but the situation outside was so crazy, they locked down the venue and refused to let fans out in fear people could get hurt.
This is what the outside of the Bell Centre looks like now @CTVMontreal pic.twitter.com/ljvhk1RdAh
— Kelly Greig (@KellyGreig) June 25, 2021
If you're wondering why the fans went so wild, it's the first time the Canadiens have reached the Stanley Cup Finals since 1993 ... and you know how people in Canada feel about hockey!
The Habs are set to take on the winner of the Lightning vs. Islanders series. Game 7 is set for Friday night.