Montreal police will shut down Ste. Catherine St. between Guy and University Sts. for the second time in a week because of fan overflow expected after the deciding game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Pittsburgh Penguins Wednesday night.

As of 7 p.m., the stretch of Ste. Catherine St. will be open exclusively to pedestrians.

The Habs are in Pittsburgh to play against the Penguins, but the Montreal Canadiens organized a party at their home rink where fans could buy tickets at minimal cost to watch the deciding game taking place 750 kilometres away.

The 21,000-seat rink was sold out almost instantly, with phone lines jammed at the ticket office and fans forced into a virtual waiting room when they went to buy seats online.

The $10 tickets would allow fans to watch the game at the Bell Centre on giant screens.

An area has also been set up by the city for a tailgate party around the Bell Centre, with a DJ and refreshment stands, for the final game in the best-of-seven NHL series.

And the team had one message for Montrealers at a joint news conference Wednesday with the local police: please behave. The city has a history of hooliganism after particularly emotional Habs games.

"I know our fans will have fun but in respect and dignity," said Habs legend Rejean Houle, who also acted as team spokesman at the news conference.

An ebullient Houle predicted the Habs would win the game 4-2.

Police hope for "smooth handling"

While police and Houle appealed to Montrealers' civility on Thursday, they were also backing it up with some muscle.

"Our objective is clear: to ensure the smooth handling of the spontaneous festivity after the game," said assistant police chief Denis Desroches.

Desroches expressed hope for a Habs win, and he said police didn't expect more trouble than usual because many families would be attending the game screening.

Police also noted there are about 2,000 security cameras in the downtown area and many people with cellphone cameras, something that helped them identify and round up vandals after the last hockey-related riot in 2008.

Businesses thriving

At sports store Pro-Sports, Remy Eyckerman said he can't keep Cammalleri, Subban and Halak jerseys on his shelves.

"Everybody's putting all the efforts to be behind the Habs and sales have picked up tremendously. There's been a drastic increase in sales compared to Game 1 and 2," said Eyckerman.

The downtown Dominos Pizza has some special treats on the menu for Wednesday night too, with pizzas decorated in the CH logo. 

"The Gionta… the Cammalleri..." explained the pizza maker.

"With a lot of meat on there for all the scoring," interjected CTV Montreal's Rob Lurie.

"And Halak," he explained.

Avoid driving

Police closed Ste. Catherine St. early Monday evening in a strategy to avoid chaos following Game 6. Four people were arrested following that game.

Wednesday's closure will once again mean detours for drivers, so the police department is encouraging motorists to consider avoiding the area or to use public transportation.

There will also be a party zone reserved for fans in front of the Bell Centre, where they may congregate after the game.

With a report from Canadian Press