Format the following passage properly, for storytelling purposes. Keep it as written, don't change a single word, but improve grammar where necessary.

The year was 1990. The month was November. Electronic Arts had just released a game called "John Madden Football," their first console foray into making video games based on professional American football. Little did they know at the time that this would be the start of one of the most successful and influential franchises in the history of gaming. When players turned on their Genesis and saw the title screen for the first time and see the Electronic Arts logo of the time serving as dark blue and wordless wallpaper--with John Madden frozen in time, sitting at a desk, having seemingly tossed you a football suspended in midair and possibly in the middle of expressing his thoughts on one of the fine aspects of the sport that made him a legend, three multiple offensive and defensive diagrams in close proximity, a pencil and one of his hands resting atop two-thirds of those papers--they knew they were in for a treat. This was not to be another generic American football game, like the shovelware which littered the marketplace for the past decade...this was a game made with love and care, by people who actually respected the sport and wanted to represent it faithfully. Where "Tecmo Bowl" had made great strides, "John Madden Football" took the simulation aspect to the next level. While it lacked proper NFLPA licensing (meaning no player names or numbers are represented in the game), the game contains sixteen teams (each represented by the name of a city, as in addition to the absence of the NFLPA's blessing they did not yet have an NFL license either), plus an 'All-Madden' team comprised of the best players in the game. (My theory is that it is actually a secret Raiders team, and more precisely the 1976 Raiders who Madden coached to his sole Super Bowl win as a head coach.) Over the course of Thursday night and Friday morning, I did a couple 'test games' in the original "John Madden Football" with the intention of starting an ongoing series. I only got a couple games in before I decided to go back to hockey and particularly once I learned that the NHL season is starting up again this Tuesday. However, I will gladly relay the final stats of the two games I did. The first pitted San Francisco (the defending Super Bowl champions at the time of the release of JMF) against the Denver Broncos (who they had defeated 55-10, in what remains the most lopsided margin of victory in the Super Bowl era, to win their fourth title in nine seasons). The virtual Broncos put up a far more spirited fight than their real-life counterparts, and led 28-23 late before the 49ers scored a game-winning TD with no time left to take it 30-28. (Note that back in those days, teams still kicked the extra point even though time had expired.) Denver scored a touchdown in every quarter, going 7-7-7-7 for their 28, but the 49ers did not score in the third; they scored 13 points in the first half, and 17 in the fourth quarter. Denver's five turnovers, compared to just one for San Francisco, may in part explain their eventual loss. With the exception of Denver's 102-42 advantage in rushing yards, San Francisco led in the other meaningful statistical categories, including time of possession (31:46-28:14), first downs (14-12), passing yards (219-217, with Montana narrowly surpassing Elway), defensive sacks (5-3), and completion percentage (51% to 47%). The 49ers subsequently faced Minnesota, and led 35-10 at halftime before taking it 52-38. Both teams scored at least once in every quarter, but the Vikings were out of it from the beginning as the 49ers took an early lead on their first touchdown and never relinquished that advantage for the duration of the 'contest' (and I use the term very loosely given how it turned out). Minnesota had two turnovers, compared to just one for San Francisco, and while they did lead in first downs (15-12) and rushing yards (160-34), it was 49ers all the way in every other category such as time of possession (30:18-29:42), passing yards (509-303, with Montana having a day quite similar to what Kirk Cousins did this past Thursday night against the Buccaneers), defensive sacks (4-3), and completion percentage (a dominant 72% for Montana, to just 48% for Wade Wilson, who had led the NFL in completion percentage just one season earlier [earning his only Pro Bowl selection] and eventually won Super Bowl XXX with the Dallas Cowboys as a backup QB). Longing for the fast-paced action of ice hockey when I was at the achievement center yesterday, realizing that a speedy game helps time go by better than a more slow-paced and strategic game, I gave thought to trying another Genesis NHL game. I didn't want to just bring back "NHL Hockey," as I had spent quite a bit of time with it recently. Searching for 'sega genesis nhl' on YouTube showed that "NHL '96" has been popular among retro gamers lately, and it is indeed one of the best 16-bit hockey games, whether you play it on Genesis or SNES. As such I returned to it, and gladly given its inclusion of my favorite team, the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers (though they were a long way removed from their eventual championship). Having done a test period featuring the Nordiques and Canadiens, I chose to have them face each other 'for real.' The Nordiques got home field advantage, given their higher ranking in the game (#2 to #17 overall). Montreal broke a 1-1 deadlock when Pierre Turgeon scored the game-winner only ten seconds into overtime (which in this game lasts only five minutes; from NHLPA '93 to NHL '95, it is ten and in the original "NHL Hockey" it lasts as long as a period [so it can be up to twenty minutes long]). Turgeon, himself a native of Québec and a 2023 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, finished with that one goal (and one point), eight shots on the goal, and no time in the box. Patrick Roy, a four-time NHL champion who himself was inducted into the Hall in 2006 (and is another Québec native), went 85 for 86 on saves (for a 98% success rate). Young Jocelyn Thibault, who narrowly missed out on a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche thanks to a trade that sent Patrick Roy to Denver (and is yet another native of Québec!), went 81 for 83 on saves (for a 97% success rate). Andrei Kovalenko, whose Russian heritage breaks the Québec chain, was responsible for the Nordiques' soal goal, earning one point for himself while taking 14 shots on the goal and never seeing the box. (Notably, his son Nikolai is now an NHL player himself, and has been in the league since 2018 as of the time of writing.)  Given that it took overtime to decide the game, Montreal granted the Nordiques a rematch, which they lost 1-0 when Curtis Leschyshyn--who the Nordiques took third overall in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft--penetrated the otherwise impregnable defense of Patrick Roy to earn the sole goal for Québec. Thibault was 61/61 on saves, while Curtis finished with that one goal (and one point), ten shots on the goal, and just a single penalty (for two in the box). Roy, despite the surrendered goal, was 90 for 91 on saves (for a 98% success rate). Montreal won the rubber match by multiple goals, taking it 2-0 to stun a majority Francophone crowd at the Colisée de Québec. This time, Patrick Roy was 79 for 79 on saves (for a 100% success rate), while Jocelyn Thibault went a still-respectable 64 for 66 (96% success). One goal for the Canadiens came through the courtesy of Pierre Turgeon, who finished with that one goal (and one point), while leading all Canadiens players in shots on the goal (with eighteen taken) and spending just two in the box. Their series against the Nordiques out of the way, the Canadiens returned to the Montreal Forum to take on the Chicago Blackhawks. While the Blackhawks were a great team in 1994-95, finishing third in the Central division (and fourth in the Western conference) and featuring future Hall of Famers in Chris Chelios (2013 inductee), Jeremy Roenick (2024 inductee), and Ed Belfour (who made it to the Hall in 2011), they came absolutely unglued at the Forum, as Montreal stormed to a 4-0 victory. Patrick Roy went a perfect 66/66 on saves (for a 100% success rate), and one of Montreal's four goals came courtesy of Vincent Damphousse (who led the Canadiens in assists in 1994-95 [with 30] and plus/minus [with a +15 result]). For his part, Damphousse finished with that one goal (and one point), while leading the team in shots on goal with 19 and only getting penalized once (for two in the box). Belfour, despite four goals allowed, still went 86 for 90 and achieved a 95% success rate, which was enough to make him one of the three stars of the contest. As the Canadiens prepare to face their arch-rival yet again (because there is no such thing as too much of Montreal vs. the Nordiques) I listen to a housemate grit his teeth in a steady rhythm. One can only harbor a guess as to what he must be watching, but I can tell you for a fact that it is a YouTube video. He spends quite a bit of time on his computer, and the majority of it is allocated to Internet content of that specific sort. The gritting having stopped as birds chirp outside, and considering the possibility of a power outage given weather conditions, I proceed to save this file. Another assurance that effort won't be wasted.