May 10, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins right wing Reilly Smith (18) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Montreal Canadiens during the second period in game five of the second round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
In a couple of hours, the Boston Bruins will be playing hockey against their oldest and most hated rivals in the NHL, The Montreal Canadiens. An original six rivalry so storied that Claude Julien understands it from both benches. When he was a coach for Montreal he hated Boston, and now it’s the other way around. Thankfully, most fans from both fan bases know this will be a competition between two of the better teams in the NHL.
Puck Prose
While their enmity colors hockey, both teams have the potential of winning the Stanley Cup this season. The Bruins haven’t held the Cup in four years, and there are eleven active Bruins who would love to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup over their heads again. The Canadiens haven’t seen a Stanley Cup in a generation, and they’ve certainly come close a few times since 1993.
The Boston Bruins are finally finding their rhythm after a tough game of musical chairs in the first few games of the season. The B’s are currently 2-3-0 and are looking forward to maintaining that positive momentum. The Montreal Canadiens are 3-1-0, and they are coming off a surprisingly vicious beating given to them by the Tampa Bay Lightning. They’ll be looking to prove that 7-1 drubbing was just an off fluke.
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Both teams will be putting their best men in the net tonight. It will be Carey Price versus Tuukka Rask. On paper, Rask looks to be the better player on the ice. He’s 2-2 with a 2.22 goals against and a .894 save percentage. Price is 2-1, but has a goals against average that is over a full point higher (3.66) and a lower save percentage (.878%).
The Bruins and the Canadiens are both still tweaking their lines. Both teams biggest shooters have been defensemen (Zdeno Chara with sixteen shots, P.K. Subban with fourteen). Both teams rely on their blueliners as added attackers on even strength or on the power play. The Canadiens have an all-around go to player in Tomas Plekanec. The Bruins can easily match that with Patrice Bergeron. The Canadiens have a young speedy bottom six center in Alex Galchenyuk. The Bruins have Ryan Spooner. While both fan bases would be loathe to admit it, there are a lot of similarities to these teams.
There is a downside to the similarities. Both fan bases have a militant lunatic fringe that actively accuse the other team’s players of shameful conduct.. The Canadiens accuse Brad Marchand of being a serial diver, Milan Lucic of being a sub-human mongrel, and Zdeno Chara as someone who would intentionally try to cripple an opposing player (and they crippled their city’s emergency service line to prove it.) The Bruins accuse Subban of being a consummate whiner, Tomas Plekanec of being a total stage ham (#Plekanecing anyone), and Max Paccioretty of being a cheap shot artist. The obsession borders on the unhealthy.
In the last quarter century, the Bruins have gotten the better end of the deal in the postseason run ins. However, the Canadiens did come back hard to take out the Bruins in seven games in the second round last year. For a lot of fans (and some of the players) every win or loss is some badge of honor to be held in triumph (or contempt) of the other side.
“We know we’re heading into Montreal, home opener, they beat us last year in the playoffs. But we can’t think about that – we just have to think about going there and winning ourselves a hockey game and coming out successful out of this road trip.”- Bruins forward Milan Lucic
So, the storied rivalry will turn yet another page at the Bell Centre. As always, it will be an interesting and spirited competition.