The history of the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens rivalry

The Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens' first meeting of the season lived up to the ferocity of the century-old rivalry. There were 56 minutes of penalty time throughout the 60-minute game. 20 of which came within the first four minutes of the first period.

It was also a game to decide who was going to be the number one team in the Atlantic Division. The Bruins walked away with the win on Saturday in a gritty and wild game, winning 3-2.

The History of the Bruins and Canadiens rivalry

The rivalry between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens may not be the longest in the League as a whole, but it is one of the longest rivalries that match up with that of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees kind of rivalries. The Bruins faced the Montreal Maroons - now the Canadiens in their first game back in 1924, setting off a 100-year rivalry that still brings the fire today.

The teams have faced off both in the regular season and playoffs more than any other two teams in the league. Through the end of the 2023-34 season, they have played each other 927 times. The only season that the two teams did not face off was the COVID season, where there was border crossings allowed.

The Habs have had their way with the Bruins, winning about 100 more than the Black and Gold throughout the years, 470-353. 103 of the games have ended in ties, with 11 shootouts as well. The Habs and Bruins even faced off during the 100th celebration for the Bruins on December 1, 2024.

The rivalry has seen it's fair share of fights and brawls, like the 2011 match-up with a line brawl ending with Tim Thomas and Carey Price squaring off. The latest matchup did not miss that idea.

Latest Rivalry Matchup

The latest matchup happened on Saturday, when the Bruins faced the Canadiens at the Bell Center in Montreal. And it lived up to the title of one of the most intense and physical rivalries in hockey.

The puck dropped, and so did the gloves of Nikita Zadorov and Jayden Struble. It was not a fair fight as Zadorov, 6 feet 7 inches, had the height and reach advantage compared to Struble, 6 feet 0 inches.

It was a quick fight, and both got five-minute majors for fighting. That was not the only fight of the night, however. There were 4 players charged with a fighting major, and only 4 minutes of hockey were played.

Tanner Jeannot and Arber Xhekaj joined in the rivalry with probably the quickest fight. Xhekaj, one of the league's toughest, lost his footing during the fight, and that was all Jeannot needed as he landed a strong right hand to Xhekaj's face, sending the Canadien backwards and to the ice.

While the rivalry has lost some steam over the past few years, as both teams have had some down years or not as many physical players, it does not mean that this rivalry is going anywhere anytime soon.

The Bruins and Canadiens face off three more times this season, and it will be interesting to see what the teams look like at those times.