Canadiens-Bruins rivalry has lost its spark but can be reignited
One of the NHL’s most historic rivalries feels like it has lost a step over the last decade. Whenever the Montreal Canadiens came up against the Boston Bruins, it was must-see TV. Not because you would be dazzled with the play on the ice, but for the deep-rooted hatred that resonated between the two franchises. For the players, it did not matter if you were born into the rivalry or were thrown into the fire after being drafted, but every time the two teams would match up against each other, it always felt like the game was seconds away from turning into a melee free-for-all. Nowadays it just feels like any other regular game. Yes, the jerseys on the ice are still iconic, but the fire between the two teams just is not the same.
Canadiens-Bruins rivalry was still in full effect a decade ago
It is one of the oldest rivalries in hockey. Two original six teams that have been at each other’s throats since the NHL’s inception. Once a rivalry compared to the Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees, it has now lost a step, but it was too long ago when the two rivals created sparks in every matchup. In the 2010s, the rivalry was in full effect. Whether it was Carey Price and Tim Thomas squaring up for an all-too-rare goalie fight, the controversy surrounding the hit Zdeno Chara laid on Max Pacioretty, Andrew Ference flashing the middle finger to the Canadiens crowd or the iconic Subban reverse hit on Brad Marchand, every game had you on the edge of your seat.
The battles between the two teams in the Stanley Cup Playoffs only added fuel to the fire. The Canadiens and Bruins have met 34 times in the playoffs, with Montreal winning the series 25 to the Bruins’ 9. In the 2010s, the Canadiens and Bruins faced off twice, with both series going seven games. In their 2011 series, the Canadiens took a 2-0 series lead before the Bruins stormed back, defeating Montreal in seven games, on their way to winning the Stanley Cup. The Canadiens would get their getbacks in 2014. In a back-and-forth matchup, the Canadiens found themselves down 3-2 in the series before rattling off back-to-back wins, upsetting the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Bruins. The battles continued in the handshake line, with Milan Lucic having some unsettling words to tell Dale Weise that sparked controversy. However, since then, the Canadiens and Bruins have not met in the playoffs, which could be a factor in why the rivalry has begun to fade.
What happened to the Canadiens-Bruins rivalry?
While the Bruins were consistently one of the NHL’s top teams for much of the next decade, the Canadiens struggled to develop talent, with playoff appearances becoming less and less frequent. The playoff matchups between the two once-fierce rivals disappeared, and with that, the hatred between the two franchises began to fade. Canadiens fans will likely not admit it, but at that time the Bruins were just better, and a rivalry needs to be two-sided. Instead, the Canadiens’ local rivalries jumped to the forefront, with the Toronto Maple Leafs becoming public enemy number one and, to a lesser extent, the Ottawa Senators became a more contested matchup than the Bruins.
It is strange because, outside of the COVID-19 season, the Canadiens and Bruins are still in the same division and matchup just as often as the Maple Leafs and Senators. They come up against each other four times a season, which should have been enough to keep the rivalry going, but the lack of playoff battles has put it on the back burner. The rivalry between the Canadiens and Bruins seems to blossom in the playoffs, and with Montreal now a team on the rise and Boston always seemingly in contention, there will be opportunities to reignite that flame. The rivalry will never truly disappear. All it needs is one seven-game battle to bring back the spark.
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