As any Boston sports fan is aware of, the Bruins will take on the loathsome Montreal Canadiens for round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs starting tomorrow night at the Garden. The rivalry that spans generations, has led to countless points of joy and misery, incited brawls, flops, and everything in between, will once again meet at center ice and get down and dirty.
While it is true that hockey is a sport of honor and pride, rivalries are only partially built on that stuff. The rest of it is fraught with fights, dirty hits, trash talk, and all that other good stuff that makes your blood boil– you know, the important stuff. The Bruins/Canadiens rivalry is filled with that kind of gold, so rather than beat around the bush, why not prepare yourself emotionally by re-living some of the most insane moments in the matchup’s history? Here, let us help you out.
1.
Nov. 8, 1970 – A Brawl at The Garden
We start in 1970, with an early season romp at The Garden. What begins as a scrum at center ice turns into fight after fight of slug after slug. Then the benches clear. Then the goalies go at it. Then the fans get involved. Then the Boston police get called in. It showcases the savagery of Derek Sanderson, among others, and is one of the great hockey brawls of all time.
2.
May. 21, 1978 – Jonathan v. Bouchard
Stan “Bulldog” Jonathan feels the heat of the playoffs here, getting into a quick altercation with the mustachioed Pierre Bouchard. It doesn’t last too long for Monsieur Bouchard, who gets wrecked by a few of Jonathan’s cracks to the point where the referee’s face gets painted by Bouchard’s geysering blood.
3.
Nov. 20, 1986 – The Brawl In The Hallway
Another early season classic came in 1986 with the “Brawl in The Hallway.” What started as a relatively harmless scrum grew into something much bigger when Canadiens tough guy Chris “Knuckles” Nilan being escorted off the ice, delivered a cheap shot to Ken Linsemen, who was on the Bruins bench. From there, a classic donnybrook erupted, both on the ice, and spilling into the locker room tunnels.
4.
Miller vs. Kordic
Throughout the late ’80s, Wellesley native Jay Miller (who also appeared in the “Brawl in the Hallway”) didn’t care too much for Habs enforcer John Kordic. Their mutual disdain resulted in a great number of legendary scuffles, many of which could have gone either way. Miller gets some good shots it, loses his jersey a few times, even flips off the Montreal crowd. A true classic.
5.
April 25, 2002 – McLaren hit on Zednik
Nothing adds logs to the fire better than some dirty hits (sort of [we won’t include Chara on Pacioretty, okay?]). Kyle McLaren was one of the tough guys of the early ’00s era Bruins, but you can’t take away from the toughness of Zednik either (dude had his throat cut with a skate and almost died, gotta respect that). In this playoff incident, Zednik gets a bit too familiar with McLaren’s elbow. The Habs fans didn’t like it too much. Even Lord Byron had to duck for cover in the goal.
6.
Nov. 13, 2008 – Lucic v. Komisarek
Looch is never a good person to mess with, but Michael Komisarek took the challenge a few times, both as a Hab and as a Maple Leaf. This early season bout from 2008 is perhaps the best though. Lucic gets him down in a few punches and looks pumped as hell.
7.
April 18, 2009 – Bergeron v. Gorges
Playoff time in 2009, Canadiens defenseman Josh Gorges thinks he found an easy target picking on Patrice Bergeron. He was clearly wrong and gets dropped.
8.
Feb. 9, 2011 – Goalie Fight and Line Brawl
After a Marchand hit on an icing call, this one doesn’t take long for Lucic to get in the action, then for just about everyone on the ice to pair off. This one is such a great example of how much these two teams hate each other, to the point where, due to lack of a more fun option, goalies Tim Thomas and Carey Price decide to throw down as well.
9.
April 6, 2013 – Lucic Reverse Hit on Emerlin
Just last season Alexei Emelin thought he caught Lucic with his head down, and instead ends up getting bulldozed, and in turn, injured. That one is called learning a lesson the hard way.
