Bruins and Canadien Fued: To Be Continued...

With the NHL playoff beginning Thursday I thought it would be fitting to enlighten you all with a little history. No worries - this isn't the type of history that you need to remember any dates for...





The Bruins and Canadiens fued is one of the oldest rivalries in NHL history. The two teams began as what they called the "original six". The two teams have played in more regular season games than any two NHL teams. The two teams also have the highest amount of playoff game appearances against each other in the history of the NHL; which dates back to 1917.

One of the most famous NHL photos is the one of Maurice Richard and Bruins goaltender "Sugar" Jim Henry shaking hands after the conclusion of the 1952 series where the Canadiens defeated the Bruins in the series. :-(

Richard has a cut above his eyebrow while Henry has a black eye.

In 1971, the Bruins were the number one team in NHL, the Canadiens were number eight. The two faced off (no pun intended!) and the Canadiens ended up beating the Bruins during the first round of the playoffs, knocking the team out for the year. This is really when the fued heated up.

The rivalry continued throughout the 1980s, mainly due to a division-oriented playoff format that seemed to pair the teams every year.

In 1990, the Bruins finished off the Canadiens in the Boston Garden and would also win the 1991 and 1992 playoff match-ups against the Canadiens, the last one being a 4–0 sweep.

Almost 20 years later the fued continues. Thursday April 16th will be the first game of this much anticipated series...all of Boston is waiting to see what happens!!