The Bruins’ cracked ESPN’s list of top NHL rivalries twice, but not for the first one that comes to mind.
Historically Boston and Montreal has been the most contentious local hockey matchup and the Bruins and Rangers have a pretty nasty history. But it’s another Original 6 rivalry that made the list first.
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ESPN ranked the Bruins and Maple Leafs fifth and wrote:
“While there’s a chance the Bruins could catch the Panthers for the top of the Atlantic Division, the likeliest first-round playoff series in the East would pit Boston against the Maple Leafs in their first postseason meeting since 2019. Which means we could be in for a show.
They’ve met three times in the past 11 postseasons, with the Bruins winning each series in seven games. None of these was pedestrian, from the soul-crushing “it was 4-to-1″ overtime loss for Toronto in 2012 to back-to-back unravelings in 2018 and 2019 that were punctuated by pair of lengthy Nazem Kadri suspensions from the NHL’s department of player safety.
Games between the division rivals have remained intense and competitive, but the real money is in the playoffs. Will the Bruins continue to break the Leafs under the pressure of postseason intensity? Or could the Maple Leafs finally overcome their tormentors in a way that puts wind in their sails for a championship run, much like it did for the Washington Capitals against the Pittsburgh Penguins en route to the 2018 Stanley Cup?”
The Bruins and Maple Leafs showed off some of their mutual dislike earlier this month when they played twice in three days and Max Domi cross-checked Brad Marchand in the throat.
“They’re one of our biggest rivals, if not our biggest,” Marchand said. “It’s always very emotional when we play them and always a lot of fun. It would make for a good series.”
The second to make the list was last year’s playoff matchup and this year’s division race.
ESPN ranked the Bruins and Panthers No. 9 and wrote:
“Is this a little too high? Perhaps, although both games between the teams this season were intense battles won by the Bruins. Those wins don’t exactly balance the scales when the Panthers have their seven-game, first-round upset over Boston — in what would become a de facto retirement match for Patrice Bergeron — to hold over the Bruins’ heads.
Matthew Tkachuk firmly established himself as public enemy No. 1 in Boston thanks to his antics and heroics in last season’s series. He cemented that status by telling ESPN this preseason that what he was most excited to see in 2023-24 was “what Boston does after their season last year, how they follow that one up.” Oof.”
ESPN didn’t ignore the Bruins-Canadiens, just considered it dormant. They wrote:
“The Habs and Bruins … not so much, but that’s obviously a rivalry that will reignite when Montreal returns to prominence.”
