Michael Cammalleri Doesn’t Hate Bruins, Doesn’t Believe Canadiens Will Be Intimidated

The matchup between the Bruins and Canadiens on March 24 had all the pregame hype of a heavyweight bout. With days and even weeks of buildup, fans and media alike were prepared to see a showdown of two Stanley Cup contenders going toe to toe.

What they saw instead was a 7-0 beatdown at the hands of the Bruins. Afterwards, the common refrain was the the Canadiens played scared and couldn't handle the raucous atmosphere inside the TD Garden.

Despite the no-show in Boston, Michael Cammalleri disputes the notion that the Canadiens will be intimidated when the puck drops Thursday night to begin the first-round playoff series.

"I don't know where that's coming from," Cammalleri said, according to the Montreal Gazette. "I've never seen it."

Despite the obvious bad blood between the two rivals — which was only amplified for their last meeting in the wake of Zdeno Chara's hit on Max Pacioretty and Mark Recchi's comments on the severity of the injury — Cammalleri says he doesn't believe the two teams have genuine hatred for each other.

"I think it's easy terminology to use to talk about having a hate on for each other," Cammalleri said. "It's a little bit cliche for me. I think both teams definitely want to win the series, [but] I don't know any of [the Bruins players] enough to hate them on a personal level."