The Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens will probably say all of the right things leading up to their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series, which starts Thursday night at TD Garden.
But there’s no denying that there will be one underlying theme for this series, and it’s a theme that’s always present whenever these teams meet. It doesn’t matter if they play in the preseason, regular season or postseason: These teams simply do not like each other.
There’s always been hatred in this rivalry. That hatred seems to be near an all-time high, however, as the two clubs get will clash in the playoffs for the fourth time since Claude Julien took over as Bruins head coach in 2007. Since then, the rivalry has reached a new level of bitterness.
“It’s a good rivalry,” Julien said after practice Tuesday. “I think it always has been a good rivalry. It is a lot of fun, I think the players get up for these games. As a coach, you don’t have to do much of a pep talk when it comes to playing each other. It’s more about controlled emotions, making sure the rivalry is what it is but that you’re game still remains a game that is under control and I think that is going to be the big challenge for both teams in this series here.”
Here’s a look at some of the best moments between the two teams dating back to the 2007-08 season.
