The Lifeblood of Hockey: A Look Into Two of the NHL’S Biggest Rivalries
- karinnaleonard
- Sep 8
- 6 min read
With NHL hockey finally starting back up this month, it feels like the perfect time to reflect on one of sport's greatest thrills: rivalries. Few things ignite the ice like a rivalry game, as the roar of the crowd fills the arena with passion. These unforgettable matches are built upon years of history, drama, and competitiveness. Among the many rivalries across the league, these two stand out as much-watch matches to look out for this upcoming season.
Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens
Let’s start from the beginning. The rivalry between the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens is one of the oldest and most talked about in the NHL. As two of the original six teams, they have played each other 764 times in the regular season and 177 times in the playoffs. The feud first began on December 8th, 1924 in their inaugural matchup where the Canadiens won 4-3. From there, the rivalry grew and each matchup meant more than just two points in the standings.
The rivalry intensified over the decades, but one of the defining moments came during the 1954-55 season. The Canadiens were leading the league with 91 points as they looked to take the Stanley Cup away from the Detroit Red Wings, another original six team. On March 13th, a game against the Bruins changed the trajectory of their season when an altercation led to an incident known as the Richard Riot. During the third period, Canadiens star player Maurice Richard took a penalty for deliberately injuring a linesman. The Canadiens went on to lose the game 4-2, and Richard was then handed a suspension for the remainder of the season. Montreal fans were outraged by the severity of the sentence, and started a riot against NHL president, Clarence Campbell. Richard calmed the crowd by accepting his punishment and making one bold promise: to bring the cup to Montreal the next season. He delivered, beating the two-time defending champion Red Wings 4 games to 1. Even though the Bruins weren't directly at fault, the divide between Boston and Montreal only continued to grow.
Playoffs only made the tension worse following the riot. The Bruins and Canadiens have battled in seven Stanley Cup finals and Montreal has taken every single one. For Boston, that's fuel for a rivalry with no end in sight.
Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers
For many teams, it seems that proximity breeds contempt, and this is certainly the case for our next rivals. In 1967, The National Hockey League expanded for the first time, doubling the size of the league to twelve teams, with Pennsylvania receiving two of these new franchises: the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins. From their inception the two teams became fast foes, dubbing the rivalry as “The Battle of Pennsylvania". As the NHL has expanded, the league’s conferences and divisions have been realigned numerous times. Despite all these changes, the Flyers and Penguins have remained fierce competitors.
The two teams have gone head-to-head 356 times, with 315 of those times being in the regular season and 41 in the playoffs. The Flyers hold the better record in both instances going 167-104-30-14 in the regular season and 21-20 in the post season. Despite the Flyers consistent success, the Penguins are often regarded as the more illustrious franchise because of their star players and the overall success they have brought to the franchise. The Penguins have won five Stanley cups, while the Flyers have only won two back in 1974 and 1975 under the guidance of captain Bobby Clarke and his team, whose physical and aggressive style led them to receive the nickname the “Broad Street Bullies”.
During this era, the Flyers dominated the Penguins and for 15 years, Pittsburgh did not record a single win in the Flyers’ home arena, The Spectrum. In 1984, the Penguins luck changed, when they selected Mario Lemieux first overall in the draft. On February 2nd 1989, the young man known as “Super Mario” finally ended the curse and led the Penguins to a win in Philadelphia. This created a new era of the rivalry where Pittsburgh could finally compete with Philadelphia as Lemieux brought the Stanley Cup home to the Penguins in back to back seaons (1991 and 1992).
The rivalry was reinvigorated in 2005 during the NHL entry draft when the Penguins used the first overall pick to select a new savior of the franchise: Sidney Crosby. With the help of players like Evgeni Malkin, Crosby led the team to three more cup victories in 2009, 2016, and 2017.
Crosby's first taste of the Battle of Pennsylvania came in November 2005, when he took a highstick to the mouth from Flyers defenseman Derian Hatcher. A few chipped teeth and four stitches later, the rivalry was on. No penalty was called which infuriated Sidney, a vastly competitive and vocal player. He returned to the game and complained to officials causing Flyers fans to label him a “whiner” and a “diver”. This led to the Flyers creating the infamous nickname, “Sidney Crybaby”. Crosby silenced the crowd by scoring the game-winning goal in overtime, as the Penguins went on to win the game 3-2. In his first matchup versus the Flyers, Crosby was awarded the first star of the game with 2 goals and 1 assist–instantly marking him as an enemy of all of Philadelphia.
Their hatred for Crosby was intensified when he led the Penguins to their first ever playoff series win against the Flyers in the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals. This major-milestone in the longstanding rivalry fueled animosity on both ends, and Crosby has been quoted on several occasions expressing his hatred for the Flyers. In the first round of the 2012 playoffs, Crosby made this clear in a media scrum following a Game 3 incident where he swatted away Jake Voracek’s glove that had fallen onto the ice. When asked about it Crosby said, "I don't like any guy on their team. So [Voracek's] glove was near me, he went to pick it up and I pushed it." When pressed about his motivation all he had to say was, "Because I don't like them…I don't like any guy on their team." As the face of the Penguins, and the villain of Philadelphia, Crosby became the perfect fuel for one of hockey's nastiest rivalries.
Looking ahead to this season, the Canadiens are gearing up to make a big jump. After making the playoffs this past year, they have set their sights higher with the addition of players such as Noah Dobson, Zack Bolduc, and Ivan Demidov. The Bruins finished the 2024-2025 season with 76 points, tied for last place in the Eastern Conference. Unfortuanlety for Bruins fans, the pain didn't stop there. In the last minute of the trade deadline, news broke that Brad Marchand, captain of the Bruins, had been traded to the Florida Panthers. This year the Bruins are starting the season without a captain and they're sure to be hungry after watching their former leader hoist the cup with a new team. Overall it's shaping up to be another competitive year for these rivals as they both push to improve.
Over in Pennsylvania, the Flyers and Penguins remain two bottom of the pack teams, finishing with 76 and 80 points respectively. Despite their recent struggles this rivalry is sure to remain action packed as both teams hired new coaches. Rick Tocchet knows this rivalry well, having worn both uniforms. His career started in Philadelphia where he played for 11 seasons. During his 8th season with the Flyers he was traded to the Penguins where he helped win the 1992 Stanley Cup. After finishing his playing career back with the Flyers, he returned to Pittsburgh as an assistant coach, winning two more Cups in three years. Today he's back on the east side of the state for his first year as head coach of the Flyers. His deep ties to both franchises add yet another layer of intrigue to one of the NHL's fiercest rivalries.
Regardless of the location or player, rivalries are the fuel that make every game matter and are what keep fans coming back season after season.
Edited by: Kelly Cassette
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