The NHL’s Greatest Rivalries: Hockey Rivalries We Love (And Love to Hate)
- Mayline Ruiz
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
San Jose, CA. — Rivalries, we love them, and we can’t wait to see our favorite rivalries going at it head to head. In hockey, one of the biggest rivalries we all know and love is the Battle of the Hudson, known as the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils, but there are so many different rivalries other than that! Let’s get into it!
New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers
The New Jersey Devils originally started as the Kansas City Scouts, but later moved to Denver and were known as the Colorado Rockies in 1974. It wasn’t until 1982 when they moved to New Jersey and changed their name to the New Jersey Devils.
When they made their move, the New York Rangers had already been there. In fact, the New York Rangers were founded in 1926, and they’re one of the six original teams in the National Hockey League alongside the Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, and the Toronto Maple Leafs. So it comes as no surprise that the Rangers were the biggest team in the area when the Devils officially made their move.
The Devils were considered the little brother; however, when the Rangers faced the Devils in the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals, the rivalry began. Ultimately, the Rangers won in a 7 game series, where they also went on to beat the Vancouver Canucks in 7 games, winning the Stanley Cup for the 1993-94 season.
Once a team plays each other in the playoffs, there’s no doubt a rivalry has begun. It also doesn’t help that Madison Square Garden is only an hour away from the Prudential Center. There are so many different teams that have long-lasting rivalries that make hockey more interesting to watch.
Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens
Another famous rivalry is the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens. They have spent years facing each other in the playoffs, having met 34 times in the NHL playoffs, where the Canadiens have dominated, winning 25 of those series.
When a team has lost many times in the playoffs, the hatred continues to grow. Especially when the Bruins were the first NHL American team and are included in the six original teams in the NHL, along with the Canadiens.
The Bruins were founded in 1924 by Charles Francis Adams, while the Canadiens were founded in 1909 by Ambrose O’Brien. Funny enough, one of the Bruins' first games was against a Canadian team called the Montreal Maroons, who disbanded in 1947.
San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings
There’s another rivalry that we all know and love, which is the infamous LA Kings and San Jose Sharks rivalry. It’s the famous battle of the Bay Area versus LA. These two teams play each other constantly, being in the same division. There’s no doubt that they have a rivalry considering all of the other LA and Bay Area teams such as the Dodgers and Giants, Rams and Niners, etc.
They have faced each other quite a lot during the playoffs. In fact, the Kings and Sharks met in 2011 in the Western Conference Quarterfinals. It was during Game 6 when they went into overtime, where Joe Thornton scored the game-winning goal, sending the Sharks to the Western Conference Semifinals. The Kings and Sharks rivalry may not be as big as it once was, but there will always be a rivalry for the NorCal and SoCal sports teams.
Even though the rivalry isn’t as big, there may be a chance we get to see this rivalry start to heat up again. There are so many young talents on both teams that are exciting to watch, and it will be interesting to see Macklin Celebrini and Quinton Byfield. In fact, on November 25, 2024, Macklin Celebrini scored two goals against the Los Angeles Kings. While Quinton Byfield hasn’t scored against the San Jose Sharks this season, he scored 23 goals and had 31 assists. Celebrini scored 25 goals and had 38 assists. These are such close numbers that it will be interesting to see how they’ll play next season.
Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers
The Battle of Alberta is another rivalry that is well-known in the NHL. The Calgary Flames originally started in Atlanta, but they relocated to Calgary in Alberta, where the Edmonton Oilers play. With both teams playing in Alberta, it comes as no surprise that there was hatred growing.
Both the Flames and the Oilers played great hockey as they won many Western Conference titles. The rivalry started from playing in the postseason. There were instances, such as the 1983-84 NHL season, when the Oilers and Flames played against each other and the Oilers won the Stanley Cup.
More recently, these two teams faced each other in the playoffs in 2022 during the second round of the Western Conference. The first two games were high-scoring, with Game 1 being won by the Flames 9-6, but the Oilers went on to win the next four games straight. I have no doubt that it left a salty taste in people’s mouths, and it probably grew the Flames' hatred toward the Oilers even more. Here’s to hoping we see these teams play each other more in the playoffs!
The playoffs bring so much hatred and start great rivalries. Dreams are crushed, and fans are celebrating teams’ downfalls. We hate the teams, but we love to hate them. What are your favorite rivalries? What do you think about the rivalries? Do we need more of them? Let me know what you think!
Comentarios