Rivalries...The Backbone of the NHL (Pt.1) | 
There is nothing more exciting than two teams that just love to hate eachother. For many years now, rivalries have been the center piece for various sports; and is what drives much of the fan interest.
The NHL has some of the earliest rivalries in all of sports. When the league consisted of only six teams, they played eachother so much that it was hard not to develop a severe hatred between the players – and even the fans.
Nowadays – with the league having 30 teams and so many different superstars – there are still rivalries, some even still hinging on the hatred from the original six days. With this in mind, OpenIceHockey will bring you the top five rivalries to look forward to this season. Not only just from our staff, but from other writers out there in the blog world. The segment should stretch over a one or two week period, as long as the posts from different writers keep coming in.
Our first post comes from Chris Pope, Assistant Editor at TheGoodPoint.com.
5) Pittsburgh Penguins vs Washington Capitals
These two teams just flat out hate each other. Ovechkin and Malkin have long been uber-competitive towards one another and have shown it physically on the ice. Don’t let the whole All-Star shenanigans fool you; they don’t care for one another. Then there is the comments Crosby made about his feelings towards Ovechkin’s goal celebrations and the amazing seven game series fans were treated to last year when in the seventh game the Caps simply imploded.
4) New York Islanders vs Tampa Bay Lightning
Quite simple this one…Tavares vs Hedman. That is all. Oh, and they were the bottom two teams in the East last year and both have underwent huge changes. But that really doesn’t matter, it’s Tavares vs Hedman.
3) Chicago Blackhawks vs Detroit Red Wings
Finally the Blackhawks are making hockey respectable again in the windy city, and finally someone can challenge the Central powerhouse Wings These two have long been rivals since their Original Six days and that’s going to continue this year. The experienced Wings stomped the young-Hawks in the Western Conference Finals last year before falling to the Pens. Marian Hossa then exchanged his winged-wheel for their Winter Classic counterpart Hawks for the long-haul.
2) Boston Bruins vs Montreal Canadiens
It’s easily the most storied and bitter rivalry in the NHL. These two original six franchises have faced each other more times in the regular season than any other two teams in the league. This transferred into 32 meetings in the post-season of which Montreal has won 24 to the Bruins eight, including seven times in the Stanley Cup Finals, all of which went to the Habs. Throw into the mix the fact that they’ve met in the first round four of the last eight years and that Bruins head coach Claude Julien used to coach the Habs and this rivalry doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.
1) Detroit Red Wings vs Pittsburgh Penguins
This one is pretty simple. Back-to-back Conference Champions on both the East and the West. The last two Stanley Cup Champions. That in itself is enough for a ridiculous rivalry; but lets not forget a “forgotten” handshake and that each team hoisted Lord Stanley on the road. If that’s not enough for you to realize that these two teams hate one-another, it’s even filtered over to their fans (http://www.thegoodpoint.com/hockey/jul09/penguins-and-wings-wage-war-for-nhl-dynasty.html)
-
Thanks to Chris for his contribution. Keep it locked on OpenIceHockey.com for the next part of this segment coming soon!
Topics: Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, NHL, NHL 2009-10 season, NHL Rivalries, Pittsburgh Penguins, Rivalries, Sidney Crosby, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals
Latest Headlines
- Hoefflin performs in shutdown role
- Yakupov Leading The Way
- Quinn and Recchi Lead Prospects into Kelowna
- All Eyes on Faksa
- ASG Skills Competition Participants Selected
- Hyka’s NHL Team in Limbo
- Excitement Builds for NHL Prospects Game
- Mrazek shines in first Under-20 experience
- No More Mr. Magician
- Sweden Relishes World Junior Glory
- Beaulieu a prized prospect for Montreal
- Team Canada set to face Russia in WJC Semifinal
- Sergeev is Foreurs jack-of-all-trades
- Gibson forged interesting path to Team Finland cage
- Q Round-up: American Coyle signs with Sea Dogs
In The News
Sarnia’s Kujawinski ready for U-17 Hockey Challenge
Sarnia’s Kujawinski ready for first taste of international competition at the U-17 Hockey Challenge, competing with Team Ontario at the end of the month in Windsor, Ontario
Gourde keeping pace with the scoring leaders
Victoriaville forward wrestles scoring lead with help from Tigres linemate, team depth
Abeltshauser adds leadership, control from blueline
German defenceman plays solid two-way hockey for Halifax and on the world stage
Richard Finding Success in Guelph
Another of the OHL's Tanner's - Richard that is - is the Storm's leading scorer and will suit up for Switzerland at the U-20’s
hello,
Thank you for the great quality of your blog, every time i come here, i’m amazed.
black hattitude.