Bruins-Canadiens rivalry reignited

MONTREAL -- The rivalry between the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins recently has been a seemingly dormant fire; not completely extinguished, but not raging either.
A spark reignited it at Bell Centre on Monday.

The Bruins' 2-1 overtime win against the Canadiens featured just about everything we have come to expect from the most storied rivalry in the NHL.
It is one that has lost some of its key ingredients over the past two years, first with Milan Lucic being traded away by the Bruins in 2015 and then P.K. Subban being traded by the Canadiens on June 29, removing two principal villains in the eyes of each fan base.
But one key element remains: Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin. In the third game between the two teams this season, he provided that initial spark Monday with a thundering check on Bruins forward David Pastrnak in the first period. That set the stage for what began as a physical battle and evolved into a wildly entertaining back-and-forth game.
"I think you saw a lot of hitting tonight, a lot of borderline hits," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "It was something we hadn't seen between those two teams for a while. I know the fans seemed to love it. We'll try to make sure we stay within the rules and try to create some more exciting games between the two teams."

There is a certain buzz in the arena when the Bruins-Canadiens rivalry is at its height, a sense of anticipation and build up that hasn't been quite as strong of late while each team went through a rather significant roster overhaul.
It wasn't necessarily there when the game began Monday, but the Emelin hit on Pastrnak definitely got it going. Moments later, Bruins defenseman Torey Krug caught Canadiens forward Andrew Shaw with an open ice hit that sent Shaw to the dressing room, though he would return at the start of the second period.
Suddenly, all involved seemed more engaged in the game, and it created great hockey.
"That was a fun hockey game," Canadiens defenseman Nathan Beaulieu said. "It's the type of game you want to play, not giving up too many scoring chances. It was a low-scoring game. They played well too. It was probably one of the toughest battles we've had this year and it was a fun game to be a part of. Boston-Montreal is always fun and I thought we put on a good show for the fans."
Hitting and physicality aside, this was a goaltending duel between Boston's Tuukka Rask and Montreal's Carey Price, two of the best at their position, keeping the game tight by stopping multiple scoring chances for each team.
Rask even wound up getting involved in the physical play during overtime when he went after a loose puck along the boards, far from his crease, and got hit by Canadiens center Torrey Mitchell.

"It was definitely the most emotional game [against Montreal] we've had this season," Rask said after the Bruins defeated the Canadiens for the first time in three games this season. "A couple of big hits there in the first and that obviously gets everybody going, but it wasn't too chippy. I thought it was honest hockey, tough hockey, and both teams battled hard. Even I got a piece of a hit there."
The Bruins-Canadiens rivalry, though it has often been characterized this way, is not necessarily defined by physical play. It is defined by excitement.
That is what the two teams provided at Bell Centre on Monday.
"Both teams were playing physical, a little chippy at times. I thought there was a lot of intensity," Price said. "I think everybody in the building appreciated the intensity and speed of the game. I thought it was exciting at both ends."
The Canadiens and Bruins play again on Feb. 12. Circle the date, because the fire has been lit.