Tuesday evening, January 24 in the year 2023, the Canadiens will finally face the Boston Bruins, during a meeting that will take place at the Bell Centre.
Finally… because this match will be the first of the season between these great rivals.
It may seem surprising, but no, it’s the pure truth: the Canadiens and the Bruins, two of the oldest rivals in the National Hockey League, have still not skated on the same ice at the same time since the start of the season.
“I’ve been describing games for 34 years, and I’ve never seen that,” says Pierre Houde, the Canadian’s game descriptor at RDS. Often, in the past, the Canadiens started their season by facing old rivals, such as the Leafs, Rangers or Bruins. That he faces the Bruins like this for the first time this season in January, it’s really weird. »
By the time of Tuesday night’s meeting at the Bell Centre, the Bruins will be at their 47e game of the season, and the Canadian will be in his 48e match. It’s the complexities of the NHL’s schedule that make it so, and the Canadiens aren’t the only team missing their sworn enemies; for example, the Oilers hosted the Flames at home on October 15, and it was the Calgary club’s only visit to Edmonton this season.
It’s hard to get fired up for the Battle of Alberta under these circumstances…and hard to get fired up at all, for any battle.
“That’s the problem with a 32-team schedule,” says Guy Carbonneau, a former player who became an analyst at RDS. We say that in every city, the hockey fan wants to see Connor McDavid at least once a year. So that gives it. »
PHOTO ARMAND TROTTIER, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Guy Carbonneau during a game against the Boston Bruins at the Montreal Forum in 1986
When I played, we saw the Bruins eight times a year… A rivalry is maintained, but it’s hard to hate someone you never see!
Guy Carbonneau
In this regard, Bruins and Canadiens players may need to consult the respective rosters on the HockeyDB site before Tuesday night’s game, because they may have trouble recognizing each other. The last meeting between the two teams already dates back to April 24, 2022, at the Bell Center. Might as well say an eternity in this case.
Steve Bégin, who has already worn both jerseys – that of the Canadiens for five seasons, that of the Bruins for one season – is of the opinion that a rivalry must also involve two clubs which compete when there is a real stake. .
“In my years when I was with the Canadiens, we often saw the Bruins in the playoffs because the teams were of the same caliber,” he explains.
PHOTO ANDRÉ PICHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Steve Bégin and Shawn Thornton exchange a few niceties during a playoff game between the Canadiens and the Bruins at the Bell Center in 2008.
Today, the Bruins aspire to the Stanley Cup and the Canadian is in reconstruction. The gap between the two teams is huge. You can’t really talk about rivalry in those days.
Steve Begin
It will probably be impossible to return to the good old days, that of five-club divisions and calendars where everyone sees each other very often, which is excellent for maintaining hatred of the other in a sporting context. But there is a hint of nostalgia in this first meeting of the season between Boston and Montreal, which reminds us that sometimes it was better in the good old days.
“In watching modern hockey, the identity of the opponent is not the only factor of interest for fans,” adds Pierre Houde. But the ingredient that is important, often, is the rivalry that can be found between certain teams, including Boston and Montreal. If we lose that, the entire NHL loses. »
Towards a revised calendar?
In recent weeks, rumors have suggested that the current NHL schedule format will be revised at the end of the season, or at the very least, that it will be the subject of intense discussions in the offices of the league. But according to Bill Daly, this is far from a certainty. In an email sent to The Press, the National Hockey League’s number two hinted that the present schedule format is not seen as a disadvantage by the owners. “The calendar and its format are usually discussed between the various general managers of the circuit, and then with the governors, wrote Mr. Daly. Timing issues haven’t been a topic of discussion lately. We are generally satisfied with the present format, which does not mean that it will never be reviewed and redesigned over time. »
Richard Labbe, The Press