Another game and another victory earned by the skin of the Montreal Canadiens' teeth. Superior goaltending was once again at the core of last night's close matchup between the Boston Bruins and the Habs, with the latter edging their "rivals" by a score of 3-2 after allowing more than 40 shots for the third time over the course of their last five games. Goaltender Carey Price received first-star honors, while Paul Byron, playing alongside Alex Galchenyuk and Alexander Radulov, scored the game-winning goal and added a helper en route to earning the game's second star.
It's a shame that Bruins-Canadiens games are a shade of what they used to be; exciting, with a hint of nerve-wracking and a dash of something-to-prove for both teams. Once upon a time, there were fights, heavy hitting and a race to see who can stockpile the most goals. Now, there are hardly any post-whistle scraps or questionable plays, and the Canadiens have been dominating the Bruins for so many years now that they make the outstanding Tuukka Rask look like a Midget-B level goalie. Zane McIntyre fared relatively well last night, although facing 23 total shots might not have necessarily caused him to shake in fear of his opponents...
For those of you who read my blogs consistently, you'll recall that last year I wrote extensively about how the rivalry between these two Original Six teams is "dead." In fact, I did so on more than one occasion.
I don't seem to be alone in sharing that sentiment, for the record. I believe Amanda Stein of TSN690 hit the nail on the head with these specific tweets:
This does not feel like a rivalry.
— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) November 9, 2016
And:
What remains of the #Habs/#Bruins rivalry is the booing of Chara.
— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) November 9, 2016
And she's absolutely right, sadly.
Rivalries in the new-age NHL have very little to do with physicality anymore. Speed and skill determine just how successful your team will be, and those that emerge victorious are often one or two steps ahead of their opponents, simply put. The best example I can think of is the rivalry between the Habs and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
It's unfortunate, but the times they are a-changing. Personally, I'm content with the evolution of the NHL, and it appeals to my generation and the one that follows. Fighting is at its all-time lowest in the National Hockey League, with an average of 0.28 fights per game during the 2015-2016 regular season, according to hockeyfights.com.
One of the most outspoken executives of the league, Brian Burke, is really not enjoying this evolution. The man responsible for drafting both Nazem Kadri (TOR) and Daniel Sedin (VAN) spoke out about how he was ok with Kadri’s controversial hit against Sedin last weekend, but told TSN’s Gino Reda:
Just spoke with @NHLFlames Pres Brian Burke about Kadri hit- "It was fine. We are already taking hitting and fighting out at a scary pace.."
— Gino Reda (@GinoRedaTSN) November 7, 2016
So let’s just accept reality for what it truly is. As it stands, there’s no bitter rivalry between the Bruins and the Habs. At least, not for the time being. It has become such a lopsided affair, and based on the opposite directions both organizations are taking, I would not be surprised to see the Canadiens continue to dominate Boston for years to come, despite the latter playing a stronger game last night and not necessarily deserving a loss.
After all, it’s quite telling that Montreal outhit the “Big, Bad Bruins… 26-23 while both teams racked up only four penalty minutes each.