I'm covering this one before the Leafs because it's the Senators that are in town tomorrow...I've alluded to a rivalry between the Habs and the Sens in the past and some of you were quick to say that there is no rivalry between the two teams. I'm afraid I can't agree... I'll agree that there was no such thing in the (second) early beginnings of the franchise. Remember in 1992 when the Senators and the Lightning arrived? There was an expansion draft back then as well but it was no "let's force the teams to expose good assets so that Vegas makes money right away plan", the Sens' biggest stars back then were Norm Maciver, Sylvain Turgeon and Peter Sidorkiewicz. They've come a long way since then and even though this isn't their season, there's no denying that they do have some top quality talent (Stone and Duchene for instance) and very promising youngsters as well (Thomas Chabot and Brady Tkachuk immediately come to mind).
To me what makes a rivalry is the intensity and the memorable incidents. You can't tell me that you are a Habs fans and that you don't recall THAT hit from Eric Gryba on Lars Eller in the 2013 playoffs?
This is when there started to be bad blood (no pun intended) between the two teams and not only did Gryba level Eller on that play but in his post game comments Paul MacLean more or less showed no empathy for the Habs' player and put the blame solely on Eller and on "number 61" for making a dangerous pass. Those comments infuriated the Canadiens players and I don't think anyone can forget Prust's comments about MacLean:
That hit happened in the second period of the first game of the series and it gave the Sens the energy boost they needed to make short work of the Canadiens. They took the series in 5 little games with a final victory in a convincing fashion humiliating the Habs 6-1.
Fast forward to 2015 and the 2 teams met again in the spring dance, this time though, the story was different. In the second period of game 1, P.K. Subban suffered what can only be called a brain fart and slashed Mark Stone with what looked like an axe hit. Result? Stone suffered a micro fracture in his wrist and Subban received a 5 minutes penalty as well as a game misconduct. The Canadiens still won the first 3 games and eliminated the Senators in 6 games.
Of course, Eller and Subban are no longer with the Habs, Gryba is no longer with the Sens but Stone is and for whatever reason, the team remembers. Hits like those when they happen become part of a team's collective memory and they never forget, nor do the fans. When you join a new team, you immediately start hating their rivals see Gallagher telling Domi he now hates the Bruins or Tie Domi (a former Leafs player) now sporting the Bleu, Blanc, Rouge because is son is on the team. There's been a huge turnover in both line-ups but you can bet that the players who were there still remember what happened and their intensity is contagious. Brendan Gallagher was there for both of the series against the Sens and I think we can all agree that no one is as intense as Gallagher.
This rivalry is still in its early days but I do believe that it exists and will keep on growing. The Senators will be looking to avenge their last 2 losses to the Habs by a score of 5-2 last week when they roll into town tomorrow and I think it's safe to say that we'll be in for a hard fought battle. Rivalries are built on hatred and there is no love lost between these two teams...
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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