Old Time Knockout

Not only did the Bruins beat the Canadiens 8-6 Wednesday night, they
 beat them up as well. Even Tim Thomas and Carey Price got in on the fun. 

The last time the Bruins and Canadiens faced each other was a little over a month ago. It was early January and Boston melted down in Montreal, blowing a once commanding two goal lead late in the third period before eventually losing 3-2 in overtime. After scoring the game-winning goal and sending the sold-out Bell Centre into a spirited frenzy, Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty shoved Zdeno Chara in front of the Bruins goal, insulting the Bruins captain amidst the Montreal celebration. After the game, Chara refused to speak with the media, a striking indication of just how furious and upset the always accountable and upstanding veteran defenseman was following Pacioretty's unsportsmanlike low-blow.

As a result, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that the Bruins were looking forward to Wednesday night's rematch with Montreal at the TD Garden. In addition to the glaring revenge factor for Chara and his mates, the game meant so much because Boston led Montreal by just two points in the Northeast Division standings entering the game.

To raise the stakes even more, the Canadiens have had the Bruins number this season. Entering Wednesday night's heavyweight bout, Boston had yet to defeat Montreal, going 0-2-1 in three games this season. Offensively, the Bruins have been unable to solve Habs goaltender Carey Price. In their last six meetings, Price has dominated, going 6-0-0 with a microscopic 1.47 goals against average and robust .956 save percentage.

Oh how sweet revenge is.

Pushing aside all the compelling storylines, once the puck dropped Wednesday night the Bruins reminded us all exactly why their rivalry with Montreal is considered one of the greatest in all of sports, right up there with Red Sox/Yanks and Celtics/Lakers. After all, the two Original Six teams have played each other more times in both the regular season and playoffs than any other two teams in NHL history.

In the 1950s, Montreal beat the Bruins in the Stanley Cup three separate times. Same goes for 1977 and 1978. It wasn't until 1988 that the Bruins were able to defeat the Canadiens in a playoff series, breaking a 45 year drought. Most recently, Montreal defeated Boston in a deciding Game 7 in the first round of the 2007-08 playoffs, a series that to this day remains vividly clear in the eyes of Bruins fans mostly because of an unbelievably intense and thrilling Game 6 win by the Bruins to force Game 7.

Still, even with such rich history and unabashed hatred between the two teams, the Bruins won a game for the ages Wednesday night, pummeling the Canadiens 8-6 in a wildly entertaining game featuring a flurry of goals and six different fights. The two teams combined for an astonishing 182 penalty minutes. Even the goalies joined the fun. Midway through the second period Tim Thomas and Carey Price dropped the gloves, although their bout looked more like a sumo-wrestling match as no punches were landed squarely.

"It looked like back in the day in the '70s and '80s when there were those rivals, " Milan Lucic said after the game. "We're just happy that we were able to get that win. They've been a tough opponent for us lately. We'd lost eight out of our last nine before tonight. Most of all, we're just happy to get those two points and keep getting up in the standings."

Jumping out to a quick start, the Bruins took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission after Brad Marchand and Dennis Seidenberg scored just 12 seconds apart with less than six minutes left in the first period.

Then, the real fun began. In arguably the greatest single period of any two teams in this NHL season, the Bruins and Canadiens combined to score eight goals and commit an astounding 15 different penalties. At one point, both teams had so many players in the penalty box that they began to run out of room.

"Half of us couldn't even sit down, we had so many guys in there," Marchard said after the game. "Especially when guys stick up for each other like we did, everyone's getting in there and it's good. It's a good feeling when you're sitting in the box."

All in all, Montreal kept scoring but each time the Bruins responded, taking a 6-4 lead into the third period. Then, with just 40 seconds left in the game and the Bruins leading 8-5, the rivalry reached its tipping point. Committing a hockey cardinal sin, Marchand checked Roman Hamrlik into the boards after the defenseman touched the puck and the whistle blew to signal icing, igniting an all out melee in which five different fights took place, with Bruins bad boys Andrew Ference, Shawn Thornton, Johnny Boychuck and Gregory Campbell laying down the hurt. The Bruins now lead the NHL in fighting majors with 55.

Out of the fracas, Montreal ended up on the power play and scored a meaningless goal with just 13.9 seconds left to make it 8-6.

While David Krejci had three assists, Lucic two goals and an assist and Michael Ryder two goals, it was the once snakebitten Nathan Horton who paced the offense, scoring five points on one goal and four assists. It marked the first time a Bruin had five points in a game since Marc Savard accomplished the feat on October 12, 2007.

Regardless of the offensive onslaught, it was the Bruins passionate and spirited play that fans will remember most about Wednesday night's epic win. Goals are great. But it's the fights that Bruins fans love to see most, a timeless and pure testament to the golden age of the sport when players pummeled each other and didn't even wear helmets. Boston and Montreal have been going at it for nearly a century now. Last night, the Bruins made their forefathers proud.

"As players, we all had fun in tonight's game," Lucic said. "i think the fans definitely had a lot of fun watching tonight's game. We were able to play with a lot of emotion. We were able to keep our heads on straight to get that win. That's the most important thing."