‘Original Six’ Teams Do Battle As Habs And Bruins Begin Playoff Series

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‘Original Six’ Teams Do Battle As Habs And Bruins Begin Playoff Series

The Stanley Cup playoffs may be the best postseason elimination tournament in any sport. You don’t see half assed effort in first round games by bored powerhouses or overmatched also rans. Every one of the 16 teams in the NHL playoff field go hard from the opening faceoff, meaning that no matter the matchup nothing can be taken for granted. In any case, there should be no shortage of intensity in this matchup of ‘original six’ NHL teams as the Boston Bruins host the Montreal Canadiens at the TD BankNorth Garden.

As if the fact that these teams already had one of the most enduring and competitive rivalries in the NHL—dating back to the 1920’s—the current incarnations of the Bruins and Habs basically hate each other. The competitive rivalry became a ‘blood feud’ when massive Bruins defenseman Zdneo Chara delivered a cheap shot hit away from the play to Canadiens’ forward Max Pacioretty in March. Pacioretty was driven awkwardly into a stanchion near the boards at the Bell Centre and suffered a concussion and cracked vertebrae. The prognosis is good that he’ll be able to resume his hockey career but he’s done for the season—but Chara’s hit and their teammate’s injury will be on the mind of every player in a ‘bleu, blanc et rouge’ sweater.

The historical rivalry between the Bruins and Habs might not be quite as intense as the Montreal/Toronto rivalry but the Chara hit will make this series a titanic battle. That notwithstanding, these teams are very evenly matched. Both have been able to win on the road, both teams have excellent defense and goaltending and both have the same liability—an offense that occasionally sputters necessitating a huge effort by the defense to get a victory.

Since 2008, the Bruins hold a 12-10 series advantage including a 7-4 edge at home. This season the Canadiens have won four of the six meetings , but only one of those victories came on the Bruins’ ice. The flip side of that in terms of the series as a whole is that the Bruins were 0-3 against the Canadiens at Montreal’s Bell Centre. Both the Bruins and Habs have top ten scoring defenses, but Boston is also ranked in the top five scoring offenses while the Canadiens are in the bottom ten. Oddly enough, only one of the six meetings between the teams this season went UNDER the total with 3 OVER and 2 push.

This series will be a war throughout and game 1 will be no exception. We’ll take the price with Montreal in the opening game and look for the Habs to steal a win on Boston’s home ice. We’ll also look for the Canadiens to win the series in a six or seven game affair and bet them +175 to advance