INSIDE HOCKEY

The Montreal Canadiens completely dominated the Boston Bruins last season, going a perfect 8-0 against their longtime arch rivals. At the time, the shine appeared to have gone from this storied rivalry and when the Canadiens won the Eastern Conference regular season crown and were paired up with the eighth-seeded Bruins in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, not many pundits expected Boston to have a chance against top-seeded Montreal. But after falling behind 3-1 in the series, the Bruins proved the critics wrong and came back to force a Game 7, before being eliminated with a 5-0 loss in the deciding game. Following that series both teams agreed that the series seemed to reignite the rivalry between the two teams. The T.D. Banknorth Garden, which had suffered attendance problems all season, was packed to capacity with Canadiens and Bruins fans, and in the series-tying Game 6 win by Boston, the building reached a decibel level not heard since the years of the original Boston Garden. “This was just an amazing experience and I can’t say enough about the fans and how they got into it in both buildings, the rivalry is back I’d say,” Bruins defenseman Aaron Ward said in the dressing room that night. “I mean all the games in Montreal are like this, so you expect that noise level here, but what we saw in Boston in Game 6 was how it needs to be again in general and between these two teams.” Canadiens defenseman Mike Komisarek recently concurred. “That was what it’s all about and games like that are what the fans and the game need,” he said when asked to look back on that series. “You need rivalries like this one and I’m looking forward to more games between us.” After losing the first installment of the 2008-09 series between the two teams, the Bruins are looking forward to a rematch with their rivals tonight, when the two teams battle for first place in the Northeast Division. The Boston players have also been looking forward to the raucous environment they experienced during the aforementioned Game 6 last spring. “That was just insane!” said Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference who as a former Calgary Flame and Edmonton native witnessed first-hand, the famous “Battle of Alberta” between the Flames and Oilers. “Rivalries are only strong if both teams are competitive, and obviously we feel we competed hard in the regular season, but it’s wins that count and they obviously won in that category during the regular season. But I think we showed that we can hang right there with them and are capable of playing with them with that series. So like I said, now that both teams are competitive, that’s what makes a rivalry good. The playoff series made it apparent of what both teams are like and I think the animosity was evident with both the players and maybe sometimes even more so with the fans, I heard the crowds were uglier than some of the games! People get fired up for rivalry games and you can just feel that something different is in the air.” With both teams on an early season roll now, the games will have even more meaning so while the players are excited each time the Habs and Bruins meet, they may have to be careful to not get too excited and lose focus of the task at hand. “I think that you can definitely get carried away, so you have to channel that excitement,” Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas said. “Of course you’re pumped and this is a game you look forward to, but you want to use it to your advantage.” While the players may have to contain their excitement a bit, those in the stands and even maybe members of team management may get into the fun of the rivalry. During that Game 6 last spring, Bruins President and Hall of Famer Cam Neely could be seen pumping his arm and high-fiving Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli when their team won the game. “I don’t know if you will se me do that, but it’s amazing because people are still talking about that game and how it hasn’t been that loud in a while,” said Neely recently. “That brought me and a lot of people back to the days of the old Garden. That’s how it was every time we played Montreal and it’s great to see that back again!” Game 6 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Bruins-Habs Game 7 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Bruins-Habs