On May 16, 1995, the Quebec Nordiques lost to the New York Rangers 4-2 at Madison Square Garden in game 6 of their eastern conference quarterfinal matchup.
It was to be their last ever appearance sporting the fleur de lis on the sweaters.
Operating in one of the smallest home markets in all of professional sports and a predominantly Francophone one to boot, the Nordiques were hit hard by the lockout. Ownership had major issues with marketing and keeping the franchise afloat. Eventually, the owners sought a buyer. The team, featuring such stars as Joe Sakic, Owen Nolan, Wendell Clark and a Swedish rookie sensation named Peter Forsberg, packed up their things and made the move to the Rockies as they became the Colorado Avalanche.
The following season, backed by the acquisition of Hall of Fame goalie to be Patrick Roy, the rebranded franchise went on to hoist Lord Stanley's chalice, sweeping the upstart Florida Panthers 4 games to none.
All the while, a rabid fanbase in Quebec City was left emptyhanded and longing.
Years later, a group of fans took it upon themselves to bring together Quebecers who shared their love of their former NHL team. Through social and traditional media, thousands of fans were drawn together in their love of the past and hope for the future. The result was Nordiques Nation.
In the last couple of seasons, Nordiques Nation has organized trips to NHL stadiums in various cities, bringing busloads upon busloads of blue-clad fans aiming to let the league know that there is a large, supportive fanbase in Quebec City just dying to get a franchise back. In the regular season ending game at Newark, Nordiques Nation was out in full force as the Devils beat the Bruins last April.
For the current season, NN has organized a five game slate of forays to NHL arenas. The Bruins -Islanders game was the fourth trip on their schedule. When I found out that Le Quebecois were coming to town, I was excited. After all, these folks hate the Habs just as much as we do.
So it was with great anticipation that I awaited our bon amis from la belle provence. Let's see what I found:
This is our buddy Lemay. I don't usually feature non-player customized sweaters, but this one was done up right; proper numbering and that baby blue is so very underrated. Plus, he ended up sitting behind us in 307 and we had fun talking to him and his heavily accented English.
Oh, the irony. It was bad enough that Lafleur made his hall of fame bones playing for the Canadiens during their dynasty run in the 70s, then retiring in 1985. He was then elected to the Hall of Fame in 1988. Not content to sit on the sidelines, he came back to the NHL at age 37, spending one year with the Rangers before jumping ship to the Nordiques for two final seasons. Yep - the team from Quebec City, who just so happened to be one of the Habs' biggest rivals.
And just to remind you - Lafleur was the bastard who scored the OT winner in the "Too many men on the ice" game in 1979. Eff him.
So I have to chuckle, just a bit, when I see this guy wearing a Lafleur sweater with a "Habs Hater" t-shirt wrapped around his waist.
Two of the best players to ever wear the fleur de lis (even though Foppa played only one year in Quebec before the team moved out west), commemorated in these stunning replicas.
Now, keep in mind that none of these fine articles of apparel can hold a candle to what is the best Nordiques sweater I've ever seen:
You might remember this beauty from my last blog entry. If you haven't read it (and why the hell haven't you?), this is an extremely rare Claude Julien Nordiques away replica. No other Nordiques could ever compare. Okay, perhaps a Paul Stewart one might get somewhat close.
Considering that these folks (at least the older ones) used to root for a team that was in the same division as the Bruins, it was a bit strange to see so many members of Nordiques Nation wearing Bruins gear and openly rooting for the home team. But then again, we share a common hatred of the Canadiens. But it was nice to see so many people who had come down to have a good time, see some hockey and hopefully spread the Gospel of Quebec hockey. They were a great group to talk to and I wish them the best in the future. Hopefully someday we'll be able to reciprocate the goodwill at a game at Le Colisee (or it's modern replacement).
And thus the tournament begins. The quest for Lord Stanley's chalice begins anew. Age old rivals face off once more for the chance to complete for hockey's ultimate prize.
Eff that. Screw the flowery prose.
B's-Habs, first round of the playoffs.
For the 33rd time, the Bruins meet the Candiens in the postseason.
I remember 1988, when the Bruins ended the 46 year winless streak in the playoffs against Montreal, Reggie Lemelin pumping his fist, clutching his mask, as he lead the Bruins to a 4-1 series victory en route to their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance since 1974.
I remember 2004, when the Bruins lost game 7 to Claude Julien's Canadien squad at home on Patriot's Day, a day where Heather and I rushed out of Fenway Park and a blowout loss to the Toronto Blue Jays and raced across the city to the Fours to get our usual pregame fix.
I remember 2008, when the Bruins, now coached by Claude, fell behind 2-0 and won 3 of the next four, only to lose in 7 games to their rivals from the north.
And I most certainly remember 2009, when the Bruins swept the Habs in 4 games, including a Patriot's Day game 3 victory in Montreal as so eloquently described by Jack Edwards:
Which brings us to the latest installment of the rivalry.
Let's see how it played out:
Just the facts, Jack (Edwards)
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Game 1
(3) Boston Bruins vs. (6) Montreal Canadiens
John Blue Plate Special
Playoffs are the one time you do not screw around with tradition or superstition. If what you have been doing works, you keep doing it.
Playoff beards. Not touching the Conference championship trophy. Ray Bourque hitting his goalie with his stick before the game.
Or in our case, ordering the same pregame meal.
So we went with the Naked Orr, teriyaki style with well done onion rings.
And for the record, I trimmed my goatee in the morning. I will not be touching the trimmer so as long as the Bruins are playing in the playoffs.
Couture Corner
This is the big dance. As such, it should be treated as a black tie affair. Leave the jeans and home and throw on a jacket and tie (or the hockey sweater equivalent).
Hey, Nordiques fans hate the Habs as much as we do. So they're ok in my book (or at least until they get their team back). And really, that's just a such a great looking sweater. And I liked Joe Sakic as a player. After all, he helped Ray Bourque win a cup. But then again, so did former Montreal great Patrick Roy. But Roy ended up gretting traded by the Habs to the Avalanche, who used to be the Nordiques. How very convoluted.
Anywho, onto the next one:
Montreal Canadiens/Edmonton Oilers Frankenstein sweater
WHAT THE F*CK IS THIS ABOMINATION?
Seriously, I don't get it.
The only reason I could see this sweater existing is that it was something that was sold as part of the marketing for the 2003 Heritage Classic. This was the outdoor game played between these two teams in Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium. Or it could be some sort of fan homage to a player who played for both teams, like, say Sheldon Souray, much like the Bruins/Avalanche ones some fans wore in support of Ray Bourque after he was traded.
Except this sweater was berift of any patches or lettering. And the two designs were not of the same ones worn in that outdoor game.
This just plain sucks.
Game Misconduct. And a 20 game suspension, too.
The Row 11 Rundown
You'd think for the playoffs that 307 would be playing at full strength, right? Sadly, this was not the case.
Charla, Kathi and the kids didn't dress for this one and the Kasper Kontingent missed out on the playoffs for the first time in years.
The playoffs is the one part of the year when you want to surround yourselves with the people you know, if for nothing other than insulating you from the myriad of idiots and social scenesters who make thier annual pilgrimage to the Garden.
Needless to say, their presences were definitely missed.
Doosh of the Day
I hate PK Subban.
The Montreal rookie defenseman is immensely talented. He's fast, he's big.
But he's a p*ssy.
He flops. He dives. His theatrics are an embarassment to the game. And he'll keep on doing it until the NHL and its game officials decide to do something about it such as enforce the unsportsmanlike conduct rule.
A prime example of this last night was when David Krejci was trailing him around the Montreal net, to Carey Price's right, and Krejci got his stick up near Subban's body. Subban fell over Krejci's stick despite the fact that the stick was not impeding his movement. Two minutes for hooking for Krecji and the Habs go in the power play.
After reading all that, you'd assume that Subban would be my Doosh of the Day. But he's not.
Nope. I'm reserving that title for the ignoramus behind be who used a familiar derogatory term for people of African descent when yelling at Subban. I seriously debated whether or not to confront this lowlife and it pains me to say that I did not. As much as I hate people making racist comments, had I confronted this drunk individual, the result would probably have lead to a physical confrontation and I really did not want to go that route for a myriad of reasons.
Bruins fans have booed Subban all season long. A good number of fans are like me and boo him solely for the fact that he is a cheating agitator. Sadly, though, I get the feeling that a lot of people harbor a dislike of him simply because of his skin color. And that's just plain sad, especially for people who purport to be fans of the first NHL franchise to employ a black player (Willie O'Ree) and have had other black players play for them (Graeme Townshend, Anson Carter and Sean Brown amongst others).
I tried to figure out what the appropraite NBA, NFL or MLB analogy would be, but truthfully, I couldn't come up with one.
So I'll explain it this way: Chris "Knuckles" Nilan was born in Boston, went to Catholic Memorial High School in West Roxbury and played hockey at Northeastern University where he was star hockey player. He grew up a fan of the Big Bad Bruins of the early 70's.
And then he got drafted into the NHL. By the Montreal Canadiens.
Not only did he play for the Bruins' hated rivals, he was the Habs' goon. He was dirty. He injured many players, including Rick Middleton with a heinous butt of his stick end into Nifty's mouth.
He won the Stanley Cup with the Habs in 1986, but was traded to the New York Rangers in 1988. Montreal and New York, a Bruins fan's most hated teams.
And then in the summer of 1990, Nilan was traded. To his hometown Bruins.
For a Bruins fan such as myself, this was hard to fathom. Here was Nilan, a guy we absolutely hated for his play and for the fact that he played for our main rivals, but at the same time a native Bostonian. It was a dictotomy and quandary. But somehow, we warmed up to it.
In 1991, he was named by Bruins coach Mike Milbury to the Wales Conference All Star team. Even Bruins fans scratched their heads about this selection. And it eventually lead to changes in how the ASll Stars squads were selected in the future. But he also set an NHL single game record for penalties with 10, totaling 42 minutes in the box.
But his play went downhill and he was released midway through the 1992 season. And then he was picked up off the waiver wire - by the Canadiens.
During his retirement, he was arrested at the South Bay Shopping Center in Dorchester for stealing a bathing suit. He was also implicated in a ethics violation for his involvement with the CM hockey program.
But despite his stint with the Bruins, he will always be associated with the Habs.
And for that sole reason, this sweater should have been left at home for this series.
Normally against Montreal I wear my 1991-2 throwback Neely. The reason being Cam was on that 1988 team that beat the Habs. But for some reason I wasn't feeling it and went with the 1970 Bobby Orr, as this was from when the Bruins won their fourth Stanley Cup.
It backfired.
I'll be breaking out the Neely for game 2.
The Lobel Prize
Montreal dressed only one former Bruin for game 1: Hal Gill.
Gill went 0-0-0 with no shots on goal in 22:34of ice time.
The Bruins lost, but Gill didn't factor greatly in the result.
The Home End
This was beyond frustrating. Ex-BC Eagle Brian Gionta scored only 2:44 into the game and took the wind out of the sails for the Bruins and their fans. The Bruins fired 31 shots at Carey Price, including 18 in the second period. But the Canadien backstop was up to the task, stopping everything coming his way, even though the majority of shots were aimed directly at his chest. The Bruins were a step behind all night and downright sluggish in the third. The forwards did little to create traffic in front of the net and the defensemen were slow to move the puck and hesitated on their shots allowing Montreal to block the shooting lanes.
Gionta would pot his second goal of the game at 16:42 of the third and any chance of a Bruins comebackwas effectively stopped when Zdeno Chara took a dumb roughing penalty 46 seconds later. Tim Thomas faced only 20 shots, but let in two and was not at his best.
It wasn't a blowout and it's only the first game of the series. But game 2 will tell us a lot about this Bruins team and how this series could go. We'll find out on Saturday night.
The local team is home as they host their bitter rivals. A team that has featured some of the all-time greats and has quite a few championships to their name.
Celtics-Lakers, you say?
Normally, that would make sense. But no, it was Bruins - Canadiens in a rare hump day matchup.
I'm not used to this. The Bruins usually have the Garden on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays while their hardwood brethren lay claim to the building the rest of the week.
But this scheduling quirk does have some redeeming value. It makes the start of four straight games against Original 6 teams, including a home and home against the Red Wings and a grudge match against the Maple Leafs.
Lets see how it played out:
Just the facts, Jack (Edwards)
Regular Season game #52, home game #26
Boston Bruins (30-16-7, 1st in Northeast Div.) vs. Montreal Canadiens (30-19-5, 2nd in Northeast Div.)
Fourth meeting of the season between these two teams with the Habs taking the first three thus far
John Blue Plate Special
I had a dentist appointment in the morning which meant I was going to get into work late. Therefore, I figured I might have to stick around the office a little bit longer than normal and leave late for the game. Fortunately, my workload was less than demanding and I got out around 5:00. Fought a bit of traffic in Newton Corner approaching exit 17 on the Pike, but got to the Fours around 6:15 when all was said and done.
Managed to snag a seat downstairs right away as I waited for Heather to arrive. Once she got there, the guy sitting next to me offered up his seat so we could both sit down to eat dinner. Props to that guy.
As for what we ordered, well, we felt that we've got a good thing going with the Larry Bird in a wrap with bacon, bbq sauce on the side and well done onion rings. So no reason to change. Plus, it's just damn yummy.
The Couture Corner
I hate the Canadiens sweaters. Not because of their style, but simply because of what they represent. For years, the Habs simply dominated the Bruins, especially in the playoffs. They won numerous Stanley Cups, often at the expense of the B's.
Even in high school (St. John's Prep), one of our biggest rivals was Catholic Memorial, an absolute juggernaut of a program that has sent many payers on to the NHL. And of course, their sweaters are patterned off of the Montreal ones:
Ugh.
That said, the design of the Habs sweaters is timeless, befitting of an original 6 team. I mean, their basic look has carried on virtually unchanged since their inception in 1917. They've made modest tweaks here and there (mostly with the white sweaters), but have remained true to the original look.
Despite it being a Wednesday night, Habs fans were sure to be out in full force at this game. And to their credit, they usually show up decked out in their team colors, often in the form of Habs sweaters.
And sure enough, they didn't disappoint. Let's see some examples:
Again, he never wore this sweater. And though he was a Hab later on on his career, I always associate him with being a Maple Leaf.
Eff him.
Mid 90's Joe Sakic Quebec Nordiques away
Now we're talking!
If there ever was a team that hated the Habs as much as the Bruins, it was the other team from La Belle Province - the Quebec Nordiques. And their sweaters were an exercise in beautiful simplicity: Red, white and blue rendered in a unique pallette; the Fleur de Lis from the Quebec flag; the simple hem stripe.
And Joe Sakic was a great player too. A quiet leader who became captain of the Nordiques in the 1990-1 season, it wasn't until the franchise moved to Colorado in 1995 that he lead them to the first of 2 Stanley Cups. Even better, that Cup win in 1995-6 came with legendary Canadien goalie Patrick Roy in net for them, after he had a falling out with Hab management earlier that season.
Oh yeah, it's good!
And while we're talking about the Nordiques, let me give a shout out to these guys:
A bunch of old Nordiques fans have been showing up at various NHL arenas all season long to show their support for a new/relocated franchise in Quebec City. They brought 20 busloads of fans to an Islanders game earlier this year.
And you know what? I want it to happen.
I didn't like it when Gary Bettman's NHL saw the Nordiques and Jets move from their strong Canadian fanbases to western outposts in Colorado and Phoenix. Granted, Colorado has turned out pretty well, building a very solid fanbase of their own and the team enjoying a good amount of success. But the Phoenix thing is a mess. Small fanbase, little success and an arena outside of Phoenix.
And the two scorned Canadian cities have made it known that they want franchises. Winnepeg has an arena ready to go and Quebec City just approved a funding plan for a replacement of Le Colisee Pepsi.
I'm one of those fans who would much rather see a couple of additional teams in Canada than to see franchises in Phoenix, Columbus, Sunrise and Nashville. Here's hoping this comes to fruition.
The Row 12 Rundown
With the Habs in town, there was no way the usual crew was missing this one. And we had Pete grace us with his presence in seat 11.
We did have a number of Habs fans who got their hands on a bunch of seats together in row 10. But you know what? They were fine, despite a good number of Bruins "fans" who chose to antagonize them for no good reason other than they dared spend their hard earned money to support their team on the road.
Doosh of the Day
This one's easy. I'm giving it to whomever runs the Garden videoboard.
I'm sick and tired of going to games against Montreal and the director insists on having the stadium cameras focus of fans who are holding up American flags or wearing USA hockey sweaters.
In general, focusing cameras on fans only encourages people to stand up, act stupid and frustrate people who just want to watch the game. Focusing on people waving flags and whatnot only perpetuates the misguided patriotism and borderline jingoism that idiotic fans tend to associate with a matchup against a Canadian team.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. 'Canadians' does not equate "Canadiens" and vice versa.
And to those who make the argument that the "USA" chants and flag waving are in response to Canadian fans who come to the Garden and refuse to stand up for and/or boo the Star Spangled Banner, spare me. I've been to well over a hundred games against Canadian teams since I've had season tickets and not once have I seen a Canadian fan boo the anthem or refuse to stand up for it. But I have seen plenty of Americans who don't take off their hats, talk throughout or act disrespectfully during the anthem. And never mind the anthem singers (other than the great Rene Rancourt) who butcher the song because they think they are auditioning for American Idol. Want a cause celebre? Take issue with those fans instead.
The Clothes Line
Plenty of Bobby Orr and NHL 75th anniversary throwbacks in the house for this one, as one might expect.
But the one Bruins sweater that stood out to me was this one:
The Bruins' first pick in the 1986 entry draft, Janney was one of those guys who came from New England (Hartford), played collegiately in New England (Boston College) and played for the the Bruins. A skilled passer, he was one of those classic "pass, don't shoot" centers who spent his formative years dishing the puck to Cam Neely.
In one of Harry Sinden's greatest moves, he was traded along with defenseman Stephane Quintal to the St. Louis Blues for fellow center Adam Oates in the 1991-2 season. Playing alongside Brett Hull, he registered a career high 106 points in the following season. He spent 3.5 seasons in St. Louis before he was traded away to San Jose. He bounced around with Winnepeg/Phoenix and Tampa Bay before calling it a career with the Islanders in 1999.
As for my attire, I went with the 1991-2 Cam Neely throwback. Gotta bring the 'A' game for these matchups.
Just when you thought the Dallas game was going to take the cake for most entertaining game of the year, this game comes along.
And it was completely unexpected.
Much like the Spanish Inquisition, no one thought that this would turn out to be both a high scoring affair and a battle royale (is that a Royal Battle in Montreal?).
The Bruins came out strong, building a 2-0 lead in the first on goals by Marchand and Seidenberg a mere 22 seconds apart. It had the fans thinking of a blowout, but the 2 goal lead rule was still in effect.
Sure enough, the Habs halved the load just 25 seconds into the second period courtesy of another BC product, Captain Brian Gionta. With Nathan Horton off for hooking, Montreal tied it up on a PK Subban goal at 8:30. The teams would trade goals to tie the game at 3-3 when Ryder and Lucic scored back to back goals to give the Bruins another 2 goal lead.
