Bruins and Canucks rivalry.

[TheJbody]

I am a Hockey fan but a Bruins fan specifically. I was watching the B's-Canucks game Saturday and oh my god! What a great game (imo). It seems to me that these teams actually hate each other. It reminds me of the Celtics-Lakers rivalry. Both teams are in different conferences, are at the top of their conferences and there just seems to be violence and hatred everywhere they play.

So, here are my questions.

Do you consider the Bruins-Canucks a rivalry. If not explain why and if you do is it like Celtics-Lakers and explain why.

Will these two teams meet again in the Stanley Cup finals?

I believe that if every Bruins-Canucks game is like the one on Saturday I would hope they go back to the Stanley Cup finals and face each other. I also believe that this is a rivalry much like Celtics-Lakers for the reasons stated above.

Let the discussion begin.

 

[hatehabsforever]

I'm sure there is a little bit of residual hatred after the finals from last year. There would have to be, especially after the way it all played out. It had to be a hard pill for the Canucks to swallow, giving up a 3-2 series lead and losing their final two games on home ice, especially game seven.

I don't really consider the Bruins/Canucks a true rivalry. Yet. Simply because they are in different conferences and don't play each other often enough for a true rivalry to be formed. Plus the Bruins already have more natural rivals in the Canadiens (note username), the Leafs, and the Sabres.

I would love to see a rematch of the Finals from last year. As a Canadian hockey fan, I don't mind the Canucks, so I wouldn't mind seeing them get back there. And I'm a lifelong Bruins fanatic, so I would love to see them back there every year. I don't expect it to happen, though. It is hard for one team to reach the finals in consecutive years, never mind both (Penguins/Red Wings considered).

I'm calling a Bruins/Blackhawks final this year. And a successful repeat (I hope)

 

[CH David]

As of right now, not a chance. Very simple reason, but a reason nonetheless. They only play each other once or twice in the regular season, and the only way they can match up in the playoffs, as of right now, is a rematch in the Finals. You can't really build up a rivalry unless you have more consistent meetings between each team. Now I'm sure Boston fans, outside of hatehabs, hate the Canucks. I don't think there is a team in the NHL, or fanbase, that would want to see them win other than their own. One of my best friends is a Red Wings fan, and has stated that he hates the Canucks more than the 'Hawks. I agree with such a statement. Quick sidenote, the team is full of whiny bitches, and the fans are classless.

Now if Boston and the Canuckleheads play each other more often, maybe something can develop, such as 'Hawks/Canucks, Avs/Wings, and so on. But right now, not a rivalry.

 

[Freedom 35]

Yeah theres just as much hate between the Blackhawks and the Canucks. the reason many teams play with animosity towards the Canucks is they play bitch ass hockey. Theyll be the first to put a cheap hit on you but the lasts to expect repurcussions, and last to drop the gloves. While I think fighting in hockey is dumb and pointless, its still a pat of the game and theyll play the dirtiest yet still never want to settle it.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I'm late to this party, but I can assure you that while there may be a little bad blood between the teams at this point, they're far from "rivals". Rivalries are born through the hatred and rigors of playoff series' and divisional match-ups.

They come and go as the league restructures it's format. Back when there were only 6 teams in the league the Leafs and Red Wings were hated rivals, but expansion and league divisional/conference restructuring has changed that, just as it's changed a number of other rivalries that don't quite exist anymore these days.

The Bruins/Canucks will have heated games for as long as the majority of the players on each club face one another (on those respective teams) over the next few seasons, but roster changes and location, period, will eventually still those waters, as it's unlikely the two clubs continue to battle one another in the Stanley Cup Finals for the considerable future.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

I think it has potential to develop into a rivalry but right now, I wouldn't officially call it a rivalry.

For one, the teams are in separate conferences. Unless they meet in the Stanley Cup Finals, they will only pay once a year at most. Makes it pretty difficult to have a good rivarly if the teams barely play.

Secondly, for a rivalry to truly be born, something bad or controversial has to happen typically. Someone needs to injure somebody, some sort of controversial goal, fight, trash talk in the media, etc. Once that happens, a rivalry is born.

The two team are both excellent teams and that is one factor they have going for them. Usually when teams don't play each other a lot, a rivalry can still form if the two teams are both really good and constantly meet in the playoffs. IF Vancouver and Boston meet again in the Finals this year, then I'd say it's a bonafide rivarly. Let me give you some examples:

Detroit-Colorado (mid nineties to early 2000s): This rivalry was one of the best rivaries in recent years. The Wings reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 1995 only to be swept by New Jersey. The following year, the Wings had the best record in NHL history 62-13-7 but they were eliminated from the playoffs in the Western Conference Finals by Colorado. In that series, Claude Lemieux delivered a dirty check to the Wings' Kris Draper causing severe injuries (including a broken Jaw). The following season, when the two teams played at Joe Louis Arena, a bench clearing brawl ensued when Darren McCarty started punching Claude Lemieux during a stopage. Even the goalies ended up fighting at center ice. The two teams would meet again in the West Finals with the Wings defeating Colorado in 6 games to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals (which Detroit ended up winning). Detroit won the Cup the following season and Colorado went on to win another Cup in 2000. The teams met again in the Western Conf finals in 2002, a series which Detroit won in 7 games.

The rivalry gradually died out as Colorado faded, although the teams would meet again in the 2008 playoffs, in which Detroit won in a 4 game sweep.

Detroit-Pittsburgh: These two teams have a cross-conference rivalry. This is what Boston and Vancouver could become. The two teams met in the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs in which Detroit won in 6 games. They skated the Cup around on Pittsburgh home ice and this enraged many of the Penguins fans and players. The Pens vowed revenge and they got it the next year beating Detroit in 7 games and skating the Cup around the ice at Joe Louis Arena. Sydney Crosby created controversy when he didn't shake the hands of the some of the Wings players including captain Nick Lidstrom. Interestly Marion Hossa played for Pittsburgh in 2008 so he didn't win the Cup that year. The following year he played for the Wings and he didn't win the Cup that year as he again lost in the Finals. He would go on to win the Cup the next year with Chicago.

THAT is how a rivalry is born, between two teams in opposite conferences. Play consecutive years in the playoffs and cause some sort of controversy so the opposing fans and players hate each other.

Some other Detroit related rivalries: Wings- Blackhawks(Two Original Six teams that play each other multiple times each year. Both teams hate each other and both cities hate each other).

Detroit-Toronto: The teams don't play much any more but they have a rich history having played each other multiple times in the playoffs and regular season. Two the league's oldest teams.