The Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins rivalry has lost steam over the past few years, but that doesn't mean it can't spark up again soon. The three-way rivalry between the Canadiens, Bruins, and Toronto Maple Leafs goes through some lulls depending on which teams are contending, and it has been no different in this milennium. The Canadiens and Bruins were bitter rivals from 2000 to 2014, playing in many different playoff series, and that will pop up again one day when the teams are both contending.
The Bruins and Canadiens played each other an unbelievable number of times. Montreal's current record against Boston is 470-363-103-3. The rivalry has been around forever, which is represented by them playing in a game on December 1st to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of their rivalry.
The Canadiens dropped the first game of the season against the Bruins, losing 6-4 in Boston. It was a challenging game for the Canadiens, as they played the Maple Leafs on opening night then had to play the Bruins 24 hours later. The Canadiens haven't had a winning record in a season against the Bruins since 2015-16.
Canadiens-Bruins Playoff History
The Canadiens and Bruins met 34 times in the postseason, with Montreal emerging victorious in 25. Their last series win against the Bruins was in the 2014 Conference Semi-Finals, which was a massive upset led by PK Subban.
The Canadiens and Bruins played in seven Stanley Cup Finals, with Montreal winning all seven. There was a stretch from 1946 to 1988 when the Canadiens won 18 consecutive rounds against the Bruins, but Boston has won seven of 12 since then.
One of the best battles of our generation was between 2000 and 2010, when the Canadiens won three rounds against the Bruins. Boston was the higher seed in both 2002 and 2004, but the Canadiens persevered to win both series.
The 2008 meeting was also one full of bad blood, as there were some nasty moments during the regular season, including Steve Begin's cross-check on Marc Savard. Their first round series went to seven games, but Carey Price saved the day with a shutout in the deciding meeting.