The New York Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens have a rivalry that dates back almost a century.
Both original six teams, the Rangers and Canadiens have shared some epic battles over the years.
To be exact, the Rangers have played the Canadiens 714 times in their franchise history and hold a record of 237-378-96-3.
While a lot of time has passed since the beginning stages of this rivalry, these two fan bases remain the same.
Current Rangers’ players relish the opportunity to play at the Bell Centre in Montreal as they appreciate the unique passion that the fans bring each and every night.
“I think people just love hockey here, it’s pretty evident walking in the rink,” K’Andre Miller said. “Coming to Montreal, they are always fun games. My favorite part is the crowd kind of knows what they are cheering about. They are not even cheering for the most sexy plays, but they are cheering for the right plays, so I think that’s a fun part of the game that they bring. Their fans do a great job of that.”
The city of Montreal lives, sleeps and breathes hockey, which is evident upon witnessing a home game at the Bell Centre.
Between the loud cheers, constant singing and overwhelming heckling from fans, there is a lot to take in at the Bell Centre from a player perspective.
“It’s a good crowd obviously,” Sam Carrick said. “They get really loud, they are passionate. I think that they sing more than any other crowd. You know the Olays and all of that. If you are getting beat by them, they are going to rub it in and it adds a little bit of salt to the wound. You don’t want to get olayed out of the stadium, that’s for sure.”
For Peter Laviolette, coaching at the Bell Centre is personal.
Growing up in Massachusetts, watching the Canadiens and Boston Bruins rivalry was a big part of his life.
“I just remember watching all of the games with my dad,” Laviolette said about the Canadiens and Bruins rivalry. “My dad got me into hockey, so watching all of the games with him and my family. There wasn’t a lot back then. Night Time came around and there wasn’t a lot to do, so being the kid that played hockey, just watching the amount of times they played, some of the wars that they had in the playoffs.”
Now, Laviolette is a part of that hockey history he used to watch in amazement with his entire family.
From the start of his NHL coaching career in 2001, Laviolette has been behind the bench for many games at the Bell Centre and he never takes it for granted.
“We just left Toronto and coming to Montreal now, they are big cities, they are hockey cities. Every time you make this trip and play at the Bell Centre, there is so much history.”
“I grew up in Massachusetts watching the Bruins and think back to the 70s, The Bruins and the Canadiens, what a rivalry it was back then. As a hockey kid growing up in New England, Boston and Montreal was it. To see all of that history and now to see it firsthand, nothing really changes. It’s a pretty special city.
The Rangers are set to play the Canadiens tonight in a classic original six matchup.
Members of both the Rangers and Canadiens carry the same emotion that these players who paved the way for this long lasting rivalry did way back in the day.
Through their quest for the Stanley Cup this year, the Rangers can learn a few things from their visit to Montreal and the championship pedigree from what some consider the mecca of hockey.
