The Bruins and Canadiens engaged in an old-fashioned hockey game last night, one which saw even the goalies set to square off and trade punches. (settling instead for a mild scuffle) The Bruins outlasted their rivals from the north 8-6 at the Garden. Get all the coverage at BruinsLinks.com.

Bruins score a wild win against Canadiens – Steve Conroy has the Boston/Montreal rivalry back in full force.  Douglas Flynn has both players and fans enjoying this one. Joe McDonald says this one was goals and fights galore.

Bruins find identity in beatdown of Habs – Joe Haggerty has the Bruins carving out a new, brutish identity. Stephen Harris says that Montreal wanted no part of a physical battle with the Bruins.

Fights aid Bruins in team unity, wins – James Murphy has more on what the fighting spirit is doing for this team. Kevin Paul Dupont is encouraged by the attitude. Mick Colageo says that this was Bruins/Canadiens circa 1971.

Tim Thomas drops catching gloves with Carey Price – Conroy’s notebook has the goalies facing off. The Globe notebook by Fluto Shinzawa has Tyler Seguin a healthy scratch last night. The Patriot-Ledger notebook by Mike Loftus has more on Seguin.

Special teams on the stage – Bob Ryan looks forward to the latest headline game for the Celtics, with the hated Lakers in town tonight. Jimmy Toscano says that Celtics/Lakers is the biggest and best rivalry in sports.

Preparation is key to Ray Allen’s 3s – Jackie MacMullan looks at Allen as he prepares to become the NBA’s all-time leader in three-point field goals. The Herald notebook from Steve Bulpett has more on Allen’s quest. Scott Souza has Allen getting his shot at history.

Drama follows LA on the road – Gary Washburn looks at the recent struggles of the Lakers. Dan Duggan has the Lakers looking to beat a quality opponent – something they’ve struggled with this season. It wouldn’t be a visit from the Lakers without a Bill Reynolds column on Lamar Odom.

Celtics have free pass against Lakers – Steve Bulpett says that the Celtics have so many injuries, that if they do down gallantly tonight, they will be forgiven. Chris Forsberg has more on the banged-up Celtics.  A. Sherrod Blakely has the Celtics looking forward to this one. The Celtics notebook from Julian Benbow has Paul Pierce missing practice because of illness.

Gonzalez arrives early to touch bases – Peter Abraham has the Red Sox new slugger showing up early for spring training, even though he can’t swing a bat for a couple more weeks. Brian MacPherson has more on Gonzalez arriving early.

Red Sox positional primer – Scott Lauber takes a run down the roster.

Logan Mankins could be tagged today – Karen Guregian says that the offensive lineman could receive the dreaded franchise tag as early as today.

We’ll also be monitoring announcements of coaching staff changes from the Patriots today. Ian R. Rapoport reports that Corwin Brown and Mike Woicik will not return to the staff next season.

Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

13 thoughts on “Bruins Outfight, Outscore Rival Canadiens”

  1. You have to wonder about the legitimacy of a sport that depends so much on fighting. That was all the talk this AM on Dale & Holley. No other sport( besides boxing or MMA) allows fighting. Why is it allowed in this sport? Could it be that the sport is so boring that without the fights no one would watch?

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    1. I wonder about the legitimacy of a sport like football that relies so much on high-speed contact and collisions that its players leave the game with injuries that prevent from functioning like other persons of their age group.

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  2. Jackie, It's nice that you voiced your opinion, years ago we probably would have been mortified if a housewife took as brave a stance as this. Joe Sullivan could use a courageous opinion like yours. Why don't you hustle into the kitchen before your husband gets home and get a legitimate hot dinner on the table for once.

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    2. If you read the post, you'll see that I din't give an opinion on fighting. Your moronic response proves my point. You have to be a brain-dead imbecil to sit and watch things like NASCAR, soccer, or hockey.

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      1. And you care about the random observations of people on the internet why? If you don't like those sports, fine, but don't bother us with your opinions because we have opinions or our own.

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  3. Actually, if you go back and look at highlight reels of the NHL from pretty much the entire decade of the 70s, and even into the early 80s, you'll see an incredible amount of fighting, bench-clearing brawls, etc. Heck, I seem to remember the Bruins of that era having about two bench-clearing brawls a month.

    Basically, the NHL has cracked down on the fighting significantly in the last 20+ years, and while fights aren't rare, they're not nearly as prevalent in the game as they were in that bygone era.

    So to sum things up, Jack, your point would have been valid if you'd made it 30 years ago.

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    1. My question is, why are they part of the game? Football is played by giant sized individuals who engage in mahem on every play. Basketball is played by huge men who are fantastic athletes, wear no pads, and are constantly pushing and shoving. Fighting isn't allowed in these sports.

      Also, the NHL fights seem to be staged or arranged. Fisk and Munson collide at home plate and come up swinging. That's a real fight. In hockey, one guy goes up to another guy and for no obvious reason asks "Eh, you wanna go?". Everyone, including the ref, proceeds to stand there and watch. That's what I don't understand.

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      1. Jack you are right. More often than not, fights in hockey are now arranged. It has to be that way because of the instigator rule that was put in a few years back. The costs of getting a jump on an opponent is now a major, a two minute minor and a ten minute misconduct. So you have guys making an agreement before they go. The main reason for fights is a momentum change. A team maybe down a couple of goals and an enforcer goes to another and challenges him. Another reason is when a player does something cheap to a skilled player or a goaltender. A good example was when Andrew Ference went after Dallas' Adam Burish for firing a puck at Tukka Rask after the whistle blew.

        I believe the instigator penalty has actually hurt hockey. Skilled players were able to flourish in previous decades because they knew no one would try to take their head off. Jean Beliveau had John Ferguson to protect him. Bobby Clarke, and Reggie Leach had the Broadstreet Bullies to fix any issues. Mike Bossy had Clark Gillies and Bob Nystrom to make sure he had room to move. Finally, Wayne Gretzky had Dave Semenko and Marty McSorely to make sure there was no funny business. In my opinion, fighting without the instigator actually helps the flow of the game because it allows the skilled players to be at their best. I have one question for hockey fans out there. Do you think Dave Steckel even gets within a mile of Sidney Crosby if he knew there was going to be a price to pay?

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  4. Jack is right. The only time the Bruins make any sort of headlines is when they brawl with teams or when one of their choking players gets concussed (see: Bergeron, Savard). Anyone who debates otherwise is just a hockey mom, thinking incorrectly Boston is a hockey town.

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