National Hockey League rivalries

Rivalries in the National Hockey League have occurred between many teams and cities. Rivalries have arisen for many different reasons, the primary ones including geographic proximity, familiarity with opponents, on-ice incidents, and cultural, linguistic, or national pride.

The importance of these various factors has varied widely throughout the history of the league.

Early history

See also: History of the National Hockey League and Timeline of the National Hockey League

During the earliest days of the NHL, the league was limited strictly to Central Canada, and all cities in the league were in close proximity, making for bitter rivalries all around. In addition, Montreal had two teams representing its English-French divide, as the "French" Canadiens battled the "English" Wanderers (and later the Maroons). Rivalries also existed with other leagues, such as the Pacific Coast Hockey Association. It was not until 1926 that the NHL took sole ownership of the Stanley Cup. By that time, the league began expanding into the United States, and new rivalries were created. Rapid expansion into the U.S. for a short time created a cross-town rivalry in New York City between the New York Rangers and New York Americans. The economic turmoil of the Great Depression and World War II, however, forced several teams to fold, with the result that by 1942 the NHL consisted of only 6 teams.

Original Six rivalries

Main article: Original Six

From 1942–1967, only 6 teams (the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs) played in the NHL. With so few opponents, teams played more frequently, and games were often underscored by personal rivalries between players. These personal and team rivalries lasted for many years, as the turnover rate on NHL rosters was very low. At one point or another, during this era, all the teams had animosity towards one another.

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

The current Atlantic Division was formed in 1974 as the Adams Division, which beginning in 1981 had all its teams in Eastern Canada and New England with the exception of the Buffalo Sabres, which were in Upstate New York. The division became the Northeast Division in 1993, and then the Atlantic Division in 2013.

Battle of Ontario: Ottawa Senators vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

Main article: Battle of Ontario

The Battle of Ontario is a rivalry between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators. The teams compete in the same division and meet frequently during regular season games and Stanley Cup playoffs.

Battle of the Sunshine State: Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

The Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning are both teams located within the state of Florida along Interstate 75, representing different geographical areas within the state. The two teams have played in the same division since 1993 (Atlantic Division from 1993–98, Southeast Division from 1999-2013, and the new Atlantic Division since 2013 ). Despite the Lightning outperforming the Panthers in many ways, including winning the Stanley Cup, the Panthers hold a dominating series record of 55-28-10-7, the best record the Panthers have against any team in the NHL. These two teams have never faced each other in the playoffs.

Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens

Main article: Bruins–Canadiens rivalry

The Bruins–Canadiens rivalry is considered by former Canadiens head coach Jacques Martin to be "one of the greatest rivalries in sports," along with the Yankees–Red Sox rivalry and Bears–Packers rivalry. The two teams have played each other more times, in both regular season play and the playoffs, than any other two teams in NHL history.

As of the 2010–11 season, the Bruins have won 259 of these matches, scoring a total of 1,885 goals against the Canadiens, with the Canadiens winning 343 of them, scoring a total of 2,160 goals against the Bruins, with 103 other games between the two teams ending in ties, all before the 2004–05 NHL lockout's rule changes mandated the "shootout" format to break such tie games, going back all the way to the Bruins' first NHL season of 1924–25. In the playoffs, the two teams have met in 33 series for a total of 164 games, 10 series and some 47 more games than two other Original 6 teams, the Red Wings and Maple Leafs. The two teams have faced each other 8 times in Game sevens, more times than any other opponents in NHL history.

Buffalo Sabres vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

The rivalry between the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs is due to the close proximity of the two cites and their connection via the Queen Elizabeth Way freeway. The distance from the south end, the First Niagara Center from downtown Buffalo, New York, and the north end, the Air Canada Centre in downtown Toronto are 89 miles (145 kilometers) from each other. Since the 1998–99 season, both teams have played in the Northeast Division, now the Atlantic Division.

Detroit Red Wings vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

While the Toronto-Montreal rivalry is one of the most famous in sport, the rivalry with the Red Wings was no less intense. This rivalry dates to the 1920s. As of 1997, they had had twenty-three playoff meetings, five in the finals. So fierce was the rivalry that when the Rangers reached the finals against Detroit in 1950, but could not play in their home rink, Madison Square Garden, because the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus were in town, they arranged to play home games in Toronto, whose fans hated the Wings. The rivalry heightened to a fever pitch due to an incident in the 1950 playoffs when Detroit's young star, Gordie Howe, mistimed a check on Toronto's Ted Kennedy and fell head-first into the boards, suffering severe injuries and needed emergency surgery to save his life. While Kennedy was exonerated by the NHL, Detroit management and fans accused him of deliberately injuring Howe. The result was a violent playoff series and increased animosity between the teams. The teams' proximity to each other — Toronto and Detroit are approximately 380 kilometres (240 mi) apart, mainly using Ontario Highway 401 — and a number of shared fans (particularly in markets such as Windsor, Ontario) added to the rivalry. After the Leafs moved to the Eastern Conference in 1998, they faced each other less often, and the rivalry was more often found in the stands than on the ice.

The rivalry became an intradivisional rivalry for the first time in fifteen seasons in the 2013-14 season when the Red Wings moved into the Eastern Conference, sharing their division with the Maple Leafs. The 2014 NHL Winter Classic will be played between the Red Wings and the Maple Leafs at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on January 1, 2014.

Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

Main article: Canadiens–Maple Leafs rivalry

The Canadiens–Maple Leafs rivalry is the oldest in NHL history. From 1944–78, the two teams met each other in the playoffs 15 times, and faced off in five Stanley Cup Finals. While the on-ice competition is fierce, the Leafs-Habs rivalry is symbolic of the rivalry between Canada's two largest cities: Toronto and Montreal, and by extension its two major linguistic groups, anglophones and francophones.

Metropolitan Division

The basic structure of the Metropolitan Division dates to the 1974 formation of the Patrick Division, which from 1981 onwards would have all its teams in the Mid-Atlantic States. It became the Atlantic Division in 1993, and then the Metropolitan Division in 2013.

Battle of New York: New York Islanders vs. New York Rangers

Main article: Islanders–Rangers rivalry

The Rangers-Islanders rivalry, also unofficially known as the "Battle of New York," is unique among New York City's major league sports, as the Rangers and Islanders are in the same conference and division, guaranteeing plenty of matchups as well as National Basketball Association's teams Brooklyn Nets and the New York Knicks. Major League Baseball's New York Yankees and New York Mets are in different leagues, as are the National Football League's New York Jets and New York Giants, so the only meeting opportunities are during inter-league or championship games. The games are often characterized by more fights in the stands than on the ice.

Battle of Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Flyers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

Main article: Flyers–Penguins rivalry

The Battle of Pennsylvania, which is the Philadelphia Flyers–Pittsburgh Penguins rivalry, began in 1967 when the teams were introduced into the NHL's "Next Six" expansion wave. The rivalry exists due to divisional alignment and geographic location, as both teams play in the state of Pennsylvania. The Flyers lead the series 138–87–30. However, the Penguins have eliminated the Flyers from the playoffs in 2008 and 2009, strengthening the rivalry. In their 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals matchup, the rivalry strengthened with several on- and off-ice incidents, resulting in suspensions and fines. Philadelphia took a 3-0 series lead, but the heavily-favored Penguins won the next 2 games, only to lose the series to the Flyers in Game 6.

Battle of the Hudson River: New Jersey Devils vs. New York Rangers

Main article: Devils–Rangers rivalry

The Devils–Rangers rivalry, exists between two teams in the New York metropolitan area. The two teams are called "cross-river rivals." This is because Madison Square Garden in Midtown Manhattan, where the Rangers play, is less than ten miles and across the Hudson River from the Prudential Center in downtown Newark (and previously, the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford), the home arena of the Devils. Travel between both arenas is easily accomplished by both road (usually through the Lincoln Tunnel) and rail (along the Northeast Corridor). The teams have met 6 times in the playoffs; the Rangers won 4 times.

Battle of the Jersey Turnpike: New Jersey Devils vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Main article: Devils–Flyers rivalry

The rivalry between the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers is very intense in New Jersey itself, sometimes being referred to as the "Battle of the Jersey Turnpike." Devils supporters reside mostly in the northern part of the state, while the southern part is dominated by Flyers fans due to South Jersey's close proximity to Philadelphia. The Flyers practice in Voorhees Township, New Jersey, and since their Stanley Cup championships of 1974 and 1975, many members of those Cup-winning teams (as well as other Flyers alumni) have lived in South Jersey. Since the conferences were realigned and renamed prior to the 1993–94 season, the two teams have won the two highest numbers of division titles (the Devils 9, the Flyers 6). Together, the two teams' 15 division championships account for almost all of the 18 total Atlantic Division titles.

Broadway vs. Broad Street: New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers

A showdown between the Rangers and Flyers at Madison Square Garden.

Main article: Flyers–Rangers rivalry

The Flyers–Rangers rivalry is one of the most well-known. They have met 10 times in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with the Flyers winning 6 times, and have been division rivals since the 1974–75 season.

There is a long-standing bitter rivalry between the sports fans from New York City and Philadelphia, which are approximately two hours apart by car, also seen in the Mets–Phillies rivalry in Major League Baseball and Eagles–Giants rivalry in the National Football League. Games between the two teams at Madison Square Garden and Wells Fargo Center are often very intense, hard-hitting affairs, as each home crowd does its best to create an unfriendly, sometimes volatile atmosphere for any visiting-team fans.

New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals

This rivalry dated back to the 1979-80 season when the Capitals joined the Patrick Division. These two teams have met in the playoffs eight times with each team winning four series apiece. In 1986, the teams met in the playoffs for the first time in history when they faced each other in the Patrick Division final. The Capitals, who had their best regular season in franchise history (until 2010) winning 50 games and recording 107 points ousted the New York Islanders in a three game sweep. Meanwhile, who finished 29 points back of the Capitals with 78 points eliminated the first place Philadelphia Flyers in five games. The teams split the first four games before the Rangers took games five and six to win the series in six games. The Rangers cinderella season came to an end when they were defeated in the Wales Conference Final in five games by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens. In 1990, the two teams met again in the Patrick Division Final, the Rangers who won their first division title since 1942 with 85 points eliminated their crosstown rivals the Islanders in five games, while the Capitals who finished with 78 points defeated the New Jersey Devils in six games. In the opener, Bernie Nicholls recorded a hat trick in the Rangers 7-3 victory. The Capitals won game two by a score of 6-3 to even the series, but the win came with a price. Dino Ciccarelli suffered a knee injury and would miss the remainder of the playoffs. When the series moved to Washington for the next two games, the Capitals dominated the rest of the series. Washington won game three by a score of 7-1, but in game four, overtime would be needed. Rod Langway, who did not score a goal during the regular season, scored the winner to give the Capitals a 4-3 victory and a 3-1 series lead. Back in New York for game five, overtime was needed again when John Druce scored the series winning goal to give the Capitals a 2-1 victory and a 4-1 series win. This series win sent the Capitals to the conference finals for the first time in franchise history. Unfortunately for the Capitals, they were swept in four straight games by the first place overall Boston Bruins. In 1991, the two teams met again in the playoffs, this time in the opening round. The Rangers won the opener 2-1, but the Capitals evened the series with a 3-0 victory in game two. When the series moved to Washington, the Rangers took game three with a 6-0 victory. In the end, the Capitals would take the next three games to take the series in six games. Unfortunately for the Capitals, they were defeated in the following round in five games by the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins. In the 1991-92 season, the Rangers and Capitals finished with the top two records in the NHL that season. But they both fell in the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Penguins on their way to their second straight Stanley Cup. In 1994, they met in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Rangers who finished first overall with 112 points, swept their crosstown rivals the New York Islanders in the opening round. The Capitals who finished with 88 points, upset the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games. The Rangers dominated the series by winning the first three games. After the Capitals won game four, the Rangers came right back to take the series in five games on their way to their first Stanley Cup since 1940. After the Capitals drafted Alexander Ovechkin, the team frequently met the Rangers in the playoffs, with four confrontations in five years between 2009 and 2013, with each team winning two matchups, the Capitals won in 2009 and 2011, while the Rangers came out on top in 2012 and 2013.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Washington Capitals

Game between the Penguins and Capitals.

The Pittsburgh Penguins–Washington Capitals rivalry is an inter-division rivalry. In total, the two teams have met eight times in the playoffs. Despite trailing in 7 of the 8 series, Pittsburgh has won all but the 1994 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals where they were heavily favored. The teams first met in the 1991 Patrick Division Finals, when the Penguins defeated the Capitals in 5 en route to capturing the Stanley Cup. The rivalry was intense during the early 2000s when the Penguins beat the Capitals in the first round in consecutive seasons (1999–00, 2000–01), and seemed to amplify more after the trade of Jaromir Jagr. More recently, with the drafting and emergence of Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom in Washington, and Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in Pittsburgh, the rivalry has heated up again, with controversial comments that Alexander Semin made about Crosby in the media and physical altercations taking place between Ovechkin and Malkin during games. One of the best series to date between the teams was the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals, in which the Capitals took a 2-0 series lead before letting it go once again to be downed in 7 games, ending with a 6-2 Game 7 loss at the Verizon Center. Just like in 1991 and 1992, the Penguins defeated the Capitals in the playoffs en route to the Stanley Cup. The two teams faced off at the 2011 NHL Winter Classic hosted in Pittsburgh at Heinz Field, with the Capitals emerging victorious 3-1.

The rivalry became an intradivisional rivalry once again starting in the 2013-14 season, when the Capitals joined the Penguins in the Metropolitan (formerly Atlantic) Division.

Interdivisional

Boston Bruins vs. New York Rangers

This is an Original Six rivalry dating back to the late 30's. These team met ten times in the playoffs and all New York and Boston teams have a fierce rivalry. The NHL rivalry began to decline in the 1970s when the teams were placed in separate divisions.

Western Conference

There are significantly fewer major rivalries in the NHL's Western Conference, due to that conference being much younger (the conference as a whole was created in 1967, and only one of the conference's teams–Chicago–predates the conference's creation) and its teams generally are, geographically speaking, spread much farther apart than those on the East Coast.

Further information: East Coast bias

Central Division

The Central Division was essentially formed as the Norris Division in 1974. From 1981 onward, it would have all the Central Time Zone teams in the US and the Eastern Time Zone teams not in the Wales Conference. It became the Central Division in 1993.

Chicago Blackhawks vs. St. Louis Blues

Main article: Blackhawks–Blues rivalry

The Blues–Blackhawks rivalry features the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues. Since 1970, the two teams have been in the same division together. It is the most intense rivalry in terms of penalty minutes and fighting. At the height of the rivalry throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, it was common to go to a Chicago vs. St. Louis game and see a brawl break out. The rivalry cooled somewhat in the 2000s, but is likely to heat back up in the 2010s, with both teams finding success in the early 2010s as well as Chicago losing the long time time division rival Detroit Red Wings in the 2013-14 realignment.

Pacific Division

The Pacific Division dates back to the 1974 formation of the Smythe Division, which from 1981 onward would contain the westernmost teams in the NHL. It became the Pacific Division in 1993.

Anaheim Ducks vs. San Jose Sharks

The Ducks–Sharks rivalry has been going since 1993 when the Ducks came into existence. The rivalry got even more heated when the two faced each other in the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Ducks won the series 4-2. In a 2012 Geico advertisement featuring NHL rivalries, a Sharks fan and his dog and a Ducks fan and her dog are shown.

Battle of Alberta: Calgary Flames vs. Edmonton Oilers

Main article: Battle of Alberta

The Battle of Alberta is the bitter rivalry between the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames. The two teams are based in the cities of Edmonton, the provincial capital of Alberta and Calgary, the province's largest city. Most often it is used to describe sporting events between the two cities, although this is not exclusive as the rivalry predates organized sports in Alberta.

Calgary Flames vs. Vancouver Canucks

The rivalry between the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames has its roots in the stark geographic, political, and economic differences between Vancouver and Calgary, the two largest cities in Western Canada. The two cities are separated by the barrier of the Rocky Mountains, with Vancouver surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, the peaks of the Coast Mountains, and forests and Calgary sitting on an expanse of flat prairie. The Rockies serve as not only a geographical barrier but a political one as well: Vancouver is a haven for the political left in Canada, strongly supportive of both the Liberal and New Democratic political parties, while Calgary has been a bastion of right-wing politics since the province of Alberta's creation and is a stronghold for the Conservative Party.

Prior to the turn of the millennium, the Canucks and Flames faced each other during the first round of postseason play in 1982, which was the first playoff series victory by the Canucks, en route to the Finals, 1983, 1984, during the Flames championship season of 1989, and 1994, with Calgary holding a 3-2 margin. The latter two series were decided in 7 games by overtime goals (Joel Otto for Calgary and Pavel Bure for Vancouver) and coincidentally both managed to reach the Stanley Cup Finals during those seasons (with Calgary winning the cup in 1989).

In the early and mid-90s, the rivalry was considered among the most intense in the NHL, with the two teams often battling for top spot in the Smythe and later Pacific Division. However, it started to fade soon afterward as both teams started to sink in the standings in the late 1990s.

It was during the 2003–04 season when the rivalry re-ignited, with the Canucks and Flames constantly battling for the top spot in the Northwest Division along with the Colorado Avalanche. When Canucks captain Markus Naslund and Flames captain Jarome Iginla developed into two of that era's greatest players, the rivalry became one of which team had the better overall leader. Between the beginning of the century and Naslund's departure from the Canucks in 2008, the spotlight would often be featured on both he and Iginla whenever the teams matched up. During the 2001–02 season, the two found themselves competing for the Art Ross Trophy for the league's highest point scorer. The following year, both players were featured in a Nike commercial promoting the rivalry between them.

These two teams met again during the first round of the 2004 postseason, and, just like in 1989 and 1994, the series-winning goal was scored in overtime in game seven, this time by Calgary's Martin Gélinas (who incidentally was a member of the 1994 Canucks team that reached the Stanley Cup Finals). The Flames advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals, becoming the first Canadian team to reach that far since the 1994 Canucks. However, unlike 1989, but alike Vancouver in 1994, they were defeated by the Lighting and New York Rangers respectively in 7 games.

The subsequent trade by Vancouver for netminder Roberto Luongo in June 2006 gave the Canucks a capable opponent to Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff, who has already established himself as one of the top goalies in the NHL. Players from both teams bring out their best when they play against each other, resulting in games of high entertainment value. In addition to the duel between Luongo and Kiprusoff, matchups between former Vancouver defenceman Willie Mitchell and Flames captain Jarome Iginla were also noteworthy.

Year	Where they met in playoffs	Result of series	Result of playoffs
1982	Smythe Division Semifinals	Van 3, Cal 0	Vancouver swept by the Islanders in Cup Finals
1983	Smythe Division Semifinals	Cal 3, Van 1	Calgary beaten by the Oilers in the Smythe Final in 5 games.
1984	Smythe Division Semifinals	Cal 3, Van 1	Calgary beaten by the Oilers in the Smythe Final in 7 games.
1989	Smythe Division Semifinals	Cal 4, Van 3	Calgary wins Cup.
1994	Western Conference Quarterfinals	Van 4, Cal 3	Vancouver loses to the Rangers in Cup Finals, which like the series against Calgary, went 7 games.
2004	Western Conference Quarterfinals	Cal 4, Van 3	Calgary loses to Tampa Bay in Cup Finals, which like the series against Vancouver, went 7 games.

Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings

The Kings–Oilers rivalry began more or less the instant the Oilers began playing in the NHL in the 1979 season. Among the first year Oilers' players was a young Wayne Gretzky, who instantly challenged for the Art Ross Trophy against the Kings' Marcel Dionne. In the end, Gretzky and Dionne were tied with 137 points, but the award was given to Dionne, who had two more goals (53 vs. Gretzky's 51). It should be noted that Gretzky played 79 games to Dionne's 80. Gretzky remarked during a press conference at which the scoring title was awarded to Dionne that he had been taught "that an assist was good as a goal."

The two teams would not meet in the playoffs until the 1981–82 season. That season, Gretzky shattered the NHL record for points in a season with 212 (92 goals and 120 assists). The Oilers also jumped to the top of their division despite playing in their third NHL season and had the third best record in the league. The Kings, after a fairly impressive 1980–81 season, slumped to having the fifth worst record in the 21 team NHL. They only made the playoffs, being fourth in the same division as the Oilers, because the Colorado Rockies had an even worse record in their last season there. This set the stage for the top-seeded, heavily-favored Oilers to meet in the first round against the Kings. After a two-game split in Edmonton, Game 3 in Los Angeles began with a commanding Oilers 5–0 lead after two periods. But in a miraculous comeback, the Kings managed to tie it at 5 in the third period, scoring the tying goal with 5 seconds left on a two-man advantage. The Kings won 6–5 in overtime. This game is often referred to as the Miracle on Manchester. The Oilers struck back in Game 4 to send it back to Edmonton for Game 5. However, Game 5 was no contest, which saw the Kings jump to a 2-0 lead and went on to win the game 7-4 in front of a shocked Edmonton crowd.

For the next two seasons, the Kings missed the playoffs, while the Oilers learned from their mistakes and competed in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1983 and won their first Stanley Cup in 1984. Both finals were played against the Islanders. The teams finally met again in 1985, but this time the Oilers swept the Kings in three games, two of which went to overtime. The Oilers would go on to win their second straight Stanley Cup. They met again in 1987 under a new best-of-7 playoff format for the first round. With the departure of aging superstar Marcel Dionne and the emergence of Luc Robitaille, Steve Duchesne, and Jimmy Carson as emerging stars for the Kings, Los Angeles would surprise the Oilers with a game 1 victory in Edmonton, but momentum for the Kings would be short lived as the Oilers responded with a 13-3 win for game 2, followed by three high scoring games where the Oilers would score just three goals more than the Kings over their three wins to clinch the series 4-1; and just like their 1985 meeting, once again the Oilers went on to win the Stanley Cup. In 1988, the Kings continued to be blown out of the first round, but this time by the Calgary Flames, while Gretzky led the Oilers to another Stanley Cup.

The entire sports world was shocked on August 9, 1988 upon the announcement of the Oilers trading Gretzky along with Mike Krushelnyski and Marty McSorley, to the Kings for two rising young players (Jimmy Carson and Martin Gélinas), three first-round draft picks, and $15 million.

Gretzky led the Kings in the 1988–89 season to vast improvements. For the first time, the Kings had a better season record than Edmonton, finishing second in the Smythe Division over the third place Oilers. This also led to another first round match up between them. This time, it was the Kings, with Gretzky, against the Oilers, with the Kings having home ice advantage for the first time in a playoff series for them since 1981. In their 1989 playoff meeting, the Oilers first took command of the series and jumped ahead 3–1. But Los Angeles answered back with 3 straight wins to win the series against the defending Stanley Cup Champions. The Kings had nothing left for the next series and would be swept out of the playoffs by the eventual Stanley Cup champions the Calgary Flames. The 1989-90 season saw the Oilers regroup and finish second in the Smythe Division while the Kings finished fourth, and thus had face the defending champion Calgary Flames in the first round of the playoffs. Once again the Kings would pull off a major upset in the first round only to be swept by the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Oilers, who were seeking revenge for the previous year. In the 1990-91 season, the Kings finished first in their division for the first and (as of 2013) only time in their history, and were heavy favorites as Stanley Cup contenders. However, they struggled in the playoffs, defeating the lowly Canucks in six games in the first round, but once again losing in six games to the Oilers in the second round in a series that saw four games go into overtime, two in double overtime. The 1991-92 NHL season saw the Kings again finish above the Oilers in the Smythe Division, only to stumble in the first round and see the Oilers once again eliminate the Kings out of the playoffs in six games.

After the 1990–91 season, the rivalry died down as players from the Oilers moved to other teams. Jari Kurri and Charlie Huddy rejoined Gretzky on the Kings and went on a run to the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals, losing to the Canadiens 4–1. Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson, Adam Graves, Craig MacTavish, and others moved to the Rangers and go on a Stanley Cup winning run in 1994, which was the last hurrah for the great Edmonton team of the 1980s. In that series, Messier became the first to captain two teams to the Stanley Cup, something Gretzky couldn't do with the Kings the year before. The Kings afterwards faced hard times, winning only one playoff series between 1993 and 2012 (that coming in the opening round of the 2001 playoffs), and would not win the Stanley Cup until 2012.

The rivalry became an intradivisional rivalry again in the 2013-14 season, when the Oilers joined the Kings in the Pacific Division.

Edmonton Oilers vs. Vancouver Canucks

The rivalry begin in 1979-80 when the Oilers were placed in the Symthe division. When the divisions were realigned for the 1981-82 season, the Oilers and the Canucks had a division battle. These two teams have met in the playoffs twice, with the Oilers winning both matchups. In 1986, the two teams met in the opening round of the playoffs. The Oilers who finished with a league high 119 points, 60 points ahead of the lowly Canucks, and in search of their third straight Stanley Cup easily swept the series in three straight games before being upset in the following round by their provincial rivals. In 1992, the two teams met in the Smythe Division Final. The Canucks, who won their first division title since 1975 with 96 points rallied from a three games to one deficit against the Winnipeg Jets to win in seven games. Meanwhile, the Oilers who finished with 82 points eliminated the Los Angeles Kings in six games. The Oilers would end up taking the series in six games before being swept by the Chicago Blackhawks in the conference final.

Freeway Face-Off: Anaheim Ducks vs. Los Angeles Kings

Main article: Freeway Face-Off

The term Freeway Face-Off refers to a series of games played between the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings. The series takes its name from the massive freeway system in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area, the home of both teams; one could travel from one team's arena to the other simply by traveling along Interstate 5. The term is akin to the Freeway Series which refers to meetings between the Los Angeles area baseball teams.

Los Angeles Kings vs. San Jose Sharks

The rivalry between the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay Area NHL teams began as a result of the 1967 NHL Expansion, which established both the Los Angeles Kings and the California Golden Seals. At the time, the Kings and Seals were the only two NHL teams located west of the Mississippi River (the St. Louis Blues were located on that river), and thus were created for each other to both reduce the amount of travel each team would need to do and to gain a foothold on the West Coast, previously the province of the borderline-major Western Hockey League, of which the Seals had previously been a member. The Seals were a historically unsuccessful team and left the Bay Area in 1976; the team ceased to exist when it merged with the Minnesota North Stars in 1978.

The Kings–Sharks rivalry started in 1991, when the San Jose Sharks were spun off from the North Stars and effectively reborn under the Seals' previous ownership. This rivalry really kicked things off, with defeating the Wayne Gretzky era Los Angeles Kings 4-0 on April 28, 1995 destroyed any hope of a Kings' Campbell championship repeat. The Kings didn't get a definitive win over the Sharks until the 2002–03 season, when the Kings' victory on February 17, 2003 at the Staples Center ended the Sharks hope of making the playoffs. The Kings and Sharks met again in the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs . This was the first time that all 3 California NHL Teams made the playoffs. The Sharks were the 2nd seed and the Kings were the 7th seed. The Sharks would eliminate Los Angeles in 6 games with Joe Thornton scoring the OT goal that eliminated the Kings. In the 2011–12 NHL season, the teams competed for the last 2 seeds in the west with the Sharks ultimately securing the 7th seed while LA went into the 8th seed. San Jose would be eliminated by the St. Louis Blues in the first round while LA would steamroll their way to their first Stanley Cup in the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals. The two teams will face each other again at the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Interdivisional

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Vancouver Canucks

The rivalry has become more heated in recent years, given three straight years of playoffs series between these teams. The first seeds of the rivalry began with the re-alignment of the NHL in 1974, placing both teams in the newly formed Smythe Division. For two years, they battled each other for top spot and in 1977, they went down to the wire for the last playoff spot, which Chicago won on a tiebreaker by virtue of having more wins at season's end.

The two teams met in the playoffs for the first time in the 1982 Campbell Conference Finals, which is best remembered for a mock surrender by then-Canucks coach Roger Neilson over what he deemed questionable officiating in Game 2, which began the Towel Power tradition in Vancouver and elsewhere in sports. Vancouver prevailed in the series four games to one, but only to lose to the Islanders in the Stanley Cup Finals 4–0.

Although the Blackhawks swept the Canucks in the 1995 Western Conference Semifinals, it was not until the 2008–09 season where the rivalry was once again renewed. This was highlighted by the Canucks' Ryan Kesler accusing then-Blackhawk winger Andrew Ladd of being a "coward" after an on-ice hit. With Chicago eliminating Vancouver in the second round of the playoffs in 2009 and 2010 (and won the Stanley Cup in the later season), the teams met for the third straight year in the first round of the 2011 playoffs where the Canucks finally defeated Chicago 4–3. In this series, the Canucks took a 3–0 series lead, but after a hit by Canucks forward Raffi Torres on Hawks defenceman Brent Seabrook in Game 3 (which brought Hawks captain Jonathan Toews to say, "It's just concrete evidence of how much we dislike that team, and it's added motivation to our situation"), only to lose the next 3 games. In Game 7, the Blackhawks tied it in the final minutes shorthanded, sending the game to overtime. In overtime, Canucks forward Alexandre Burrows intercepted a clearing attempt by Blackhawks defenceman Chris Campoli and scored on a slapshot to win the series for the Canucks, en route to the Stanley Cup Finals.

The rivalry took onto new heights before the 2011–12 NHL season began, with the Blackhawks' Dan Carcillo calling out the Canucks' Maxim Lapierre at a press conference upon his signing in Chicago. This would be followed by a comment by the Blackhawks' Dave Bolland on Chicago radio, referring to Daniel and Henrik Sedin as the Sedin "Sisters", which prompted Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault to fire back by suggesting that Bolland has an "IQ the size of bird seed and a face only a mother can love." Bolland later recanted his comments. The teams' mutual hatred took a wrong turn after Blackhawks defenceman Duncan Keith was suspended 5 games after elbowing Daniel Sedin in the head at the United Center in Chicago on March 21, 2012. The following season, Canucks forward Jannik Hansen was suspended for one game following a game between the two teams on February 20, 2013, when Marián Hossa of the Blackhawks was hit in the back of the head by the forearm of Hansen and had to be helped off the ice. Alain Vigneault stated Hossa was unintentionally hit, as Hansen was reaching for a high puck, while Jonathan Toews believed "it's pretty evident that he wasn't reaching for the puck or anything."

Edmonton Oilers vs. Winnipeg Jets

The Oilers and Jets both started their existence in the World Hockey Association in 1972. There, the Jets dominated the Oilers winning the Avco Cup three times, while the Oilers were not playoff contenders. But, when they joined the NHL in 1979 (along with the Quebec Nordiques and Hartford Whalers), the tables were turned, thanks to a 18 year old from Brantford, Ontario named Wayne Gretzky. From 1983 to 1989, the Oilers and Jets met in the playoffs five times, the Oilers won every one of them, losing only one game out of the 19 games played between the two on their way to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1988; with the Oilers winning the Stanley Cup in the latter four years. But, when Gretzky was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988, the Jets thought they got the upper hand on Edmonton. When they met in the first round of the 1990 playoffs, the Jets took a commanding 3 games to 1 series lead, and led game 5 by that same margin. Eventually, the Oilers fought back to win the next three games and the series in seven. This would serve as a wake up call to Edmonton, would lose just three more games the rest of the way en route to their fifth Stanley Cup championship in seven years, and their first without Gretzky. While the rivalry ended in 1996 when the Jets left Winnipeg to became the Phoenix Coyotes, in 2011 another Winnipeg Jets team begun play with the relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers, and the hostile atmosphere during their only confrontation in the 2011-12 season - a 5-3 victory by the Oilers at Winnipeg's MTS Centre - was considered a renewal.

Beginning in the 2013-14 season this became an interconference rivalry as the Jets moved to the Western Conference.

Historical

Anaheim Ducks vs. Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings defeated the then-Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in their first game ever (7-2 at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, 1993), and frequent playoff matches between the two teams created much animosity between the fanbases. Detroit swept Anaheim in the franchise's first two series (the Western Conference Semifinals in 1997, where the Red Wings went on to win the Cup, and the first round in 1999), and the Ducks afterwards beat the Red Wings en route to two Stanley Cup Finals - the first round in 2003, and the 2007 Western Finals, where the Ducks later became league champions. The next time both teams faced each was a violent seven game series in the Western Semifinals 2009, won by the Red Wings. In the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs the teams had their final non-finals playoff encounter where the second seeded Ducks were defeated by the Red Wings in seven games.

The rivalry became an interconference rivalry in the 2013-14 season, when the Red Wings move to the Eastern Conference.

Battle of New England: Boston Bruins vs. Hartford Whalers

The rivalry was first started before the two teams ever met on the ice when the Bruins "blocked" the WHA merger in 1979 because "the Whalers were in their territory". They first played each other in the 1979-80 season with the Bruins flourishing against the season while the "expansion" Whalers were awful that year. They played the Bruins twice in the playoffs in 1990 and 1991, the Bruins won both times. The rivalry got to a heating point when Cam Neely and Ulf Samuelsson would fight on a regular occasion. It got to a point where Samuelsson hit Neely in the knees in the 1991 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but Samuelsson was traded to the Penguins earlier that season. At the Hartford Civic Center, usually when the Bruins won, the Whalers fans would fight Bruins fans on Ann St in Downtown Hartford. The rivalry ended in 1997 when the Whalers relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina.

Battle of Quebec: Montreal Canadiens vs. Quebec Nordiques

Main article: Battle of Quebec (ice hockey)

The Battle of Quebec is the nickname for a former NHL rivalry between the Montreal Canadiens and Quebec Nordiques. The rivalry lasted from 1979–80–1994–95. The teams played against each other five times in the NHL playoffs, and the Canadiens won three of the series. One meeting, in 1984, resulted in the Good Friday Massacre, a game in which multiple brawls happened. The Battle of Quebec extended to politics, in which the Canadiens and Nordiques became symbols for rival parties, and beer distribution, as the teams were both owned by competing breweries.

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Detroit Red Wings

Main article: Blackhawks–Red Wings rivalry

The Blackhawks–Red Wings rivalry was the most intense in the Central Division. It has existed since 1926–27 and continued from the Original Six days into the present. These two clubs have faced each other in more regular season games than any other two clubs in NHL history, except for the total number of regular season and playoff matches between the Bruins and Canadiens. The rivalry will become an inter-conference rivalry beginning in the 2013-14 season, as the Detroit Red Wings will move to the Eastern Conference.

Colorado Avalanche vs. Detroit Red Wings

Main article: Red Wings–Avalanche brawl

The groundwork for the Avalanche–Red Wings rivalry was laid well before Denver even had an NHL franchise, during games between Detroit and Quebec. Once the Nordiques moved to Denver, the small rivalry still existed. Also, in a regular season game between Detroit and Montreal, the Wings scored on Patrick Roy 9 times, leading to Roy demanding a trade. Roy was eventually traded to Colorado and became a huge factor in the rivalry.

The rivalry was largely predicated on the competitiveness of both teams in the late '90s and early 2000s. From 1996–2002, the teams met in five playoff series, three times in the Western Conference Finals. Out of those seven seasons, the teams combined to win five Stanley Cups and four Presidents' Trophies. From 1995–2003, both teams, along with the Devils, reigned exclusively as Stanley Cup champions, except in 1999, which was won by the Dallas Stars (the Devils beat the Red Wings in 1995, the Avalanche beat the Devils in 2001).

Beginning in the 2013-14 season this will be an interconference rivalry as the Red Wings move to the Eastern Conference.

See also

• List of the most frequent NHL playoff series

References

Inline citations

Bibliography

• Cole, Stephen (2004). The Best of Hockey Night in Canada. Toronto: McArthur & Company. ISBN 1-55278-408-8.