National Hockey League rivalries

Rivalries in the National Hockey League (NHL) have occurred between many teams and cities, but none more famous and storied than that of the Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers vs. New York Islanders, and the Edmonton Oilers vs. Calgary Flames. Recently, with the addition of an NHL team based in Ottawa, there has been a revival of a much older Battle of Ontario between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators. A newer rivalry that is approaching the level of these aforementioned rivalries is the one between the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers, and the New Jersey Devils, all three of which are in the Atlantic Division. The most bitter in most recent times has been between the Colorado Avalanche and the Detroit Red Wings.

Original Six rivalries

In the original six era of the NHL, teams played more frequently, and games were often undermined by personal rivalries between players. These personal and team rivalries persisted for many years as the turnover rate on NHL rosters was very low. The strongest rivalries were:

• Chicago Blackhawks & Detroit Red Wings
• Detroit Red Wings & Toronto Maple Leafs
• Detroit Red Wings & Montreal Canadiens
• Toronto Maple Leafs & Montreal Canadiens
• Montreal Canadiens & Boston Bruins
• Boston Bruins & New York Rangers

Flyers-Rangers Rivalry

The Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers have met ten times in Stanley Cup playoff contention, with the Flyers winning six of the series.

On their way to a title in 1973-74, the Broad Street Bullies eliminated the Rangers in the semifinals. The series went seven games, with the Rangers sealing their own fate, taking a too-many-men penalty in the waning moments of the game while trying to replace the goaltender with an extra attacker.

In the 1985-86 playoffs, the upstart Rangers overachieved, eliminating the Patrick Division champion Flyers in the first round of the playoffs. The Flyers were Cup finalists the year before and after this playoff loss.

The Flyers and Rangers renewed their playoff rivalry once more when the two teams met in the playoffs in 1994-95 and 1996-97, both series won by the Flyers. The first series was bitter for the Rangers – the Flyers four game sweep eliminated the defending Cup champions in the second round. Many Flyers fans remember this for the second game the Flyers won in overtime. Kevin Haller scored, sending normally laid-back Flyers color analyst Gary Dornhoefer into a frenzy. The latter series was the Eastern Conference Finals that sent the Flyers to the 1996-97 Stanley Cup Finals. With a 4-1 series win, it marked the last time the Rangers have made the playoffs until the 2005-06 season and it later turned out to be both Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier's last playoff game. Also adding to this rivalry was the original conflict between the teams in 1992 over the rights to Eric Lindros, and then the Flyers trading Lindros to the Rangers in 2001.

Devils-Flyers Rivalry

The Flyers-Devils rivalry took off with their first playoff meeting in 1994-95 when the Devils eliminated the Flyers 4-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals, en route to winning the Stanley Cup. They would meet again in 1999-00, once again in the Eastern Conference Finals; this time, the Flyers blew a 3-1 series lead over the Devils, including losing 2 games in Philadelphia. Game 7 of this series would also be the final game for Lindros as a Flyer, suffering a concussion at the hands of Devils defenseman Scott Stevens. The loss in 1999-00 has been attributed by some Flyers fans to The Curse of Billy Penn, as the Devils would go on to win the Cup by beating the Dallas Stars in 6 games. The Flyers would finally defeat the Devils in the playoffs in 2003-04, when they eliminated the defending Cup champs 4-1 in the first round of the playoffs. This rivalry has become quite intense in New Jersey itself, with the northern part of the state being the Devils fanbase, while the southern part of the state is mostly Flyers fans.

Incidentally, the first meeting between the two franchises was in the 1977-78 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Devils were then known as the Colorado Rockies. The Flyers took the Best of Three Preliminary Round series 2-0.

Devils-Rangers Rivalry

Despite the Devils overall playoff superiority since 1990, the first three playoff series between these teams were all Rangers victories. The first series occurred in the spring of 1992, when the Presidents' Trophy champion Rangers survived a seven game series.

The rivalry's most famous moments are centered around the 1994 conference finals, a series that would become one of the greatest in league history. Although both teams were the top point-getters in 1994 (Rangers 112, Devils 106), the story entering the series was the Rangers 6-0 record against New Jersey that regular season. However, all ideas of a quick series were dashed after Game 1, a 2-1 double overtime victory sealed by the Devils’ Stephane Richer. The Rangers routed the Devils 4-0 in Game 2, and used a double overtime goal by Stephane Matteau to take a 2-1 lead after Game 3. After dropping Games 4 and 5, the Rangers faced elimination going to New Jersey for Game 6. Prior to the game, Rangers captain Mark Messier guaranteed a victory in Game 6 at the Meadowlands, then scored a hat trick to tie the series at 3-3 and send it back to New York for Game 7. In Game 7, thanks to another Matteau goal in double overtime the Rangers won the series and later the Stanley Cup. Interestingly, the first six games were won by the team that lost that respective game in 1992. That trend was reversed when the Rangers won Game 7.

The Rangers also eliminated the Devils in the 1997 playoffs before losing to the Flyers in the conference finals. This was the only meeting between the two in which the Devils had a better regular season record. However, New Jersey’s anemic offense limited them to five goals in the five game series, including two shutout losses. In the first round of the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs, New Jersey defaeted the Rangers in a four game sweep. The Devils out-scored the rangers in the series with a total of 17 goals over New York's 4.

The Devils dominated New York during the regular season in the late 90's and early 2000s. At one point, the Devils had an unbeaten streak against New York, going 15-0-8 between February 17, 1997 and March 31, 2001 - a streak spanning four years.

At the end of the 2005-06 season, the Devils had won 11 straight games - the second such streak of the season - and capped off the run by winning the Atlantic Division in comeback fashion against the Montreal Canadiens, a division win made all the more exciting by the fact that the Devils had been 19 points out of the lead just months prior, and many thought the team wouldn't make the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Rangers had the division lead for most of the latter part of the season, but fell victim to a losing skid as the season came to a close. As fate would have it, the red-hot Devils met the ice-cold Rangers, and the result was a four-game sweep by New Jersey over their cross-river rivals for the first time ever.

The New Jersey Devils also have a signature cheer that is yelled and whistled at every game. In response to the "Potvin Sucks" chant that the Rangers have against the Islanders, the Devils fans at the Continental Airlines Arena cheer "Rangers Suck." This chant, just like the Potvin chant being heard whether the Rangers are playing the Islanders or not, is also heard quite randomly at Devils games.

This rivalry was satirized in the Seinfeld episode The Face Painter in which David Puddy, a hard-core Devils fans paints his face red at a game at the Garden to the embarrassment to Jerry, Kramer, and Elaine, who are Ranger fans.

Islanders-Rangers Rivalry

The Islanders-Rangers Rivalry was established when the NHL awarded a second franchise in the New York metropolitan area. With the impending start of the World Hockey Association in the fall of 1972, the upstart league had plans to place a team in the new Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Nassau County. The National Hockey League did not want the competition in the nation's largest metro area, so despite having expanded a mere two years before, the NHL hastily awarded franchises to Atlanta and Long Island. The fledgling New York Islanders had an extra burden to pay in the form of a $4 million territorial fee to the nearby New York Rangers.

Interestingly, the Islanders-Rangers both play in the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division, guaranteeing plenty of regular season meetings. Of the other New York City major league sports teams, MLB's Yankees and Mets are in different conferences, as are the NFL's Jets and Giants, giving them little oppourtunity to play each other.

In 1975, the Islanders made their first trip to the NHL playoffs, facing the established Rangers in a best-of-three first-round series. After splitting the first two games, the Islanders won Game 3, and the series, when J.P. Parise scored 11 seconds into overtime. The teams met again in the 1979 playoffs; this time the underdog Rangers were victorious, eliminating the heavily favoured Islanders in 6 games and earning a spot in the Stanley Cup finals. This was particularily memorable as it continued the Islander's reputation for playoff "chokes" despite finishing first in the league during the regular season.

The teams also met in the playoffs every year from 1981-1984; the Islanders won each series by margins of 4-0, 4-2, 4-2 and 3-2 enroute to 4 finals and three Stanley Cups (in addition to their 1980 win to make it four championships and 5 finals in a row). The closeness of the 1984 series led it to be nicknamed the Battle of New York.

In the 1990's, the teams met twice, with the Rangers winning 4-1 in 1990, and sweeping the Islanders 4-0 in 1994, en route to winning their first Stanley Cup since 1940.

The rivalry has lost some of its intensity from its peak in the early 1980's, as neither team had made it past the first round of the playoffs after 1997 and both often missed the postseason. But while the rivalry may have lost some luster in the eyes of the sports media, fans continue to fuel the fire. With both teams' fans visiting "enemy territory" for games, shouting matches and fights often break out in the stands. The fans continue to berate the other team even when the teams aren't meeting on the ice; "Potvin Sucks!" chants are heard at every Rangers game -- referring to Islander Hall of Famer Denis Potvin, in fact retired for eighteen seasons now -- and Islander fans still chant "The Rangers Suck!" to the tune of the Chicken Dance. One well-known incident at an Islanders/Flyers game in 2003 turned an innocent holiday promotion at Nassau Coliseum into an on-ice brawl between Ranger and Islander fans in Santa suits. When the Isles and the Rangers play at the Coliseum, Ranger fans call it their second home or "Garden East", as they sometimes make up 50% of the attendance.

As of 2005, the Rangers hold a slight lead in the all-time series with 89 wins, 85 losses (including overtime and shootout losses), and 19 ties. In the playoffs, however, the Islanders hold the lead with a 20-19 record, and have won five of the eight playoff series between the two teams.

Since 2001, the Pat LaFontaine Trophy has been awarded to the winner of the Rangers-Islanders regular season series. LaFontaine was a superstar for all three New York state teams: New York Islanders (1983–1991), Buffalo Sabres (1991–1997), and New York Rangers (1997–1998).

Bruins-Canadiens Rivalry

The Bruins-Canadiens Rivalry is a rivalry in the National Hockey League (NHL) between the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens, two teams that are considered a part of the Original Six. It is considered one of the most bitter in the NHL, especially as the Bruins and Canadiens have played each other more times than any other two currently existing teams in NHL history. The rivalry is one sided, with the Canadiens winning 3/4 of head to head playoff series and all of the finals series, but the Bruins have gotten some memorable shots in. As of the start of the 2005-06 NHL season, the Bruins have won some 250 of these matches, with the Canadiens winning over 310 of them, with 105 other games between the two teams ending in ties, going back all the way to the Bruins' first NHL season in 1924-1925.

In the 1950s, the Canadiens would defeat the Bruins in the Stanley Cup finals three times. Also during the 1952 playoff semi-finals, Maurice Richard was knocked out in the seventh game but returned to score the series winning goal. One of the most famous NHL photos is the one of Richard and Bruins goaltender "Sugar" Jim Henry shaking hands after the conclusion of the series; Richard has a cut above his eyebrown while Henry has a black eye.

On March 13, 1955, Montreal superstar Maurice Richard was given a match penalty and suspended for the remainder of the season for deliberately injuring Hal Laycoe, in a game against the Bruins. Laycoe had moments earlier high-sticked Richard in the head but no penalty was called. When Richard saw blood, he skated towards Laycoe who dropped his gloves to fight. The incident was exacerbated by Richard repeatedly breaking away to attack Laycoe with hockey sticks, and then assaulting linesman Cliff Thompson who attempted to restrain him. The suspension prevented Montreal from winning the Stanley Cup and personally cost Richard the league scoring title.

While the teams played each other often, the teams became pronounced rivals in the 1970s, when both were yearly contenders. In 1971, despite the Bruins finishing first in the league and shattering many NHL scoring records, they loss in the first round to the Canadiens in seven games; the pivotal moment was game two when the Bruins squandered a 5-1 lead to lose 5-7. This ending a potential Bruins dynasty, although they would win the Stanley Cup the following season. Don Cherry's "Lunch Pail Gang" in 1977 and 1978 would lose both finals to the Canadiens.

The seminal moment in the history of the rivalry was probably Game 7 of the 1979 Semi-Finals , (the terms Wales/Campbell Conference Finals was in use during 1982 to 1993 NHL playoffs). After a rough and tumble series in which saw both sides win their home games so far, the Bruins were ahead in the closing four minutes thanks to a goal by Rick Middleton which Ken Dryden would later remark as the "most beautiful goal that he ever let in". However, after the Boston bench was charged with a minor penalty for "Too Many Men on the Ice," Guy LaFleur scored the tying goal on the ensuing power play, and Montreal won in overtime. The win allowed Montreal to advance to the Stanley Cup finals to win for the fourth consecutive year.

The rivalry continued throughout the 1980s, mainly due to a division-oriented playoff format that seemed to pair the teams every year. In 1988, the Bruins finally won a playoff series againt Canadiens in the latter's Montreal Forum on the way to advancing to the Stanley Cup championship. The next year, the Canadiens beat the Bruins on their trip to the finals. In 1990, thanks to goaltender Andy Moog, the Bruins finished off the Canadiens for the first time in the Boston Garden since 1943 and would also win the 1991 and 1992 playoff match-ups against the Canadiens, the last one being a 4-0 sweep.

In 1994, the Canadiens were the defending champions but they were knocked out in the first round by the Bruins. Nonetheless, that seven game series was notable in the eyes of Montreal fans as superstar Patrick Roy came down with appendicitis and missed game three. Roy convinced doctors to let him return for Game Four and led the Canadiens to a 5-2 victory, stopping 39 shots[1].

The Bruins were defeated in both the 2002 and the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs in the first round by the Canadiens, despite the Bruins being seeded higher, which contributed to the animosity.

Blues-Blackhawks Rivalry

Not unlike the baseball rivalry between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs, the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks share an intense hatred of each other. Separated by 300 miles and at one time owned by the same man (Arthur Wirtz, who had a stake in the St. Louis Arena), the clubs have been in the same division (Western 1970-74, Smythe 1974-1981, Norris 1981-1993, Central 1993-present) since 1970. The matchups were at a hilt in the early '90s, when both teams had well-known stars such as Dirk Graham, Chris Chelios and Ed Belfour for the Hawks and Brett Hull, Adam Oates and Curtis Joseph for the Blues and played in old arenas (The Arena and Chicago Stadium) that were regarded as two of the loudest in the league.

Possibly the greatest moment in the rivalry was the 1993 Norris Division Semifinal: Chicago had won the division handily but were swept by the Blues, winning the series on an overtime goal. Belfour, who said he had been interfered with on the goal by Brett Hull, went on to cause thousands of dollars' worth of damage to the visiting locker room at the Arena, breaking a coffeemaker, hot tub and television among other objects. To this day Belfour refuses to appear in regular-season games in St. Louis: the only exception coming in 1999 when he replaced Roman Turek for the Dallas Stars in the 3rd period of a 4-4 game, and only after Turek had allowed four unanswered goals. When he was spotted skating onto the ice, the Savvis Center crowd greeted him with the "Bellll-foooour" chant, first popularized in the '93 series.

Although the Hawks have had a large string of bad fortune under Craig Hartsburg, Dirk Graham and Bob Pulford, keeping them out of the playoffs in recent years, whilst the Blues had made the playoffs for 25 successive years (a streak ending with the 2005-06 season), the Blues and Blackhawks did meet in the 2002 Western Conference Quarterfinals. The Blues won the series 4 games to 1.

Battle of Alberta

Main article: Battle of Alberta

The Battle of Alberta is the bitter rivalry between the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). The 2 teams are based in the province's 2 largest cities: Edmonton and Calgary.

The Oilers joined the NHL as one of the teams making the switch from the World Hockey Association in 1979, soon followed by the Atlanta Flames moving to Calgary in 1980, suddenly making the question of who would be #1 in Alberta pro hockey a hot topic. At first it was the Flames who were the dominant squad (making it to the Stanley Cup conference final in their first season), but the Oilers were starting to make headlines with their rising star, Wayne Gretzky. It was the Oilers who became champions first, building an NHL dynasty with a lineup that included legends like Grant Fuhr, Paul Coffey, and Mark Messier.

Edmonton defeated Calgary in the playoffs in 1983, 1984, 1988, and 1991, winning the Stanley Cup in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990. Calgary interrupted Edmonton's bid for a third championship by beating the latter in the infamous 1986 series. The Flames had surprised the Oilers by taking the two-time defending Cup winners to seven games and the series was decided when Oiler Steve Smith accidentally deflected the puck in his own net. When the Oilers won the championship again, Wayne Gretzky first handed the Cup to Smith after the former had hoisted it.

The Flames eventually won the Cup in 1989 with Lanny McDonald, Doug Gilmour and Mike Vernon leading them; but they did not have to face the Oilers who were eliminated by the Los Angeles Kings. The last time the two teams met in the playoffs was in 1991, and it is often cited as one of the most exciting playoff series of all time.

With the fortunes of both teams hitting a relative nadir during the 1990s, the rivalry cooled. Both teams were in the spotlight because of their dire financial situation, with experts predicting the demise of all Canadian NHL teams except for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The passions ignited in the 1980s playoff sagas would only make brief appearances during the regular season.

The Flames' made the Stanley Cup final in 2004, and the Oilers made the Stanley Cup final in 2006. The Battle of Alberta has been re-ignited.

As both cities are rivals when it comes to many things (not just sports), the Battle of Alberta label has been applied to various other endeavours, most notably the rivalry between the CFL's Edmonton Eskimos and Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.

Battle of Ontario

The rivalry between the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs is popular and often surfaces during the playoffs, as the two teams are in the same division and have repeatedly met in the postseason. It is often referred to as the Battle of Ontario. The major catalyst for this rivalry is the fact that both cities' roles to Canada are vital: Ottawa is the nation's capital and Toronto its largest city (in addition to being Ontario's provincial capital).

The Senators entered the league in 1992, but the rivalry between the two teams did not begin to emerge until the late 1990s. From 1992 to 1998, Toronto was in the NHL's Western Conference and Ottawa was in the Eastern, which meant that the two teams rarely played each other. Before the 1998-1999 season, the conferences and divisions were re-aligned, and Toronto was moved into the Eastern Conference's Northeast Division with Ottawa, Montreal, Buffalo, and Boston. By 1999, both Ottawa and Toronto were elite Eastern Conference teams, annually competing for the division title. Anglophones in Eastern Canada finally had a team other than Toronto to root for, and eagerly embraced the Senators. In the same way, many Franco-Canadians hoping to distinguish themselves from "les equipes Quebecois" adopted the Sens as their own. What makes this rivalry even more intense is the fact that not all Leafs fans in the Ottawa area become Senators fans upon the granting of the Ottawa franchise. This has resulted in a base of Leafs fans that attend Leafs-Senators games in Ottawa.

In 2000, the teams met for the first time in the playoffs, with the Maple Leafs dispatching the Senators in six games. Some Leafs fans saw this as revenge, since the Senators' Marián Hossa had accidentally clipped the Leafs' Bryan Berard in the eye during the regular season. The next season, they met again in the first round as Ottawa entered the playoffs ranked 2nd in the East and the Maple Leafs 7th. While the Senators were expected to defeat the Maple Leafs, especially since they had swept the regular season series against them, the Leafs swept the series in a major upset; Ottawa did not score their first goal of the series until 16:51 of the third period in the third game. It was after this series that the rivalry became more pronounced, especially in the eyes of Senators fans. In 2002, the teams met in the playoffs for the third straight year. The two teams were very evenly matched, and the Maple Leafs, despite missing several key players, managed to win the second-round series in seven games and advance to the conference finals.

In 2004, Ottawa and Toronto matched up in the playoffs for the fourth time in five years. As was the case each time prior, the Leafs beat the Senators in 7 games, but many observers thought that Ottawa outplayed Toronto, and gave credit for Toronto's win to an exceptional performance by the Leafs goaltender, Ed Belfour.

In 2005-06, the two teams nearly met again, but the Leafs missed the playoffs by two points, while the Senators clinched the top spot in the East. The Senators largely dominated the season series by winning 7 of the 8 games (including 3 routs of 8-0, 8-2, and 7-0) which may have been the main catalyst for the Leafs. Ottawa TV station CJOH even called it "The Public Beating of Ontario".

Colorado vs. Detroit

Without a doubt, one of the most heated rivalries in the NHL during the late 90's and beyond has been between the Colorado Avalanche and the Detroit Red Wings. Many little incidents with individual players all seemed to align once the Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver in 1995. During a heated Round 3 matchup in the 1996 Stanley Cup tournament, the rivalry came to a boil in Game 6 when Colorado winger Claude Lemieux checked Wings center Kris Draper into the boards, causing his jaw bone to fracture and leading to his immediate departure from the game. Many Detroit fans were outraged at the incident since Draper never saw it coming and was not able to defend himself. Colorado went on to win the game and thus, eliminated Detroit from contention. Some players openly admitted they refused to shake Lemieux's hand during the traditional hand shake line at the end of a series. The loss of the series was made all the more painful for Detroit, still looking for its first Stanley Cup in four decades, by the fact that the team had been eliminated from the playoffs just a year after going all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals (where they were swept by the New Jersey Devils, with Claude Lemieux, then of New Jersey, being named playoff MVP), and by their incredibly dominant regular season, in which they racked up 62 wins and a total of 131 points.

During the 1996-97 season, the 2 teams met 4 times. Colorado won the first three games. The final game between the 2 teams for the season was March 26, 1997. Colorado jumped out to an early 3-1 lead. During a minor scuffle, then Forward Darren McCarty saw his opportunity to exact revenge for the incident against his line mate almost a year earlier. He went after Lemieux, who went into what some describe as a turtle defense, and all hell broke loose. Then the Avs' Patrick Roy came out of his net to assist, only to be tied up by his opposite number Mike Vernon. After about 10 minutes and a laundry list of penalties later, the game resumed. Eventually, Detroit fought back and tied the game to force overtime. Detroit scored in OT to win the game that many feel changed the tide of the rivalry.

The 2 teams again met for the Western conference title and the right to contest for the 1997 Stanley Cup. After trading wins in Denver, Detroit went up 2-1 and further heightened tensions by winning game 4, 6-0. Returning to Denver, the Avalanche got a 6-0 victory themselves in game 5. Game 6 saw Detroit make a tight defensive effort all night and made an empty net goal with about 1:30 remaining to ensure they would go to the finals for the 2nd time in 3 years. They would eventually win the championship ending 42 years of drought. The next year's playoffs saw a wild turn of events as Colorado was upset in the first round by the Edmonton Oilers. Detroit went on to repeat as champions.

Colorado would strike back against the Red Wings in 1999 when the 2 teams met in the second round. Although Detroit won the first two games, they lost the next four. Again, the same scenario played out in 2000 when Colorado ousted Detroit in 5 games. In yet another weird twist in 2001, the Red Wings lost to the Los Angeles Kings, losing 4 straight games after winning 2, and the Kings in turn were dispatched in 7 games by the Avalanche who went on to win the championship of 2001. Interesting about 1999-2001 was Adam Deadmarsh's postseason effectiveness against the Red Wings while playing for both the Avalanche and the Kings during that span; Wings captain Steve Yzerman remarked that Deadmarsh was "killing them".

2002 saw the 2 teams once again meet in the conference final for what can be described as the best series in history between the teams. Detroit entered after a round 1 scare against the Vancouver Canucks, but an easy round 2 with the St. Louis Blues. Colorado was not doing as well, beating Los Angeles and San Jose respectively, but having to go 7 games in both series. The first 6 games were nail biters and had the feeling of a heavyweight fight. Detroit winning games 1, 3, and 6; Colorado winning 2, 4, and 5. Games 2, 3, and 5 went into overtime and nearly all of them decided by a single goal. Game 7 was expected to be an all out rumble for the western conference championship. However, with Colorado going to its 3rd consecutive 7th game, the Avalanche had finally run out of energy. Detroit won by an amazing 7-0 score, with 4 goals in the first period alone. Detroit went on to win the Cup.

It is worth noting that in 5 meetings of the 2 teams in the playoffs, the winner of the series went on to win the Stanley Cup 3 times. Though the bad blood has settled in recent years, the quality of hockey when this rivalry gets renewed has never faltered.

Other Historical Rivalries

• Montreal Canadiens vs. Quebec Nordiques (now the Colorado Avalanche)
• Vancouver Canucks vs. Calgary Flames
• Vancouver Canucks vs. Colorado Avalanche
• Edmonton Oilers vs. Dallas Stars
• Philadelphia Flyers vs. Boston Bruins
• Philadelphia Flyers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
• Philadelphia Flyers vs. New York Islanders
• Philadelphia Flyers vs. Buffalo Sabres
• Buffalo Sabres vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
• Philadelphia Flyers vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
• Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers
• Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
• St. Louis Blues vs. Detroit Red Wings
• Minnesota North Stars (now the Dallas Stars) vs. Chicago Blackhawks
• Detroit Red Wings vs. Dallas Stars

See also

• Sports rivalry
• Local derby
• Stanley Cup
• List of Stanley Cup champions
• List of NHL seasons