There’s nothing like a good rivalry. Two talented teams that don’t like each other and two fan bases that despise each other make for exciting games and great atmospheres. It also makes for great storylines for sports writers.
Unfortunately, the NHL is suffering from an extreme lack of rivalries right now. There hasn’t been a decent rivalry since the Red Wings and the Avalanche duked it out in the playoffs over and over again in the late 1990s.
Sure, Bruins and Canadiens fans like to say they have an intense rivalry. Penguins and Capitals fans claim their rivalry is growing. But let’s be honest. Nobody cares about the Boston-Montreal rivalry outside of New England and Quebec, and even though HBO did a great job profiling Pittsburgh and Washington last year in its 24/7 feature, the rivalry wasn’t all that exciting.
This isn’t just a hockey problem either.
Continue reading “Where to find hockey’s true rivalries: It isn’t the NHL”