Closest and/or biggest NHL Rivals

[pbhockey4 0]

I am a devils fan and I know the islanders and rangers are rivals of eachother because they are in the metro area of NY. I know the LA Kings and Ducks are also rivals because they arent to far from eachother. Also isnt the Sabers and Maple Leafs rivalry called Battle of the Border?

[Chadd 916]

Some rivalries are real and others are created. The only real rivalries are when both teams are good and the games actually mean something. Toronto and Ottawa had a great one going for a while.

[wrangler 157]

If the rivalry is strong, the games always mean something, regardless of current records. Bears/Packers is an example. It never mattered if one or both teams were having bad seasons, you could throw out the records, and be prepared for a dogfight, especially when I was a kid.

I don't recall any other Chicago team having a rivalry at that level, but the Blackhawks and the Red Wings is pretty good, and the Canucks games have been getting more tense. Going back, maybe the Blues, for physical play, and we used to hate the Bruins with Cheever. They'd always put Mackenzie on Bobby Hull.

Montreal games were always interesting, with fights between Bobby Hull and John Ferguson.

[Chadd 916]

If the rivalry is strong, the games always mean something, regardless of current records. Bears/Packers is an example. It never mattered if one or both teams were having bad seasons, you could throw out the records, and be prepared for a dogfight, especially when I was a kid.

I haven't seen that kind of rivalry in hockey in a long time. The only thing that is close is the islanders and rangers, but that has almost as much to do with the idiot fans for both teams that always seem to start trouble.

[chippa13 1844]

I'd say that the Bruins/Canadiens rivalry is pretty strong again these days. It had peetered out for a little while but got itself going again when Komisarek and Lucic started going at it.

[Vinny_R 1]

Montreal got great rivalry with Boston and Toronto. Players hates each others but the fans hate each other even more. It's not only on the ice anymore. Like in the time that the Nordiques were in the NHL, I remember I saw some fights at my grandmother's house between family members that hated each other just because of that rivalry. I don't know too much about the other places in the NHL, but Montréal/Boston and Montréal/Toronto are some classic matches, even if Toronto don't do anything these days.

[xrickyb86x 1]

I'm a Kings fan and yes the Ducks and the Kings hate each other but it's not a full fledged rivalry between the teams yet. Between fans? Absolutely. The problem is when one team has been good the other has been terrible. I'd say the Kings and Sharks and the Ducks and Sharks are bigger rivalries game wise. Ducks because of the 8th seed playoff upset a few years back and the Kings because they've always played the Sharks harder than most teams.

[pbhockey4 0]

But which team has the most rivals? I know the Rangers have a handful like the Bruins, Flyers, Devils, and Islanders.

[hunterphfr 12]

Calgary & Edmonton have a pretty big rivalry city to city, often referred to as the Battle of Alberta. The 2 cities aren't that far apart, but the culture, the politics, and identities of the two are very different. It is a pretty bitter rivalry and transfers over to the Oilers & Flames, Golden Bears & Dinos and the Eskimos & Stampeders regardless of standings.

No discussion of rivals would be complete without Detroit and Colorado. It has become a shadow of what it once was. I remember when you circled the day those two teams met on the calendar. You never knew what kind of mayhem they would unleash.

Boston and Montreal is still pretty intense, nothing close to what it was in the seventies and eighties. Boston's road to the Cup being through Montreal and vice versa. I can remember brawls before games even started, multiple brawls in the same game and very intense hockey. Considered to be one of the greatest rivalries in sports, having played each other more than any other 2 teams in the NHL.

Toronto vs. Buffalo is also referred to as the Battle of the QEW. Referring to the Queen Elizabeth Way, the stretch of highway that seperates the two cities.

[Jason Harris 31]

What's an interesting question is whether the rivalry comes strictly from the teams or do the fans have input? If the fans have any say, then Boston teams will always be leading contenders for having the most rivals; it just feels natural for us to hate other posers standing in the way of our championship. And now that the B's won the Cup, you can expect us to become insufferable!

[RadioGaGa 162]

Chadd: I think the GB/Bears comparison works for Habs/Leafs. Those teams, regardless of record/standing...always seem to get up for each other.

[yf51 0]

No doubts - Red Wings - Colorado of the 90's was the biggest rivalry I ever witnessed. Also Quebec - Montreal was a good one. Nowadays teams are not as consistent on my opinion. Now its either a battle of good squads or just leftovers from the previous rivalries or just the geographic location.

[chippa13 1844]

What's an interesting question is whether the rivalry comes strictly from the teams or do the fans have input? If the fans have any say, then Boston teams will always be leading contenders for having the most rivals; it just feels natural for us to hate other posers standing in the way of our championship. And now that the B's won the Cup, you can expect us to become insufferable!

While I have no immediate plans to become insufferable, I have the utmost confidence that should I approach such levels that Montreal fans will be sure to one up me. I'm prepared for at least a few months of "Wow, six Cups, huh.....that sure isn't 24." Right up there with the barrage from Yankees fans whenever Sox fans try to enjoy their World Series wins.

[Jason Harris 31]

But that's what makes us so endearing in our insufferability, chippa. Facts don't get in the way of our sense of superiority, so we're able to blissfully ignore such callous remarks.

[BenderHockey 127]

But that's what makes us so endearing in our insufferability, chippa. Facts don't get in the way of our sense of superiority, so we're able to blissfully ignore such callous remarks.

Maybe that's why the term "Mass-hole" was coined.

[chippa13 1844]

Nah, that has to do with Massachusetts drivers.

[Jason Harris 31]

Although I was born in and lived in Mass longer, I think of NH as home, since those were my high school years, and we use to refer to the drivers as "Massholes" and "Maineiacs".......

[xrickyb86x 1]

No doubts - Red Wings - Colorado of the 90's was the biggest rivalry I ever witnessed.

Absolutely. That's the biggest rivalry I remember when I was a kid and still to this day those teams are better than every current rivalry. Boston/Montreal is always fun though.