Boston, Montreal ready to renew rivalry tonight
Claude Julien knows all about this rivalry. He coached the Montreal Canadiens for three seasons, and now he’s in charge of the Boston Bruins.
“I hated Boston when I was in Montreal and now I hate Montreal because I’m in Boston,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
The second round of the NHL playoffs begins Thursday night when the Canadiens visit the Bruins for Game 1 of the 34th postseason series between the teams, by far the most in the NHL
A nice bit of history but just a sidelight to the action on the ice.“
I know it’s a rivalry, but, as a player, you’re more focused on your game and not so much that it’s Montreal,” said Boston center Carl Soderberg, a second-year player facing Montreal in the postseason for the first time.
The Canadiens have won 24 of the 33 previous series, but the Bruins have taken seven of the past 11. On their way to the 2010-11 Stanley Cup, Boston beat Montreal in seven games in the first round after losing the first two games at home.
Devils
Jaromir Jagr will remain with the New Jersey for another year. The Devils did not release terms of the contract, but Jagr, a former Penguins forward, said it was a one-year deal. The contract is believed to be worth $6 million with incentives. Jagr was the Devils’ leading scorer this season, finishing with 24 goals and 43 assists for 67 points.
Jagr also was named as one of the three finalists for the Bill Masterton Award, given to the player “who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey,” along with Manny Malholtra of the Carolina Hurricanes and another former Penguins forward, Dominic Moore of the New York Rangers.
Sharks
Antti Niemi returned as the starting goalie for the host San Jose Sharks in Game 7 of their first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings. Coach Todd McLellan said after the pregame skate that Niemi will start as the Sharks try to avoid becoming the fourth NHL team to lose a best-of-seven series after winning the first three games. Niemi started the first five games before rookie Alex Stalock replaced him for a 4-1 loss in Game 6 in Los Angeles.
Both teams were without an injured defenseman with Marc-Edouard Vlasic missing his second game in a row for the Sharks and Willie Mitchell missing his first for the Kings. No details of either injury were provided.
Elsewhere
Russian team Metallurg Magnitogorsk (Penguins superstar Evgeni Malkin’s hometown and former team) won the Kontinental Hockey League championship for the first time, beating Czech team Lev Prague, 7-4, in Game 7 of the Gagarin Cup. Metallurg is coached by Mike Keenan, a Canadian who coached the New York Rangers to the Stanley Cup in 1994 and is now the first coach to win an NHL title and KHL title. The loss prevented Lev from becoming the first non-Russian team to win the eight-country KHL.