It all started back in January as the Boston Bruins traveled to Montreal to take on the Canadiens. The Bruins had already dropped the prior two meetings are were looking to take one on the road from the Habs.
Leading 3-1 in the third period with less than three minutes left, it appeared the B's would wrap up the road trip on a positive note - but not so fast. In less than a minute, Montreal scored two goals to tie the game and bring it into overtime where the saga began.
Only a few minutes into the overtime period, Montreal sniper Max Pacioretty carried the puck through the neutral zone - over the blue line - and fired a wrister past Bruin goalie Tim Thomas. After the game winner Pacioretty was involved in some extra ciricular activity as he shoved Bruins captain Zdeno Chara while celebrating with his fellow teammates. I personally would have beat the fuck out of him, but with his entire team protecting him, Chara had to skate off the Bell Centre ice dodging debris and boo's from the Montreal crowd.
Less than a month later the Bruins got their revenge... Oh did they ever. The two teams totaled 200 penalty minutes and over a dozen fighting majors as Boston up ended the Habs 8-6 at the TD Bank Garden. In the video above during the fist-a-cuffs it is obvious that Chara is trying to get at the turtling Pacioretty, who prior had taken a cheapshot at his former college teammate Steve Kamfer. This was just another chapter in the story which may have just gotten started.
This past Tuesday, Boston traveled back north to play their rival once again. With playoff implications on the line - no one expected a physical game, but more of a skilled, hard-working tilt to earn the two points in the Eastern Conference standings. The Bruins appeared to be up for the game as they had several early opportunities, but couldn't connect. The Canadiens got on the board quick and never looked back as they led 2-0 after the first and 4-0 after the second. At the end of the second period is when the Pacioretty/Chara Saga Continued...
After several arguements with my family in the Canadian home-land, I still don't know how to approach this debate. First, it appeared Chara lost a step and was trying to take an angle and push Pacioretty off the puck. Second, there is no question Pacioretty is skating with his head down and is unaware that there is a WWF stainless steel turn-buckle that he is about to skate into. Lastly, there is a lot of history that I pointed out between these two players - so who knows if there was truly intent ?
After the game Chara spoke to the media and was sincere when he said the hit was "unintentional." He told the reporter that he realized the two of them were near the bench, but he didn't mean to hit him into the post. He also continued to say that he is a physical player, who plays hard, but would never try to hurt another player.
I guess it's just another saga in the Boston/Montreal rivalry. Best wishes to Max Pacioretty. Hope to see you on the ice at the Garden on March 24th. If not, you and Savard can hang out in the luxury suites and eat crab cakes.
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