Rivalries are immensely important to the success of all sports, but it is the NHL that has arguably the most heated and physical rivalries of them all.
Whether it’s the great Buffalo Sabres-Detroit Red Wings rivalry that NBC Sports showed on their first “Rivalry Night” of the year or an actual rivalry that has historical relevance, fans get amped up to see their favorite team play their least favorite team.
The new realignment in the NHL has caused rivalries to be even more important, as only three teams in each division are guaranteed a playoff spot and everyone needs to gut out as many wins as possible against their fiercest foes.
Here are the top five rivalries in the NHL today. As a side note, no team will be mentioned twice.
5. Detroit Red Wings vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
Fans in both Detroit and Toronto have been longing for the day that the Wings and Leafs would become rivals again and face each other five or six times a year instead of just once.
That day is finally here.
Detroit is Hockeytown and Toronto is the capital of the hockey world. Add that to the fact that these are two Original Six franchises with all sorts of history and will play on New Year’s Day in the most highly-attended NHL game of all-time and you have yourself an instant classic.
4. Chicago Blackhawks vs. St. Louis Blues
This rivalry was huge in the early 1990s but died away before the turn of the century as each year it seemed as if one team was competitive while the other was inferior.
Today, the Blackhawks and Blues are two of the top teams in all of hockey and can be expected to battle it out for the Central Division crown.
St. Louis handed Chicago its first regulation loss of the year last week, but the two will face off again in Chicago on Thursday night in what should be one of the best games of the week.
3. Philadelphia Flyers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Spend five minutes watching highlights of the 2012 playoff series between these two Keystone State enemies and you will understand how this is one of the most heated rivalries in all of sports.
They have met in three playoff series since 2008 with the Penguins winning and advancing to the Stanley Cup Final after the first two meetings until the Flyers gained revenge in 2012 after one of the most violent playoff series in the history of the game.
2. New Jersey Devils vs. New York Rangers
It all started back in 1994.
The Rangers had not won a Stanley Cup since 1940 (long before the New Jersey Devils were even thought of), and the Devils had a 3-2 series lead in the Eastern Conference Final.
Ranger captain Mark Messier made a bold statement by guaranteeing a victory in Game Six to keep his team alive. Not only did the Rangers win Game Six, but Messier scored a hat trick that sealed a 4-2 victory.
Sure enough, the Rangers won Game Seven in double overtime and continued to hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time in 54 years.
The Devils, however, would go on to win the Cup three times in the next nine seasons and make the Stanley Cup Final another two times, most recently in 2012 after stunning the highly-favored Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final.
1. Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens
Pretty much any matchup involving Boston, Montreal or Toronto can be considered one of the league’s top rivalries, but this one takes the cake.
The Bruins and Habs have provided for so many great moments throughout history, and you will find it very hard to argue with either fan base that there is a better rivalry not only in hockey, but in all of sports.
The hatred that these teams have for each other is older and more intense than any mutual hatred two hockey teams have ever had in the history of the game.
(Honorable Mentions: Anaheim Ducks vs. Los Angeles Kings, Calgary Flames vs. Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Ottawa Senators/Montreal Canadiens)