Century of Bad Blood: Red Wings-Leafs Rivalry Still Burning Hot
The Detroit Red Wings have one of their fiercest rivalries with their closest Canadian neighbour in the Toronto Maple Leafs. The two sides have battled each other 804 times, including two outdoor games, 23 playoff matchups and seven Stanley Cup Finals. It's one of the richest rivalries in the sport as the 231 miles that separates them most of the time isn't enough as rowdy crowd atmospheres are a regular.
This rivalry has been rooted in hatred for nearly a century with a notorious timestamp in their history being the massive brawl in the 1940 Stanley Cup Final. Game 2 was one of the most chaotic and violent games in playoff history starting with Leafs defenceman Rudolph Kampman injuring Detroit's Cecil Dillon. Tensions escalated when Toronto's Red Horner and Red Wings' Alex Motter fought and continued into the penalty box until police has to intervene.
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Later, Don Grosso threw Hank Goldup over the boards onto the cement, injuring him. In the third period, after Sid Abel scored to make it 3–1, a fight with Gus Marker triggered a bench-clearing brawl lasting over 10 minutes. Multiple players received penalties, and after the game, Red Wings coach Jack Adams punched a fan who tried to confront him.
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The game was one for the history books and although we can't expect the same level of violence, we can expect some meaningful games in this rivalry as the Red Wings are gearing up for their first playoff run in nine seasons. The road to a Stanley Cup likely runs through Toronto or the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions Florida Panthers. Many fans would agree that they would rather suffer a playoff loss to a team of the Panthers caliber than have to suffer a loss to the Maple Leafs.
The most tragic loss in the recent memory of this rivalry is the Red Wings blowing a 3-1 lead to the Maple Leafs in the final two seconds of their last game of the regular season. The Buds would go on to claim the victory in overtime and improve their record over the Wings to 361–344–93–6 all-time.
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Detroit had their season end with a bitter taste in their mouths and will certainly look to avenge the loss next season with the added incentive of needing some crucial wins in an Atlantic division that is tighter than ever. There are a few teams that most people have penciled in as already making the postseason in the Panthers, the Tampa Bay Lightning and, despite losing superstar Mitch Marner, the Maple Leafs.
This gives Detroit very few options as they will need to secure a wild card spot which will be an intense battle with teams also from the Metropolitan division plus if they do secure the spot, they will be set up for a challenging first round matchup against a top seeded team. A top three spot is the best case scenario for the Red Wings next season which means extra pressure on divisional games and even more pressure on matchups versus Toronto.
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The full NHL schedule is set to come out on Wednesday at 1 pm EST and will give Red Wings fans plenty of games to look out for as Detroit desperately tries to snap it's playoff drought. One thing for certain, the Maple Leafs-Red Wings rivalry is still riding higher than ever and should culminate in some showstopping matchups next season.
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