The NHL's Most Bitter Rivalry Is On Pause. But It Could Come Back With A Vengeance.
The Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens have one of the oldest and most heated rivalries in all of North American professional sports, and no moment typifies the animosity between the teams more than the events of March 13, 1955. Maurice "Rocket" Richard was the best hockey player on the planet then -- the epitome of a goal scorer -- but he was also a bit of a cheap-shot artist. After catching a high stick to the side of the head from Bruins defenseman (and former Canadiens teammate) Hal Laycoe, Richard went berserk. The Rocket used his stick as though it were a battle axe and hacked at Laycoe, hitting the defenseman in the ear and on the shoulder. He swung with such force that he shattered his stick in the middle. Most players didn't wear helmets back then, and Laycoe was lucky the Rocket missed his skull.
A referee named Cliff Thompson attempted to put an end to the violence, only to catch fists from a rabid Richard. Boston police tried to arrest Richard after the game, but his teammates prevented them from entering the Montreal dressing room. NHL commissioner Clarence Campbell eventually suspended Richard for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs, a decision that set off riots in Montreal.
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Richard's violence that night was extreme, but the melee...