Hi everyone! Growing up as a Montreal Canadiens fan in the late 1980s and 1990s, there were a few hockey players that always seemed to get the better of my team. In the first few years that I started watching hockey with my Dad, it always seemed that when the Boston Bruins made an appearance on our TV, Cam Neely was always front and center scoring big goals. Andy Moog was also particularly effective against the Habs. I remember very, very well how one time a Montreal player took a shot at an open net with just seconds left on the clock, and Moog, unable to even see what was going on, just fell backwards with his right pad stretched out onto the ice, and blocked that tying goal from ever happening. A few years later, after Montreal had traded John Leclair to Philadelphia, I swear that dude averaged at least two goals a game against Montreal the first five years afterward. It was ridiculous how many goals that guy managed against his former team.

Some players are just thorns in the side of one particular team. No one really knows why. There are just certain teams that are susceptible to being victimized by one particular player. Sometimes it is a superstar, sometimes it is a plugger. In the case of the St. Louis Blues of the late 1970s, Dennis Maruk was that proverbial thorn. Some of his finest moments in a Seals or Barons uniform were in games against St. Louis, and February 28, 1977 was one such example. Poor Emile Francis, then coach of the Blues, both wanted to praise Maruk and smack him across the face, because the Barons’ little buzz saw skated rings around his troops. You can read all about Maruk’s big night right here.

Hope you all enjoy the Stanley Cup final starting up this weekend! Until next time, stay gold!