“We wonder how the rivalries are nowadays. Back in the days, we hated anybody that was a Montreal Canadien," the six-season Bruins winger said before the team honored the franchise's teams of the late 1980s and 1990s.
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Randy Burridge was part of the original Boston curse busters.
A gritty left winger with a deft scoring touch, Burridge played six seasons here (1985-91) and was part of the team that ousted the Canadiens in the 1988 Adams Division finals.
Capped by a 4-1 victory in
Game 5 at The Forum, it was Boston’s first postseason series win over Montreal since 1943, ending a run of 18 straight eliminations by the Habs.
“I remember coming into the locker room after that. ‘We got rid of the curse, right?’ " Burridge said Saturday at Warrior Arena. “We got rid of the curse, and that was a lot of fun.”
The Bruins beat the Devils to reach the Stanley Cup Final, then bowed to the Oilers. They were again done in by Edmonton in 1990.
“Unfortunately, we ran into Gretzky and company, but just a great era there,” said Burridge, who had six goals and 27 points across the two runs to the Final.
Burridge was back in Boston as the franchise celebrated its “New Blood, New Beginnings” era, which recognizes teams from 1986-2000.
Burridge, who collected 108 goals and 223 points, and was a plus-53 in his Boston tenure, said it was special that Saturday night’s game was against the club he despised while wearing the Black and Gold.
“We wonder how the rivalries are nowadays. Back in the days, we hated anybody that was a Montreal Canadien. We hated ‘em, right? And then I started playing with other teams. I got traded to Washington, went on to Los Angeles, and then played in Buffalo. But just, that hatred kind of went away,” said Burridge. “I wonder how these guys feel toward that rivalry. I don’t know, but I’m sure it’s still there, right? All these years. The Bruins-Canadiens — nobody likes the Canadiens.”
Burridge has lived in Las Vegas the last 25 years. He said he sees a lot more of his old teammates since the Golden Knights joined the NHL.
“I’ve seen
Ray [Bourque] a couple times. He was in Vegas 10 days ago. But I always say, ‘Ray, I’m so happy you won the Cup in Colorado.’ And he’s like, ‘Stumpy, we should have won it with the Bruins.’ That’s the first thing he says,” Burridge said. “We had a great, great team back in those days. A bunch of great guys and, got close twice, right? Finals twice. We never won it, unfortunately, but a great bunch of guys.”