The Hansons

My mention of Coach Claude Julien fighting a Hanson Brother has elicited quite a response…

I've posted this before, but here is a small piece of an interview coach did with The Montreal Gazette's Dave Stubbs, back when he was hired by the Habs:


Were you a goon (asked Stubbs of Julien)?


Back to the present day
The Gazette's Mike Boone did not see the game the same way I did last night.

What I saw was a Bruins team that, admittedly, left their "A" game at Logan and got by with pure guts on Saturday night (and nearly came all the way back).

And, after the game got out of hand and when the Habs started playing chippy in response to the B's physical prowess, it looked as if the B's reminded the Canadiens why the Black & Gold were once called the Big Bad Bruins.

In his blog Boone wrote:

Hmmm. We'll agree to disagree, because I saw the exact opposite (except for the lost every fight part) -- but obviously the only thing that matters is the final score and the Habs did play very well, especially in the third.

Montreal Canadiens' Josh Gorges, top right, fights with Boston Bruins' Mark Stuart during a fight-filled third period of an NHL hockey game in Montreal on Saturday, Nov. 17, 2007. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ian Barrett)

Julien's take
Fluto Shinzawa of The Boston Globe was in Montreal and spoke with coach after the game. He asked coach Julien why the Habs bench was so steamed at him. Shinzawa wrote:

The last few days, Claude Julien has been careful not to raise his voice, which had been slightly silenced because of a bronchial infection.

But in the third period of last night's 7-4 beating at the hands of the Canadiens before 21,273 at the Bell Centre, Julien let his vocal cords loose, aiming his full-throated vitriol at Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau and assistant coach Kirk Muller.

Carbonneau and Muller, whose boys were laying it on thick to the Bruins (6-3 at the time), took exception to Mark Stuart's one-sided beatdown of skilled winger Andrei Kostitsyn at 11:05.

At first glance, Carbonneau appeared to have a gripe. Kostitsyn (one goal on four shots last night) had never fought as an NHLer. But what Carbonneau and the Canadiens didn't see was that Kostitsyn had speared Stuart from behind, prompting the Boston defenseman to take care of business.

"Somehow, they seemed to be accusing me of sending somebody to do something," said Julien, who gave it right back to the Montreal bench during the foul-mouthed exchange. "It's certainly not my style. Never done it in my life. Kostitsyn spears Stuart. I know Kostitsyn's not a fighter, but I didn't stand up on the bench and accuse Carbonneau of sending [defenseman Francis] Bouillon out there to elbow [Aaron] Ward. It's just a matter of, 'You take care of your business and we'll take care of our own.' "

In the game's final minute, Montreal forward Tom Kostopoulos hunted down Stuart, hitting the defenseman with a cross-check that sparked another fight. Kostopoulos was whistled for instigating, fighting, and a 10-minute misconduct and will be suspended for one game because he picked a scrap in the final minute.

The Boston Herald's Steve Harris, also had the above account, but also had this snippet from the Montreal side:

You can't make this stuff up, folks.

Can't wait for the next Habs vs. B's game...can you?