Kenora Thistles
Donated in 1892 by Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor General of Canada, the Stanley Cup was originally awarded to the top amateur team in Canada, who would then accept challenges from the winners of other leagues. From its inception until 1912, the Cup was nearly always won by teams from Montreal, Winnipeg, and Ottawa. In 1903 Ottawa won the Cup, after finishing the season tied for first in the Canadian Amateur Hockey League with the Montreal Victorias. They played a two-game, total-goal series for the league championship. The Montreal Hockey Club, who had held the Cup, finished third in the league and therefore lost the right to keep it.
Bruins–Canadiens rivalry
Both teams won Stanley Cups between – against the St. Louis Blues, who entered play as an expansion team in the season, all series against the Blues were four-game sweeps. The Canadiens beat the Blues in 1968 and . The 1969 East Semifinals was described by "Sports Illustrated" as "the most intriguing Stanley Cup hockey series in a decade" as the upcoming Stanley Cup Finals against St. Louis would be considered a "formality." It pitted the defending champions Canadiens against the Bruins, an ascendent team since their 1967 trade with Chicago, with superstar defenceman Bobby Orr and regular season scoring champion Phil Esposito (who broke the century mark with 126 points). The Bruins had thought that they had outplayed their opponents in the series, however was the Habs who seemed to be in "the right place at the right time," as Jean Beliveau scored the winning goal in the second overtime period at Boston Garden to eliminate the Bruins in six games. In the 1969–70 season, the Canadiens narrowly missed the playoffs on the last day of the regular season, while the Bruins won their first Stanley Cup since on the famous overtime goal by Bobby Orr.