Red Wings-Blackhawks Rivalry As We Know It Comes to a Fitting End

In professional sports there are so many rivalries that come about and fascinate fans for a few years. However, as players get traded and teams experience roster overturn, most professional rivalries die out. There are those that stand the test of time, but they are few and far between. It's hard to find two teams that can keep the passion and intensity no matter who is on the team and what the records are. In the NHL, the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings have stood the test of time and, with changes afoot, are closing out the conference rivalry in perfect fashion.

Both franchises were founded before the 1926-27 season and they played their first game that season. Detroit won that first meeting at the Chicago Coliseum 1-0 87 years ago and the two teams have met more times in the regular season than any other franchises. Counting postseason games played, only the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens have taken the ice against each other more times.

Detroit owns the all-time series record at 434-356-85, but in the playoffs the Blackhawks have the advantage at 40-36. The Western Conference semi-final series this season is the 16th time the two teams have met in a postseason series and Chicago has won eight of the series so far. The Blackhawks dominated the regular season meetings this year, winning all four of their meetings, but heading into Game 3 of the semi-finals the series is tied at one.

With NHL realignment on the horizon, Detroit will move to the Eastern Conference and the Blackhawks-Red Wings rivalry will see changes. No longer will the teams play each other four times during the regular season, but instead will play a home-and-home series each year. For fans of both teams, it's a sigh of relief that they will still be able to preserve the rivalry at each arena. And then there's the new possibility of the two squaring off in the Stanley Cup Finals. That's something that hasn't happened since 1961 and couldn't happen because of the two being in the same conference.

Detroit has won 11 Stanley Cup titles while Chicago has captured four, but both teams have hoisted the Cup recently. The Red Wings won it all in 2008 and two years later the Blackhawks snapped a 49-year-old drought when they won it. The game of hockey is that much better when both teams are playing well and the league has been blessed to have both very successful in recent years.

With the changes coming, the playoff series is the perfect ending to the rivalry as we know it. Although Chicago won all four games in the regular season, three of the games went into a shootout. It's the rivalry at it's best and it may be the last time the two teams meet in the playoffs for quite some time. That said, we can hope it lasts the full seven games, but no matter what it should be a great series.

Hockey in America has struggled at times and the NHL's constant work stoppages have affected the league in a negative way multiple times. It's not out-of-bounds to say that these two teams have played a large role in saving hockey. Lockouts turn away fans, but it was hard to ignore the Blackhawks winning streak at the beginning of the season and it's hard to ignore the intense series that is taking place right now. It's what the game needs.

However, the meetings won't be as regular starting next season and the playoff series against each other will be rare. Yet, the most exciting part about it all is that the next time the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks meet in the playoffs they will be competing for Lord Stanley's Cup. The stakes won't get any higher and the rivalry won't be any greater than that.