The Boston Massacre and the Fallout

A bloody chapter in Stars - Bruins way back when set the table for the first Cup run

North Stars Coach Glen Sonmor dealing with the aftermath of the brawl, Feb 26, 1981, Boston Garden (Photo Credit: StarTribune, Associated Press)

Y’all ain’t gonna believe this one.

The story features a brawl like no other - 12 game misconducts, over 400 combined penalty minutes, a punch in the corridor between the benches that ignites another melee, a fiery coach who got right in it with em, another game lost in Boston extends the streak to 14 years winless at the Garden - all leading to a first round series win that required a psychic and an eye patch to do what the franchise had never done and ignite the Stars first-ever run to the Cup Final.

History was not on the Stars side.

It’s the night before my 20th birthday and the North Stars are playing in Boston against the Bruins. Great. Here comes another loss. How do we know this?

The North Stars entered the NHL in 1967 and had never - EVER won a game at the Boston Garden. 14 years. 0-27-7 going into this game. That defies statistical probability. We wouldn’t even watch these lots of times. Why would we? It was always a good old fashioned fanny kickin. The Bruins would push and the Stars would wilt.

February 26, 1981 would be no exception in the win/loss column. At the end of the night the Bruins recorded another victory over the Stars 5-1, moving the mark to 0-28-7. But this time lines were drawn, the Stars stood up for themselves in a way the team hadn’t before. No matter what - this team wasn’t going to be pushed around by the Boston Bruins anymore. It was a message to Boston and the NHL. Seeds were planted that night that would sprout six weeks later in ways no one could imagine.