Given the Bruins' tortured history against the Canadiens, and then the Montreal fans' booing of the American national anthem, the Habs' Bucknerian overtime loss to the B's the other night was particularly satisfying, and a coup de grace to the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge tonight would be even more so.

A friend e-mails:

As for tonight's showdown with Le Club Habitante, I like the suggestion I heard on the radio this morning of having everyone throw frogs on the ice during the Canuckian national anthem. But do it silently, please. I still want to hear the anthem; it's much better than ours.

Ragtime Perfessor Bill Edwards offers a playlist of American patriotic numbers on piano that include "We'll Stand by the Flag" and the "America Forever! March." Les Quebecois may boo through their tears.

Here's a hockey Walter Mitty story about a guy who was paged out of the stands at Boston Garden one night in 1958 to take the place of an injured Jacques Plante in the Montreal net. In his thirty-three-minute, forty-five-second NHL career, John Aiken made twelve saves and permitted six goals.

And sample hockey history via pasteboard at the Bee Hive Hockey Photo Museum, and via tin and aluminum at TableHockeyCentral.com.