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The Blackhawks–Blues rivalry features two teams in the Central Division of the NHL, the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues. Since , the two teams have been in the same division together. It is the most intense rivalry in terms of penalty minutes and fighting,〔 and at the height of the rivalry during the Norris Division days, it was common to go to a Chicago vs. St. Louis game and see a brawl break out.〔 Since the move of the Detroit Red Wings to the Eastern Conference, this rivalry is considered the top divisional rivalry for both teams. ==Background== The Blackhawks are an Original Six team, while the Blues entered play in the 1967 expansion. The long-standing bitter rivalry between sports fans from Chicago and St. Louis, which are separated by 300 miles, as seen in the Cardinals–Cubs rivalry in Major League Baseball, has led to the Blackhawks and Blues to have an intense hatred for each other. The two teams have been in the same division since 1970 (Western 1970–74, Smythe 1974–81, Norris 1981–93, Central 1993–present). They also qualified for the playoffs together every season from 1980 to 1997. Every Norris Division Final from 1982 to 1993 involved either the Blackhawks or Blues, or both teams. The only year that neither team was in the division final was 1987, when the Detroit Red Wings faced the Toronto Maple Leafs. The rivalry caught fire in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when both teams had well-known stars such as Jeremy Roenick, Chris Chelios and Ed Belfour for the Hawks and Brett Hull, Adam Oates and Curtis Joseph for the Blues and played in old arenas (St. Louis Arena and Chicago Stadium) that were regarded as two of the loudest in the league. By coincidence, both were built in 1929 and both closed in 1994 to make way for new buildings. The Blackhawks moved across the street to the United Center, while the Blues moved into the Kiel Center. All six Sutter Brothers would either play for the Blackhawks or Blues. In fact, left wingers Darryl and Brian spent their entire careers with Chicago and St. Louis respectively. They would also become head coaches for the teams that they played. Brian also coached the Blackhawks for a short time. He won the Jack Adams Award with the Blues in 1991, and was the runner-up in 2002 with the Blackhawks. Duane, and Brent would also play and end their careers with the Blackhawks although they never played together with Chicago. Twins Ron and Rich would play together at one point with the Blues when Ron got traded in 1992. Also, Rich is the only Sutter brother to play for the Blackhawks and Blues. This often created a brother vs. brother match-up not only in the playoffs, but as well in the season division battles that both teams got involved in. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Blackhawks–Blues rivalry」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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